Taking note of the colour and consistency of your stools is an important way to take care of your health. One of my hometown’s claims-to-fame, aside from the magnificence of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, is being the birthplace of the mighty Bristol Stool Chart . This seven-category scale, developed at Bristol Royal Infirmary, categorises poo across a spectrum – from hard pellets like rabbit droppings to brown water.
According to the chart, the ideal stool is a mid-range type 4: “like a sausage, smooth and soft”. Smashing. An early noughties TV programme on UK’s Channel 4 featured a nutritionist who examined faecal samples in order to comment on people’s health, looking at consistency, colour and smell.
All I can say is that Channel 4 must have been paying her a significant wage to undergo that ordeal. Still, she was on to something..