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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > The Squatty Potty: Does this make health sense?

The Squatty Potty: Does this make health sense?
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design219
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Mar 21, 2012, 04:54 PM
 
The gist of this company's claim is, we have colon health issues because we should be squatting instead of sitting to take a dump... the way we did before the invention of bathrooms.

The video on this site explains it, but seems a bit dubious to me. Oh, and the video is a tad humorous, even if this is complete crap.

Squatty Potty Toilet Stool, Prevent Colon Disease, Avoid Constipation, End Painful Hemorrhoids, Poop Faster and More Effectively and Help Prevent Colon Cancer.
__________________________________________________

My stupid iPhone game: Nesen Probe, it's rather old, annoying and pointless, but it's free.
Was free. Now it's gone. Never to be seen again.
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The Final Dakar
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Mar 21, 2012, 04:58 PM
 
Which joke goes better?

"I bet it does jack squat."

"I bet it does jack shit."
     
nonhuman
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Mar 21, 2012, 05:06 PM
 
A lot of people have been saying this over the years. i haven't paid too much attention, but my impression is that medical science backs it up.

Having used both, I can certainly say that I prefer public squatters: no need to make contact with any surfaces.
     
turtle777
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Mar 21, 2012, 05:22 PM
 
Uhm, yeah, if you want to squat, just do it.

You can squat over a regular potty, you know.

-t
     
Waragainstsleep
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Mar 21, 2012, 06:09 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Uhm, yeah, if you want to squat, just do it.

You can squat over a regular potty, you know.

-t
I don't think its quite the same, posture-wise.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
turtle777
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Mar 21, 2012, 06:22 PM
 
No shit.

-t
     
nonhuman
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Mar 21, 2012, 06:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Uhm, yeah, if you want to squat, just do it.

You can squat over a regular potty, you know.

-t
It's a lot easier with a toilet designed to be used that way.

Not to mention safer.
     
Athens
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Mar 21, 2012, 06:47 PM
 
You know there seems to be some truth to the claims

Human defecation postures - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Its no different then how we screwed up our sleep patterns with the invention of street lighting. In the 1700's prior to that since the dawn of time for human kind we had 2 separate sleeps. A first and a second sleep both averaged around 4 hours. Not this continuous 8 hours of sleep. People would go to bed at first dark and sleep for about 4 hours then awake and be very active for a couple hours before going back to sleep for second sleep. After reading this I attempted this for a week and man it made a massive difference in how I felt and how awake I was. I was not tired in the least. But going to bed at 9 has been a problem so I stopped for now.

I am going to give the squatting thing a try and see if it feels better.
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Big Mac
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Mar 21, 2012, 08:07 PM
 
It sounds like a compelling case. The one thing that makes me wary is that they're using at least one phony and very serious medical claim to try to sell this product, though: They claim that constipation is a risk factor for developing colon cancer, whereas there's very strong evidence to refute that claim; medical studies have even suggested that constipation somehow is correlated with lowered incidence of that dreaded disease.

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Mar 21, 2012, 10:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by Athens View Post
You know there seems to be some truth to the claims
'cuz wikipedia says so, right?
     
hyteckit
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Mar 21, 2012, 11:36 PM
 
I don't give a squat what anyone thinks.

I'm getting one.
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mduell
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Mar 22, 2012, 12:04 AM
 
Sounds like the same crock as belly breathing.
     
Athens
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Mar 22, 2012, 02:47 AM
 
Originally Posted by boy8cookie View Post
'cuz wikipedia says so, right?
No because these people, sources, publications say so

