Is your gut transit time in the Goldilocks Zone – not too fast or too slow, but juuuuust right? In other words, when food moves through your digestive tract, is it going at a pace that optimizes your nutrient absorption and overall detoxification?
Now, maybe you’re asking yourself, “How would I even know that?” Fair question!
Pull up a Squatty Potty, my friend, because today I’m going to share a simple test you can do at home to gain insight.
Yep, we’re repurposing a root vegetable that was once revered by the Romans for its aphrodisiac qualities into, well . . . . a gut-speedometer.
Before we dive in, I want to remind you that none of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA, this article is not medical advice, and it’s not meant to prevent, diagnose or treat any condition. If you have a question about whether any wellness practice is right for you, please talk with a qualified healthcare professional.
So, what exactly is gut transit time?
In a nutshell, it’s the amount of time between the moment you eat a bite of food and the moment you pass it out of your body via a bowel movement.
According to research, this process can “normally” take anywhere from 10-73 hours. (1) However, just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s optimal, and wellness practitioners generally consider the ideal range to be within 12-24 hours. (2)
Even when people are “regular,” it’s possible to have a transit time that’s either sluggish or rapid.
How To Check Your Transit Time
Although your exact transit time will vary based on what you eat, how hydrated you are, and other factors, the beet test can help figure out how things are moving along in general. (3)
Essentially, it works by “marking” a particular meal with bright red naturally occurring pigments called betalains that allow you to see when that meal is eliminated.
Here’s how to do it:
Eat approximately 3/4 cup of oven baked or steamed beets. Pickled beets and/or canned beets generally have less pigment so I suggest using fresh beets if possible.
Write down the time you ate the beets for future reference.
Glance into the toilet after a bowel movement and note the time that you first see red.
If you’re sensitive to beets – or just dislike them – you can stir 1-2 tablespoons of whole sesame seeds into a glass of room temperature water and drink it. Try not to chew the seeds. Write down the time just like you would with beets, then watch and note when you see them in your stool.
If you see pink between 12 – 24 hours . . .
This is generally considered an ideal transit time. It gives your body time to absorb nutrients efficiently while also keeping things moving, so that toxins meant to exit via stool don’t get reabsorbed through enterohepatic circulation.
If you see pink in more than 24 hours . . .
Your transit time may be on the sluggish side.
Now, it’s important to note that this is not a diagnostic tool. It’s simply a snapshot that you can use to better understand your gut motility – aka the process in which muscles contract along your digestive tract to propel food and waste through your system.
As you incorporate different practices – for example, making hydration a priority – you can recheck and see how things are trending over time. With that said, it’s important to keep things moving because stool is one of the main ways our bodies detox.
Here’s how it works:
Whether it’s pesticide residue, heavy metals, industrial air pollutants or something else, toxins share one thing in common – they’re either water-soluble or fat-soluble. And fortunately for us, we have two primary detox organs that specialize in handling them:
Our kidneys process and eliminate water-soluble toxins via urine. (Which is why it’s so important to drink enough clean, filtered water.)
Our liver converts fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble ones using a two-step process called Phase I and Phase II detox. Essentially, it slaps some handcuff molecules onto the toxins so that they can be carried out of the body via urine and poop.
Unfortunately, if those bound toxins stick around too long, the handcuffs can break and the toxins are then reabsorbed into the body. (4)
One important note: While many gut-health focused practitioners lean toward the 24 hour timeframe as optimal, some extend it out to roughly 48-72 hours as long as bloating or discomfort are not present.
Transit Tips To Keep Things Moving
Space snacks and meals about 3-4 hours apart. A foundational component of gut motility – the migrating motor complex – only activates in a fasted state. (5)
Slowly increase your fiber intake. Not only will it add bulk that supports healthy elimination, it will also serve as a “bouncer” that helps carry out the bound toxins and metabolic byproducts I mentioned earlier.
Support your microbiome. Beneficial gut microbes directly influence transit time by creating metabolites that promote motility. (6)
Hydrate. About 75% of a typical bowel movement is water, so it’s not surprising that insufficient water intake can lead to dry, hard stools that are difficult to pass (a significant factor contributing to constipation). (7)
Exercise. Research suggests that it accelerates gut transit time. (8)
Support proper alignment. In other words, get a Squatty Potty or something similar. Squatting instead of sitting can encourage better elimination by relaxing the puborectalis muscle.
Make time. Don’t ignore Mother Nature when she calls because it can disrupt your natural rhythm.
If you see pink in less than 12 hours . . .
It suggests a relatively fast transit time, which may affect nutrient absorption.
Here’s why: Your digestive tract is about 30 feet long and there’s a lot involved in breaking down nutrients, so when food moves quickly, your body may not have enough time to grab what it craves.
That’s a huge bummer when you’re prioritizing high quality foods and spending time preparing them.
Although it’s less common than slow motility, several factors, including food allergies, stress/anxiety, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and other medical conditions can cause faster transit times. (9) (10) (11)
According to Dr. Kerryn Phelps, author of The Mystery Gut, if you’re observing consistently fast transit times it’s a good idea to see your healthcare provider in order to rule out any major digestive issues. (12)
Transit Tips for Supporting Nutrient Absorption
Slowly include more soluble fiber into your diet. Psyllium husk, apple pectin and flax seeds are good options. (13)
Emphasize foods that are relatively easy to digest. Soups are a great option, and a dollop of sauerkraut or another fermented food with meals is well worth considering, too.
Looking for more support?
If you feel like you’ve tried every health trend out there and aren’t experiencing the changes you’re hoping for, let’s work together to create a customized approach just for you.
As a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P), I use in-depth functional lab testing with lifestyle changes to help women identify and resolve roadblocks to healing.
Sources 1. Yeong Yeh Lee et. al. (2014) How to assess regional and whole gut transit time with wireless motility capsule
2. Asnicar, Francesco et al. Blue poo: impact of gut transit time on the gut microbiome using a novel marker
3. Gursharan Kaur Nandhra et. al. (2019) Normative values for region specific colonic and gastrointestinal transit times in 111 healthy volunteers using the 3D Transit electromagnet tracking system: Influence of age, gender, and body mass index
4. Doctors Data. Beta-glucuronidase; stool
5. Joseph Feher (2012) Quantitative Human Physiology: Intestinal and Colonic Motility
6. Nicola Procházková et. al. (2022) Advancing human gut microbiota research by considering gut transit time
7. Piedmont. What your stool says about your health
8. Marie M. Jensen et. al. (2023) Associations Between Physical Activity and Gastrointestinal Transit Times in People with Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obesity
9. D A Gorard et. al. (1996) Intestinal transit in anxiety and depression
10. B. Lebwohl et. al. (2021) Epidemiology, Presentation, and Diagnosis of Celiac Disease
11. Henry J Binder (2009) Mechanisms of diarrhea in inflammatory bowel diseases
12. Helen Foster (2017) Gut transit time can be big indicator of your digestive health
13. G Friedman (1991) Diet and the irritable bowel syndrome
Heather is a holistic health educator, herbalist, DIYer, Lyme and mold warrior. Since founding Mommypotamus.com in 2009, Heather has been taking complicated health research and making it easy to understand. She shares tested natural recipes and herbal remedies with millions of naturally minded mamas around the world.
