You Know You Have a Flawless Poop When the Tissue Is Clean Post-Wipe

Stocksy/Audrey Shtecinjo
Going number two is pretty rote at this point, right? You go, you wipe, you flush. Pretty simple. But if you're going through rolls of TP faster than Pete and Ari's engagement (too soon?), you might actually have a problem.

While toilet paper of course serves an important purpose, it turns out there shouldn't be much use for it at all if your body is functioning properly and making healthy poops. In a recent episode of the Urban Wellness Clinic's podcast, naturopathic doctor Marisol Teijeiro, ND, mentioned something pretty mind-blowing: After wiping, that piece of two-ply tissue should still look spotless. "You should have absolutely nothing on the paper," she says. "Don't be a hyper-wiper. You should wipe once, and wipe clean."


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Okay, this is obviously news to a lot of us. But this whole "wipe once" thing isn't just about saving money on toilet paper—it's about your health. If you're using up a few sheets to get the dirty job done, Dr. Teijeiro says that's a sign your body isn't happy, and is thus producing stool that's looser (and messier) than it should. "It's just an example of us not eating well for our bodies, or eating things we're sensitive to, having too much stress, or a sign of our microbiome—or our good and bad gut bacteria—not being optimal," she says.

Instead of producing something you'll have to wipe and wipe and wipe, Dr. Teijeiro says your daily #poopgoals should consist of bowel movements that sink, not float, and are cumulatively to the size of your wrist to your elbow (yup, really), and not too narrow. What about poop color meaning? Your healthy poop should also be a dirt color—AKA a "lighter brown to a darker brown." Oh, and how long should it take to poop? 10 seconds to one minute.

So basically, just like how the eyes are the window into the soul...your TP is actually a surprising window into your health. The more you know!

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