Are you sitting properly?

If you think you’ve been pooing correctly, you don’t know squat

A German student claims that sitting down to empty your bowels can lead to piles, constipation and even colon cancer.

German PhD student Giulia Enders, who’s studying microbiology in Frankfurt, reveals in her book Gut (German title: Darm Mit Charme or ‘charming bowels’) that we’re all doing it in the wrong position – and have been for years.

For all our toilet humour, the business of doing our business is not something we Brits are particularly open about, but this new ‘poosearch’ could revolutionise the way we excrete.

The right angle

Essentially, there’s a pile of evidence that suggests we should be squatting rather than sitting in order to stop problems like piles, bloating, colon cancer, hernias and constipation.

i say when you have to go you have to go

Squatting may be better for our body in the long term but you have to be able to do it properly. I think that even if I got down I would never get up again. Or worse, imagine toppling over to the side when the cramps set in?

That's exactly what came to mind when I read this. Plus the thought of wrestling with a winter coat, handbag and shopping in a public toilet, should I need to go urgently when out. I could probably manage at home if there was some kind of rail to hold onto.