# squat toilets



## fairyfizz (Apr 24, 2012)

As an IBS sufferer and having problems with going to the loo i want to ask if anyone has ever used squat toilets?????????I have used one and i have found that i find it far easier to poop on one of them than a normal toilet where even when i have mydiarrhoea episodes as on a normal toilet i always feel an incomplete sense of evacuation.I also find when having constipation episodes they make it far easier to go and there is less straining when using one.I have now taken to squatting at home (although on a normal toilet it does take a bit of practice) and find it has helped a lotwith making pooping more easier and complete.Anyone else used one??????? Having googled abaout squat toilet practices i was intrigued to discover that squatting is a more natural position and one our ancestors were accustomed to. Also people in countries where such toilets are the norm do not seem to suffer bowel problems.In the 1970's Denis Burkitt practiced medicine in Uganda. He noticed that there were not incidences of colon cancer, IBS, etc. After studying this phenomenon he came to two conclusions. 1. He thought that roughage and the lack of it in the Western diet might be the culprit. 2. People that used the squatting position to have a bowel movement did not seem to incur these various diseases.Western researchers pretty much ignored the number 2 observation and jumped on number 1 (roughage) as the reason.Although this may be disappointing, it is not surprising. Persuasive evidence that squatting toilets are healthier have been around for some time.The "modern commode" that the Western countries use was actually a fad started in England and spread its way through the Western World. It was thought fashionable to "sit" on the commode vs. "squat" on a squat toilet. Vanity and fashion won out.Why does squatting to potty make such a difference? From research i discovered sitting on a toilet stool and straining to have a bowel movement causes a lot of pressure. Over time, this causes nerve damage to the bladder, prostate and uterus. Organs become prone to disease.When you sit instead of squat, you do not totally eliminate fecal matter. The stagnation from fecal from incomplete evacuation pollutes the colon. This sets up the body for diseases like diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, IBS, colon cancer and more.


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

Squatting does seem a more natural way to go and yours is an interesting post.There could be problems for older people and people with health problems though.


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## Cheryl1967 (Apr 19, 2012)

fairyfizz...I agree w/ you totally...even before IBS I had trouble with constipation and THIS was the only way I could have a BM. I don't think I have sat on a toilet in over 20 years. Just as laying flat on your back to give birth to a child is unnatural...sitting with your feet on the floor to have a BM is also. There is a show here in the States called "The Dr. Oz Show", I don't know if you have it in England, but he actually had a segment on his show about elevating your feet while having a BM!!!


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## fairyfizz (Apr 24, 2012)

Cheryl1967 said:


> fairyfizz...I agree w/ you totally...even before IBS I had trouble with constipation and THIS was the only way I could have a BM. I don't think I have sat on a toilet in over 20 years. Just as laying flat on your back to give birth to a child is unnatural...sitting with your feet on the floor to have a BM is also. There is a show here in the States called "The Dr. Oz Show", I don't know if you have it in England, but he actually had a segment on his show about elevating your feet while having a BM!!!


We don`t have that show here but like you i have stopped sitting on a toilet. I have just bought an antique chamber pot as my arthritis was making things a bit tricky.It is such an un-natural way to do things and your comparision with childbirth is also very true.A doctor told me that he blamed the Victorians for many of the bowel problems people have today because it was them that introduced the modern toilet into the home and banished squatting for reasons of vanity.I also just ordered one of these from a website if anyone is interested. http://www.thesquattypotty.com


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