^ A. Rane; A. Corstiaans (2008, Department of Urogynaecology, Townsville Hospital, Townsville, Queensland, Australia): Does micturition improve in the squatting position? in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Volume 28, Issue 3 of April 2008, pages 317 - 319. Quotes: "Posture on the toilet is an important consideration during micturition", "the ability to squat in our population of volunteers was quite poor" (from the abstract).
^ ALTOMARE Donato F.; RINALDI Marcella; VEGLIA Antonella; GUGLIELMI Altomarino; SALLUSTIO Pier Luca; TRIPOLI Gaetano (Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, General Surgery and Liver Transplantation Units, Coloproctology Unit, University School of Medicine, Bari, ITALY) (2001): Contribution of posture to the maintenance of anal continence, in International journal of colorectal disease, 2001, vol. 16, number 1, pp. 51-54 (4 ref.). Publisher: Springer.
^ Christine Dimmer, Brian Martin, Noeline Reeves and Frances Sullivan , "Squatting for the Prevention of Hemorrhoids?", Published in Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, 1996: 159, 66-70 link
^ Murad-Regadas, S. M.; Regadas, F. S. P.; Barreto, R. G. L.; Rodrigues, L. V.; De Souza, M. H. L. P. (October 2009). "A novel two-dimensional dynamic anal ultrasonography technique to assess anismus comparing with three-dimensional echodefecography". Colorectal Dis 11 (8): 872–7. doi:10.1111/j.1463-1318.2009.02018.x. PMID 19681980.
^ Chu, Winnie C.W.; Tam, Yuk-him; Lam, Wynnie W.M.; Ng, Alex W.H.; Sit, Frances; Yeung, Chung-Kwong (May 2007). "Dynamic MR assessment of the anorectal angle and puborectalis muscle in pediatric patients with anismus: technique and feasibility". J Magn Reson Imaging 25 (5): 1067–72. doi:10.1002/jmri.20914. PMID 17410575.
^ Murad-Regadas, S. M.; Regadas, F. S. P.; Rodrigues, L. V.; Souza, M. H. L. P.; Lima, D. M. R.; Silva, F. R. S.; Filho, F. S. P. R. (February 2007). "A novel procedure to assess anismus using three-dimensional dynamic anal ultrasonography". Colorectal Dis 9 (2): 159–65. doi:10.1111/j.1463-1318.2006.01157.x. PMID 17223941.
^ a b Sikirov, Dov, MD (1990): "Cardio-vascular events at defecation: are they unavoidable?" Medical Hypotheses, 1990, Jul; 32(3): 231-3.
^ A History of Technology, Vol.IV: The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1850. (C. Singer, E Holmyard, A Hall, T. Williams eds) Oxford Clarendon Press, pp. 507-508, 1958.
^ a b Sikirov, B.A. (February 1989). "Primary constipation: an underlying mechanism". Med. Hypotheses 28 (2): 71–3. doi:10.1016/0306-9877(89)90016-9. PMID 2927355.
^ a b Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Volume 48, Number 7 - SpringerLink
^ Burkitt, Denis (1979): "Don't Forget Fibre in Your Diet"
^ Cho YK, Kim CS, Koo ES, Yun JW, Kim JW, Lee JH, Park CY, Sohn CI, Jeon WK, Kim BI, Choi DI (2003): Contribution of Posture to Anorectal Angle and Perineal Descent on Defecography in Korean J Gastroenterol, 2003 Mar; 41(3):190-195 (in Korean). Quote: "In patients with spastic pelvic floor syndrome, squatting position increases the anorectal angle" (from the abstract).
^ Sikirov, B., A. (1988): Etiology and pathogenesis of diverticulosis coli: a new approach. Medical Hypotheses. May; 26(1): 17-20.
^ Is squatting a triggering factor for stroke in Indians? - Chakrabarti - 2002 - Acta Neurologica Scandinavica - Wiley Online Library
^ Rajkumar P. Wadhwa, Fersosh P. Mistry, Shobna J. Bhatia, and Philip Abraham (1994): Existence of a high pressure zone at the rectosigmoid junction in normal Indian men: "The role of diet or defecation posture in its etiology and its effect on bowel habit need to be studied."
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Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
Laminar
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Mar 22, 2012, 04:57 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Uhm, yeah, if you want to squat, just do it.

You can squat over a regular potty, you know.

-t
     
mattyb
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Mar 22, 2012, 06:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by design219 View Post
even if this is complete crap.
Very funny.
     
paul w
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Mar 22, 2012, 10:09 AM
 
in all seriousness, my daughter has a little step-stool thingy to climb onto the toilet. I've been using it much in the same way is this silly product, and really it does...help.
     
mattyb
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Mar 22, 2012, 10:14 AM
 
The trouble with squatting type toilets is that your trousers or belt touch the some of the 'not-so-clean' parts of the toilet.
     
hyteckit
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Mar 22, 2012, 10:21 AM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
The trouble with squatting type toilets is that your trousers or belt touch the some of the 'not-so-clean' parts of the toilet.
As Steve Jobs said, "you are holding it wrong".
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nonhuman
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Mar 22, 2012, 11:12 AM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
The trouble with squatting type toilets is that your trousers or belt touch the some of the 'not-so-clean' parts of the toilet.
Yeah... That never once happened during the time I lived in China and used squat toilets pretty much every day.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Mar 22, 2012, 11:21 AM
 
Did anyone see South Park last week?
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
Waragainstsleep
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Mar 22, 2012, 11:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
The trouble with squatting type toilets is that your trousers or belt touch the some of the 'not-so-clean' parts of the toilet.
Baggy skate pants do not help when it comes to toilets.

