Why you shouldn't worry about pooping once a day | Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter | TED

Transcriber:

How often do you poop?

翻译人员: Jiasi Hao 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

你多久排一次便？

或许有人告诉过你每天应该排一次便。

You might have heard you should have a bowel movement once a day.

但事实上，

But the truth is that if you poop anywhere from three times a day

从最多一天排三次到最少每周三次

to three times a week,

you're completely and totally normal.

都是完全正常的。

(Music)

（音乐）

[Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter]

【与珍 · 冈特尔博士探索身体里的那些事】

(Music)

（音乐）

Hey there, it’s Dr. Jen Gunter.

嗨大家好，我是珍 · 冈特尔 （Jen Gunter）博士。

As an ob-gyn and pain-medicine doctor,

作为一名妇产科和疼痛医药科医生，

I end up talking to my patients about poop more than you might think.

我和病人们聊到排便问题的次数 可能远超于你的想象。

Overall, I hear a lot of anxiety about it.

总体来说， 我听到了很多人对排便的焦虑。

Some people worry about not having a bowel movement once a day,

有些人担心自己不能每天排一次便，

even though its a phony metric.

虽说这个指标就是一个谎言。

Other people struggle with constipation.

其他人则在与便秘斗争。

Often, they don't get the treatment that they need,

很多时候， 由于人们得不到对症的治疗，

and they can even turn to dangerous solutions,

他们甚至会转而寻求危险的治疗方案，

such as colon cleanses.

比方说，采用结肠清洗。

But for all the poop talk, there's one word I don't hear enough --

不过，当大家谈论排便问题， 有一个词很少人提及——

fiber.

纤维素。

Let me take you through the journey from food to poop.

让我科普一下 从进食到排便的过程。

Digestion actually starts in the mouth.

消化过程其实在口腔中就开始了，

Chewing breaks the food down into smaller particles.

咀嚼将食物分解成更小得颗粒。

As you eat, your food mixes with saliva,

当你进食时，食物会与唾液混合，

which moistens the food,

使食物浸润，

and has enzymes that start to break down those starches and fats.

而唾液中的酶会开始 分解食物中的淀粉和脂肪。

Contractions is your esophagus push the food to your stomach,

食道的收缩将食物推向胃部，

where acid and gastric juices and enzymes further break the food down.

在胃里，胃酸、胃液和酶 会进一步分解食物。

The food then travels to the small intestine,

之后食物会滑入小肠，

where fats, proteins, carbohydrates and micronutrients

在胰腺、胆囊、肝脏和微生物组的帮助下，

are further broken down, with help from the pancreas, gallbladder, liver

食物中的脂肪、 蛋白质，碳水化合物和微量元素

and the microbiome,

会在小肠中进一步分解，

so they can be absorbed across the small intestine

同时可以被人体吸收，

and sent to the liver for processing.

并运送至肝脏进行处理。

What's left moves to the large intestine or the colon,

而食物残渣会进入结肠。

which has three main jobs:

结肠有三个主要任务：

absorbing water and electrolytes, producing and absorbing vitamins

吸收水分和电解质， 制造与吸收维他命，

and forming and squeezing the material, now called stool,

以及将残渣挤压成型， 变成所谓的粪便，

towards the rectum.

并将其推往直肠。

When the rectum is full, it sends a signal to the brain,

当粪便将直肠填满， 大脑会收到信号，

and the brain takes into account whether it's a socially acceptable time to poop,

从而，大脑会考虑 此时是否是社会可接受的排便时间。

and if it is, it sends a signal to the anal sphincter muscles to relax.

如果答案是肯定，大脑随之 向肛门括约肌发出放松的信号。

And boom, you know what happens next.

然后砰一声， 你知道会发生什么。

This process involves more than 10 organs

整个过程由十多个器官共同协作，

and typically takes anywhere from 24 to 120 hours

对健康的人来说，

这通常要花费 24 到 120 个小时。

in healthy people.

So it's helpful to think of poop as exactly what it is --

所以回想排便的过程， 会帮助我们理解——

all the stuff that doesn't get digested in this process.

所有吃下去的东西 不用经历这个消化过程的

It is water, bacteria, dead cells and mucus,

只有水、细菌、死细胞以及黏液，

all glommed together with fiber.

它们都会与纤维素混合。

Fiber is amazing.

纤维素真的很棒，

It affects the digestive tract from top to bottom.

它自上而下影响着整个消化道。

It is very simply a carbohydrate the body can't absorb.

它是一种非常简单的碳水化合物， 无法由人体吸收。

While other carbs are broken down into sugars,

当其它碳水化合物被分解成糖，

fiber passes by sort of moseying along, doing all kinds of cool things.

纤维就像闲庭信步一样经过， 做着各种酷酷的工作。

High-fiber foods physically take longer to eat,

吃高纤维的食物 一般需要更长的时间，

so they help us pace our meals.

因此，可以帮助我们控制饮食的节奏，

The bulk also slows down digestion, especially in the stomach,

体积大的食物也会减慢消化速度， 尤其会更久的停留在胃里，

and makes you feel full longer.

并让你有更久的饱腹感。

Fiber also draws water into the stool, keeping it soft.

纤维还能将水分吸入粪便， 使粪便保持柔软。

Scratchy, hard stool is, to put it mildly, unpleasant.

说句不好听的， 粗糙硬实的粪便，真恼人。

It also increases bacterial mass.

纤维素也会增加菌群数量，

The water and bacteria together increase the bulk of the stool,

水和细菌一起增加了粪便的体积，

which helps it move along.

而这有助于粪便的移动。

Fiber also slows absorption of sugars into the bloodstream

纤维素同样减缓血液对糖分的吸收，

and reduces absorption of fats and cholesterols.

减少脂肪和胆固醇的吸收。

And as fiber collects in your colon,

而且纤维在结肠中的堆积，

it feeds all your good gut bacteria,

能够养活你肠道中的有益菌群，

helping you maintain a healthy microbiome.

帮助你保持一个健康的微生物群。

Fiber is associated with the reduced risk of diabetes,

纤维素还有助于降低 一些胃肠道疾病的风险，

heart disease, several gastrointestinal conditions

如糖尿病、心脏病，

and even certain cancers.

甚至是某些癌症。

And yet, most of us aren't getting enough of it.

然而，绝大多数人 还没有认识到纤维的重要性。

For example, in the US,

比如，在美国，

the vast majority of adults

绝大多数成年人

aren't eating the recommended 28 grams of fiber per day.

没有每天摄入建议的 28 克纤维。

In fact, the average American just gets 15 grams of fiber a day.

实际上，美国人平均每天 只摄入 15 克纤维。

So how exactly do you get more fiber?

那么，如何能摄入更多的纤维素呢？

The generic answer is to eat more whole grains,

一般的答案就是多吃全谷类、

fruits, vegetables and legumes.

水果、蔬菜和豆类。

But I want you to consider some more specific fiber-rich foods

但我希望你能考虑一些 更具体的富含纤维的食物，

that I personally love:

我个人很喜欢的有：

pears, raspberries and blackberries, avocados and artichokes,

梨、红莓、黑莓、牛油果、朝鲜蓟，

high-fiber cereals, whole grains -- my favorite is farro --

高纤维谷物、全谷物， 我的最爱是法罗小麦（farro），

lentils, kidney beans and chickpeas.

扁豆、芸豆和鹰嘴豆。

Almonds, pistachios and sunflower seeds are other options.

其他选择还有杏仁、开心果和葵花籽。

When in doubt, reach for those.

不确定的话，就先去找找这些。

And happy pooping.

排便愉快！