Pooing is part and parcel of life. Everyone does it, whether you care to think about it or not. Even Jennifer Lawrence. So, it’s probably important to know how much you should be dropping the kids off at the pool on any given day, right?

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After all, your crap habits can sometimes hold the key to any number of health issues, big and small. So, being in the know when it comes to pooing is important.

Thankfully, the online GP service Doctify offered up some useful information on that very subject recently. According to Gastroenterologist Dr Reshma Rakshit (yes, that’s their actual surname) adults should be plopping anywhere between one and three times a day.

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The consistency of these stools is also crucial to analysing health – if it’s coming out like a milkshake, you may have a problem. Even so, anyone having more than three poos per day may still be considered normal. It’s more when there is a sudden increase that you should probably take notice.

Once again though, this can be down to everything from excessive boozing or even food poisoning. Changes in diet, the use of certain medications and even an intolerance to things like wheat can also be a factor.

Stress or anxiety can even prompt an increase in crapping too but there are other potential concerns like bowel inflammation or even cancer, so if you struggle to find a link to any of the previous conditions, it might be worth talking to a doctor.

On the other end of the scale, anyone having three craps or fewer over the course of any given week may be suffering from constipation or “shimpotence”. To these folk, passing stools often feels like giving birth to a very small and very smelly baby. Said stools are also often lumpy and golf ball like. Also, if you are straining to get them out, it’s not a good sign.

You need more fibre and more fluid in your body. Certain medications and issues like pregnancy, weak pelvic muscles or an under active thyroid can all also contribute to the issue. Then again, some cancers have been known to cause blockages. The message is simple enough though: if there is something funky going on during your toilet time, talk to a doctor. They’ve heard and seen it all before.

One person who definitely should’ve gone to a doctor is this guy who had to have a 28-pound poo surgically removed from his intestine after being constipated for 22 years. Imagine the relief he felt after that surgery.