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KEY POINTS
- A U.K. doctor shared a tip on pooping on his TikTok account
- Dr. Karan Rajan said the technique would relax the muscle around the rectum
- A microbiologist noted in 2015 that most people in the West do not squat when pooping
A surgeon in the United Kingdom has revealed to his millions of online followers the proper way of defecating.
Dr. Karan Rajan, a doctor at the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), recently uploaded a video on his TikTok account containing a piece of helpful advice for smooth and easy pooping.
In the video, Dr. Rajan revealed a pooping technique that requires finding the right angle to have a “truly wonderful dump.”
“Focus on the angles, particularly the angle between your abdomen and your thighs,” he said in his video, according to the New York Post. “Make this as small as possible.”
“You can reduce this thigh torso angle by leaning forwards when unleashing the brown kraken,” the U.K. doctor added.
Rajan said people should combine this technique with raising their heels so they are leaning on the balls of their feet and placing their knees above their hips.
The doctor also suggested resting the feet on a rolled-up towel to achieve the pooping position.
Rajan argued that the technique would allow the puborectalis, the muscle that wraps around the rectum, to relax.
“[It causes] the rectum to straighten and [gives] you a smoother exit,” he said.
In 2015, microbiologist Giulia Enders told The Guardian that people in the West “squeeze our gut tissue until it comes out of our bottoms,” which leads to problems such as hemorrhoids and diverticulosis, a condition that occurs when pouches in the bowel become inflamed.
Enders noted that the “1.2 billion people around the world who squat” while pooping “have almost no incidence” of intestinal problems.
The microbiologist, who authored “Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ,” explained that the closure mechanism of the gut is not designed to “open the hatch completely.” She added that squatting puts less pressure on the butt.
But as Western toilets are not designed to squat, a Utah resident invented a product to help people to squat safely or comfortably during their stool evacuation.
Squatty Potty was launched by Robert Edwards, a Utah-based contractor and designer, after a doctor recommended that his mother lift her feet to reduce strain during pooping.
In an interview with NPR in 2012, Edwards claimed that his invention could help people tackle hemorrhoids, prevent colon disease, and improve pelvic floor issues.
According to Squatty Potty’s website, it sold more than 8 million stools last year after more people found squatting the best way to excrete.
There are more ways to achieve a comfortable discharge, such as drinking more water daily, eating fiber-rich foods, cutting alcohol and caffeinated beverages, staying away from fatty foods, and exercising more, according to Healthline.
