你今天便便几次了？How many times have you moved your bowels?

这是我跟老公之间常有的对话。

This is a common dialogue between me and my husband.

“哇，我今天已经5次了呢！”

"Wow, I've moved my bowels 5 times today!"

“真的啊？我今天才两次呢！”

"Oh really? I've only cleared twice..."

是不是觉得我们真是无聊恶心，真是低级趣味。或者觉得，一天排这么多次身体有毛病？

Perhaps you're thinking, what disgusting conversations we have. Or you might think that there's something wrong with us moving our bowels so many times?

那么，你每天便便几次呢？还是，一星期便便几次呢？

So how many times do you move your bowels each day? Or perhaps, how many times do you move your bowels a week?

要是你每天都便一次，很抱歉，你便秘了。要是你两三天排一次，你是极度严重便秘。不骗你，我最不喜欢给人惊吓。

If it's once a day, I'm sorry, you're constipated. If you do it once in every 2 or 3 days, then you are pretty much severely constipated. I'm not lying, I don't enjoy frightening people.

我大概是3年前左右开始发现自己一天排便平均至少两次（有时候3、4次，最高纪录是7次）。那时候还不知道一天排一次其实也是便秘，但是觉得自己身体这新现象很有意思，于是跟一位正在学中医的朋友分享。她说，一天两次还可以吧，3、4次就太多了。当我跟人提起我最高纪录是7次时，一般对方会有点理直气壮地说，那是腹泻！哈哈，我不是腹泻。（其实，最高纪录那天我是做蔬果汁断呢，有意思吧？）

It was about maybe 3 years ago when I first noticed I had bowel movements at least twice a day (sometimes 3 or 4 times; my highest record was 7 times). I didn't know that once a day was constipation then, but I thought this phenomenon was something very interesting, so I shared this new experience with a friend who was learning traditional Chinese medicine. She told me that twice a day was acceptable, but 3 or 4 times wasn't quite right. Whenever I mention my highest record of 7 times, people tend to think I'm absurd, and say, that's diarrhea! Oh, but it's not diarrhea... (Actually, I was having a juice fast on this day of my highest record, interesting huh?)

怎么会这么多次呢？一般我起床以后，半小时以内会排第一次。然后吃完早饭，排第二次。下午或晚上，再排第三次、第四次。但是，也并不是每天都这么顺利，比如，要是那天有跟平常不一样的活动，或者一天在外头，那我几乎一定便秘。我有心理病，只要在不熟悉的地方，或是在不能让我完全放松的地方，我就不能排便，或者不想排便。所以我不喜欢一天到晚都在外头吧，因为，有便意却不能顺利如厕，是很辛苦的。

How do I manage to clear my bowels so many times? Usually within half an hour after getting up, I'll go once. Then after breakfast, I'll go a second time, and then another once or twice in the afternoon or at night. Ocassionally it doesn't go so smoothly though, typically when there's some activity that's out of my routine, or when I'm outside for a long time, then I would almost definitely end up constipated. I'm psychologically not right somewhere, if I'm somewhere I'm not familiar, or somewhere I can't totally relax, I just can't get my bowels going, or sometimes, I refuse to. That's I guess one of the reasons why I don't like to be outside the whole day, it's a torture feeling the need to clear your bowels yet not able to do so.

我并不觉得自己现在这样就算肠胃健康了。但是，跟过去比较，是非常大的进步。以前，我总是要么便秘，要么腹泻，肠胃从小就不好。不久前，妈妈告诉我一个我婴儿时期的趣事。她说，我是宝宝的时候跟其他兄弟姐妹不同，一天到晚睡觉，不吵闹，连便便也是两三天一次，那时候奶奶等人都感叹说，真是天生爱干净！这样的宝宝很好带吧？又省尿布。但是，现在才知道那是极端不正常，天生肠胃有问题，两三天排一次，里面是多么脏啊！（宝宝虽然只喝奶，还是应该一天排几次的。）我还记得，小时候很怕跟妈妈去Cold Storage超市，不知道为什么，一到那里，因为冷吧，我几乎一定肚子疼。

Although I generally move my bowels 3 times a day, I don't think that qualifies me to say that my digestive system is very healthy. However, compared to how I was like, I've improved lots. In the past, I either was constipated or had loose bowels, my digestive system had never been well. My mum told me something interesting about my baby days recently. She said I was quite different from my siblings, when I was a baby, I never gave much of a din, I would sleep day and night, even when it came to moving my bowels, I would do it only once in 2 or 3 days. My grandmother commented, what a clean baby! I was an easy baby to take care of wasn't I? I must have saved my parents quite a lot on diapers. But now, we know that I was clean outside, but horribly filthy inside, my digestive system wasn't working well right from the beginning. (Even though babies only drink milk, still their bowels should be cleared a few times a day.) I also remember that when I was young, I didn't like to go to Cold Storage with my mum for shopping, it might be because of the cold, my stomach would almost always give me problems whenever I was there.

