What you put into your body impacts what comes out (duh). So it’s no wonder that switching up your diet can mean big changes in your bowels. Among other eating plans, going vegan, doing the Whole30, or experimenting with the ketogenic diet can all impact your number twos.
“Poop is mostly water,” says Niket Sonpal, M.D., assistant clinical professor at Touro College of Medicine in New York City. “The rest is fiber, bacteria, mucus, and cells. So at the end of the day, how your poop is affected by your diet is really all about the fiber."
So how exactly can you expect your pooping habits to change based on your healthy-eating plan? Here, we break down the diet switch-ups that can result in some unusual activity down below.
Let's dive in.
Ditching meat is a great way to get regular, says Sonpal. Vegetarians tend to have a much more regular poop schedule compared to their carnivorous counterparts because their fruit and veggie-based diets contain loads of fiber. “Any kind of diet that focuses on a lot of plants will have more regular, voluminous bowel movements—think softer fluffier stools,” he says. And that's great news for your bod!
Just like going vegetarian, going vegan will probably mean softer, more regular poops, says Sonpal. And by taking it a level further by cutting out dairy, your time on the porcelain throne may go even smoother. “Cutting out dairy will give you an increased number of bowel movements and you’ll probably have less gas,” says Sonpal. That's especially true if you have issues with lactose.
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The ketogenic diet, which emphasizes protein and fat and reduces carbs to 40 grams a day (max), is a little controversial. While you might be able to shed pounds by tricking your body into burning fat stores for energy instead of carbs (a.k.a. ketosis), your bathroom schedule could take a major hit. “This usually leads to diarrhea or in some cases constipation,” he says. “It tends to be diarrhea because you don’t take in enough bulking agents like fiber.” Expect infrequent, liquidy poops.
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Similar to the keto diet (but less extreme), the Atkins diet emphasizes protein over carbs. “As long as you eat lots of veggies, you’ll have pretty decent bowl movements,” says Sonpal. “But you run into trouble when you eat too much protein and aren’t getting enough probiotics or fiber.” If that’s the case, expect the number of times you visit the poo palace to drop.
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The paleo eating plan allows for all the meat you can eat, but getting carried away means you could get seriously backed up, says Sonpal. “Meat tends to take longer to digest, which means you could get constipated,” he says. Read: harder, less frequent trips to the bathroom. “If you balance that out with lots of fruits and veggies you should be okay,” he adds.
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Eating clean with Whole30 can help you shed some extra pounds and enable you to poop like a pro. “People who don’t eat a lot of processed foods will have more natural bowel movements,” says Sonpal. That's because lot of the preservatives and gums they put in foods tend to bind up your bowels. So the lack of preservatives and surplus of eating whole foods, like fruits and veggies, will make you feel a lot better in the bathroom.
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“We call this the Costco diet,” says Sonpal. “Lots of food for a low calorie cost.” This weight-loss strategy could go one of two ways in the bathroom. If you’re loading up on big salads, that means lots of fiber. Hello, easy-peasy trips to the bathroom. If you’re loading up on soup, which may not contain much fiber, you’ll likely see bathroom habits that look similar to a cleanse. That means you’ll have normal poop at first, but after a while you’ll start to notice smaller, more liquidy movements, he says. Do yourself a favor and go with option one.
“This is probably the healthiest of all the diets from the standpoint of calories, satisfaction, and poop health,” says Sonpal. With the right balance of fats and fiber-filled veggies, you can expect perfect poops on the reg. “Plus, some of the spices often found in this diet like chilies actually promote good bowel movements,” Sonpal says.
Whatever eating plan you choose, be sure to make fiber-packed fruits and veggies your go-to. And if you're on a low-carb plan, keep an eye on your fiber intake so that you're taking in at least 25 grams of fiber a day (via whole foods or a supplement).
Macaela Mackenzie
Macaela MacKenzie is a journalist who writes about women and power. She covers women’s equality through the lenses of sports, wellness, and the gender gap across industries and is the author of MONEY, POWER, RESPECT: How Women in Sports Are Shaping the Future of Feminism. Mac was most recently a Senior Editor at Glamour where she directed all health and wellness coverage. Her work has appeared in Elle, Glamour, SELF, Bustle, Marie Claire, Allure,Women's Health, and Forbes among other publications.
