A doctor has shared some important insights for anyone who often needs to rush to the restroom right after eating.
Recent studies indicate that feeling the urge to defecate immediately after a meal can be due to specific reasons.
Dr. Joseph Salhab explains in a TikTok video that: “It’s not because food is moving instantly throughout your GI tract.”
So, what’s really happening?
The internet was astounded to learn about this.
One user commented, “This makes so much sense!”
Another added, “This changes everything.”
“Wow, my whole life has been a lie,” another person joked.
The doctor begins by discussing how your bowel movements can reflect your overall health status.
For example, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can make the digestive system move food more swiftly than usual.
Food allergies, intolerances, anxiety, gastritis, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and Crohn’s disease can also cause faster transit of stool.
These conditions can trigger the urgent need to defecate shortly after eating along with other digestive symptoms, such as bloating, frequent gas, stomach pain or discomfort, mucus in the stool, diarrhea, constipation, or alternating diarrhea and constipation.
Another cause of the urge to poop could be fecal or bowel incontinence, which can range from mild to full loss of bowel control.
Aside from these more severe issues, Dr. Salhab highlights another key reason why you may feel the need to defecate right after eating.
The gastroenterologist explains, “When you eat and feel the need to use the restroom immediately afterward, it is because of the gastrocolic reflex.”
According to Medical News Today, the gastrocolic reflex is a normal, instinctive response when food enters the stomach.
This response doesn’t mean that the food is moving rapidly through your body.
Typically, it takes 1-2 days for food to pass through an individual’s digestive system.
To summarize, feeling the need to defecate shortly after eating is usually caused by the gastrocolic reflex, a natural biological response to food entering the stomach.
While almost everyone experiences this reaction at times, its intensity can vary.
Certain lifestyle changes can help lessen the need to defecate after meals.
However, if someone frequently has diarrhea or other digestive issues after eating, it could indicate an underlying health problem that requires medical attention.