那怎么现在一天为什么能最少两次，平均三次，多则四、五次呢？当我知道一天排一次其实太少以后，感到颇为惊喜，好像获得了很宝贵的讯息。我回想自己开始多排便的时候，正是我开始常吃糙米饭、吃沙拉的时候。

Then how come now I can do it at least 2 times, on average 3 times a day, or even 4 or 5 times on certain days? When I first found out that once a day was too little, I was quite pleasantly surprised, it was like I discovered some really wonderful news. I looked back and realized that the time when I started having frequent bowel movements was the time when I started having regular meals of brown rice and salads.

我们吃东西，目的是摄取营养。当然现在一般人不是这样，吃东西只是因为嘴馋，我也是……。但好在我们的身体比我们聪明，比我们理智，比我们伟大。我们身体是一个很大很复杂的工厂，尽管我们身为身体的主人，我们并不了解这工厂日以继夜如何为我们拼命，但是，它还是这么默默地为我们劳作。尽管我们总是对它施与各种压力，总是往里边倒入各种它根本不能接受的垃圾，它还是这么任劳任怨。遗憾的是，再棒的工厂，也不可能永远这么受尽虐待却依然坚固。

We eat to receive nutrients. Of course, most people today don't, we eat to enjoy ourselves, that's me too! But we're lucky that our body is smarter and wiser than us, it's so much more remarkable than us. Our body is an enourmous and complex factory. Despite how we, the owners, being so ignorant of how it works, bombard it with all kinds of pressure, dumping into it all kinds of waste that it can't take, our body toils for us day and night with no complaint. Nevertheless, however well made a factory is, it's just a matter of time that it succumbs to torture.

我常常懊悔，为什么自己对人体的构造这么不熟悉？不，应该说是一无所知。肝在那里，肺在哪里，什么是大肠，什么是小肠，很丢人，我都不知道。是因为我以前学习不好？又或者，我们的教育也并不太重视这方面？正如Norman Walker所说，我们每个人都应该好好认识我们的身体。我记得，升中三的时候，我就希望能修读生物。其实凡科学的科目我都想回避，但是既然要学，就学生物吧，我觉得，生物好应该比化学或者物理有意思多了。我这么告诉姐姐，一下子被她泼了冷水：想得可真美！原来，生物是要学习非常好才可以选修的，我连物理和化学都搞不定了，还学生物？我偏偏对学校要我先学会的物理和化学都没兴趣，或者说，讨厌到了极点，害怕到了极点，但是，身体是个什么样的东西，生命是怎么来的，我倒是感到相当有意思。不过，我总是觉得，这也是塞翁失马，焉知非福，因为，我怎么可能对动物做解剖？甚至，我庆幸我不需要做这样的事。我生生世世都不干这种事。

I often think in regret, why do I know so little about our body? Or rather, I should say, I know nothing about it. Where is our liver? And the lungs? And what's the colon? What are small intestines? It's a great shame, but I knew nothing of these. Perhpas I did too badly in school, that's why. Or perhaps, our system doesn't put much importance on this? Just like what Norman Walker said, everybody should learn about the anatomy of the human body. When I was moving on to Secondary 3, I thought maybe I should take up biology. Actually, if possible I'd want to avoid any science subjects, but since I had to learn them anyway, biology seemed a good choice. It seemed much more interesting than physics of chemistry. When I reported to my elder sister of my decision, she dampened my enthusiasm by telling me that biology was for those who did well on physics and chemistry. Oh, I see... I couldn't even handle those two, much less biology. Unfortunately, I didn't care for what the system wanted me to study as basics, in fact, I hated physics and chemistry, I was scared of these subjects, especially chemistry. But how the body works, what our body is like, what nature is like, what life is all about, I found these quite worthy of pursuing. But on hind sight, I think it was a blessing in disguise. How would I have been able to cut up animals? And I think I was lucky that I didn't have to do so, this is something I won't want to do in all my future lives.

在这里我也不敢冒充专家，只是略略把自己所学到的传达一下。

I won't try to pose as an expert here, I'll just share a bit of what I've learnt.

