Squatting For Better Health?
Hey! I hope your day is going well!
When you read that subject line, you may have thought that I was writing about a type of exercise but actually it’s something a bit more intimate.
So here’s what prompted me to write this…
Friday nights I often watch the show Shark Tank on ABC where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to potential investors (the sharks) in the hopes of making a deal.
In addition to some good entertainment and some interesting dialogue, every once in a while you see someone pitch a product that really catches your attention. That’s what happened to me this past Friday.
You’ll probably chuckle when you read this.
So there were two entrepreneurs on the show who were the inventors of the “Squatty Potty”, a unique bathroom device that easily allows the user to assume the more natural squatting position while doing numero dos (number two for my fellow gringos).
Although initially myself, the sharks and the rest of America laughed at the idea of such a device, when they continued their pitch and discussed some of the science behind the concept I was truly intrigued.
I did some of my own research and it turns out this is actually a pretty legit idea. The main difference is that the squat position creates relaxation of the puborectalis muscle which allows for more complete and easier elimination as compared to the traditional sitting position.
Being that much of the colon and rectal cancers develop because of incomplete elimination, there stands a legitimate health reason for assuming such a position while on the throne.
The image below depicts this difference.
The squatting position is easily achieved by elevating the feet on a box or stool of some kind so it is a pretty easy thing to implement. The device depicted on the show did exactly this.
I found a great short article on this written by Dr. Joseph Mercola which I encourage you to check out. You can find it here-
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/03/toilet-squatting-position.aspx
Happy squatting!
Chris