Think you know how to poo? You've been doing it wrong all your life

Bad news if you've just been to the loo - you're doing it wrong. The humble toilet is a standard installation in our homes, but it might not be helping us have the healthiest bowels we can, according to an author who is an expert in bowel movements.

In fact, we should ditch the throne and squat down to defecate, according to Giulia Enders. Currently studying for her doctorate in microbiology in Frankfurt, Giulia's debut book, Darm mit Charme, which translates as Charming Bowels, has sold 200,000 copies in her native Germany, and people are gripped by her descriptions -and diagrams - of how we should be pooing.

Various studies have been carried out, apparently, showing that we can simply poo more efficiently if we squat.

Sitting, rather than crouching while doing your business unnecessarily prolongs the process and may explain why haemorrhoids and bowel diseases like diverticulitis are more common in Europe than in Asia.

Apparently the closure mechanism of the gut is like a kinked house - it's not designed to “open the hatch completely” when we're sitting or standing.

Squatting, like they do in toilets in the Far East, is a more natural position and puts less pressure on our bottoms.

Enders said: "1.2 billion people around the world who squat have almost no incidence of diverticulosis and fewer problems with piles."

Putting our feet on a small stool while we're on the loo could help, but the bottom line is - we're going to have to relearn how to poo.

 ...TheMirror