My favourite story of all time was told to me by a friend while we were at University together. She and her friends had been walking across a field to get to an off-license (thats a liquor store to you across the pond) when one of her male friends wearing unfeasibly baggy jeans (it was the late 90s) decided he had to go behind a hedge and move his bowels.

20 minutes later they are in the store paying for their booze when the chap in question reaches into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet and finds something else has made a home there as well. Hilarious.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
mattyb
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Mar 22, 2012, 06:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by nonhuman View Post
Yeah... That never once happened during the time I lived in China and used squat toilets pretty much every day.
Instruct me oh great crapper.
     
nonhuman
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Mar 22, 2012, 06:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
Instruct me oh great crapper.
Um. Pay attention to where you're shitting. Dunno what else to say.
     
hyteckit
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Mar 22, 2012, 11:58 PM
 
WARNING:

Do not use this when you have explosive diarrhea, unless you like brown walls.
Bush Tax Cuts == Job Killer
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June 2003: 129,839,000 employed
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LegendaryPinkOx
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Mar 23, 2012, 01:31 AM
 
Interesting quote from the website right there:

One morning I noticed my son Max (Age 6) walk into the bathroom and shut the door. All of a sudden I heard him scream “I LOVE THE SQUATTY POTTY, IT’S SO AMAZING, IT’S THE RADDEST THING EVER INVENTED!” It was hilarious, but so true. The Squatty Potty works so amazing for my kids. They [...]
—Max (told by his Mother)
are you lightfooted?
     
residentEvil
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Mar 23, 2012, 09:36 AM
 
But how do you use the 3 sea shells?
     
mattyb
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Mar 23, 2012, 09:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by residentEvil View Post
But how do you use the 3 sea shells?
Oh dear.
     
osiris
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Mar 23, 2012, 09:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by residentEvil View Post
But how do you use the 3 sea shells?
I never got that one... I'm very curious, but not that curious.


Anyhoo - squatting - it works better, but takes a bit of getting used to. I found a lot of the squatting toilets in rural China, not fun. At all. Kinda like pooping in the Death Star trench, only without Old Ben, lasers and John WIlliams music encouraging you.
( Last edited by osiris; Mar 23, 2012 at 10:00 AM. )
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
nonhuman
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Mar 23, 2012, 11:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by residentEvil View Post
But how do you use the 3 sea shells?
He doesn't know how to use the three sea shells!
     
nonhuman
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Mar 23, 2012, 11:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
I never got that one... I'm very curious, but not that curious.


Anyhoo - squatting - it works better, but takes a bit of getting used to. I found a lot of the squatting toilets in rural China, not fun. At all. Kinda like pooping in the Death Star trench, only without Old Ben, lasers and John WIlliams music encouraging you.
Considering the general condition of things in rural China, I was actually pleased to use squatters. Sure, squatting over a metal grate crapping into a shit-filled ditch in a hut with no door isn't very fun, but I saw some much less pleasant Western-style toilets (in China and the US...).
     
osiris
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Mar 23, 2012, 11:37 AM
 
Originally Posted by nonhuman View Post
Considering the general condition of things in rural China, I was actually pleased to use squatters. Sure, squatting over a metal grate crapping into a shit-filled ditch in a hut with no door isn't very fun, but I saw some much less pleasant Western-style toilets (in China and the US...).
Lol the western toilets reminded me of late 70s NYC public bathrooms in Central park.
Honestly though, that was pre-Beijing Olympics China. I'm sure things have improved even a bit.
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LegendaryPinkOx
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Mar 23, 2012, 12:09 PM
 
I've become spoiled with Middle Eastern toilets that have bidets (or at least some kind of hose to power wash with). I think that's far more useful than a step-stool in front, especially given the sanitary condition of many of the eating establishments here.
are you lightfooted?
     
Athens
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Mar 23, 2012, 12:13 PM
 
We need to develop food and pills that remove the need to take dumps. Gotta improve the efficiency of our guts. Become Zero waste people by 2040, sounds like a worth project so spend billions on lol
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Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
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Mar 23, 2012, 01:45 PM
 
I don't understand what it is like to have difficulty trashing, I guess it has always been something I'm good at.
     
Patrick
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Mar 24, 2012, 02:12 AM
 
Squatting puts better pressure on the large intestine and bladder. It's probably the reason lot of people sitting on toilet bowls tend to lean forward: this brings their body closer to the squatting formation. The only difference is that, while sitting on a toilet and leaning forward, you're not in the right position for gravity to work most effectively.
     
Eug
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Mar 24, 2012, 01:26 PM
 
Who does it better? You decide.



     
   
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