打从我们把食物放进嘴里，身体这大工厂就已经开工了。如果你是习惯囫囵吞枣的人，请注意，吃东西一定要细嚼慢咬。因为，当我们咀嚼的时候，口腔就会分泌唾液和酵素，这就减轻了我们胃部的负担。究竟要咀嚼多少次呢？有的说，至少也要三四十次，有的说五六十次，甚至有说一百次的。(《大长今》里头告诉我们至少10次，天啊，那实在是太少了，太少了！）有一次，我跟几个朋友吃饭，我们做了试验，朋友咀嚼20次，就吞下去了，我咀嚼了60次。20次，怎么咽得下去呢……当然，咀嚼多少次也得看是什么食物。我想，还好我天生吃东西吃得慢，要不然，我这天生不好的肠胃，不是更辛苦了？

As soon as food enters our mouth, our body starts working. If you're someone who gobbles up your food, then please take note. Chewing well makes for good digestion. As we chew, saliva and enzymes are secreted, which helps lessen the work load of our stomach. How many times should we chew? There are different theories, some say 30 to 40 times, some 50 to 60 times, some even a hundred! (If you've watched Jewel In The Palace, it's mentioned that we should chew 10 times, that's way too few!) Once, when lunching with some friends, we did a little experiment. My friend chewed 20 times and swallowed her food, while I chewed 60 times. I wouldn't have been able to swallow down what was in my mouth with just 20 chews. Of course, how long to chew would also depend on the type of food consumed. I think I'm lucky to have been born a slow eater. Had I been fast, how much more burden would my already weak digestive system have to bear?

食物吃到身体里，我们的胃、大肠小肠就开始忙碌了。不只是肠胃忙哦，其他的器官也不偷懒的，比方说我们的肝，它可是大功臣，工作多着呢，其中一个是帮我们解毒。别跟以前的我一样，以为只有杀虫剂啦，吃了马上就吐白沫倒下死去的那种东西才是毒。我们每天在外面买来包装得精美无比的所谓“美食”，在在都是毒！对身体是负荷的东西，身体所不能好好消化，善加利用的，都是毒。我们喝的酒，吃的药，无一不是毒。而无所不在的动物的肉，都是毒。（这是个大话题，这里不详说。）

As the food enters our body, our stomach and intestines start working. It's not just them who slave away, our other organs don't laze around either. For example, our liver has lots of tasks to manage, one of its functions is to help us remove poisons. If you're like how I was, thinking that poisons are stuff like insecticides or things that make you cough out white foam and drop dead immediately upon ingestion, then you're wrong. Poison is nicely wrapped up in the seemingly delicious "food" that we buy from outside. Anything that the body can't properly digest or make use of, is poison. The alcohol that we drink, the medicines that we take, these are all toxins. The different forms of meat that we find everywhere, these are all poisons. (This is a very big topic that I shan't dwelve on here.)

……写到这里，感到有点吃力了，已经江郎才尽，啊哈哈！既然我不是专家，那就跳过这工厂的工作程序吧……改天我会再介绍一些书，有兴趣的朋友请直接跟专家学习。

... Ok, the above has proven to be quite tough for me... haha. Since I'm not an expert, let me skip the workings of our wonderful factory. I'll be introducing some more books, so those interested can learn directly from the real experts.

那么回到排便的问题。一般的说法是，理想的是每天排一次。但是，也常听说，两三天排一次也是正常的。真的正常吗？

Back to the matter of bowel movement. It is generally thought that once a day is ideal. We also hear that once in every 2 or 3 days is acceptable too. But is this true?

我们的粪便是什么？为什么这么臭？因为是我们身体不需要的东西，是身体的负担，是身体希望早点排出的废物。也就是，我们吃进去以后，经过身体细细分解，身体所要淘汰，所要扔掉的东西。

What are feces? Why do they smell so terrible? Because they are what our body doesn't need, they are a burden to our system, they are something that our body wants badly to remove as soon as possible. That is, they are what our body, after doing all the breaking down, classifies as unwanted, as waste matter to be discarded.

那一天为什么要排便数次呢？并不是我们吃完一顿饭，马上就把刚吃进去的排出来。早上排出来的，是昨天吃进去的，下午晚上排出来的，则是早上吃进去的。正如Ray Kent常常说，这就像我们的地铁。出发了，当然要到站，要是出发了不到站，那是不是很诡异？你要是一天吃一餐，那一天排一次就正常得很。

Then why do we need to move our bowels a few times a day? It's not that what we eat comes out immediately after every meal. What comes out in the morning is what we ate yesterday, similarly what comes out in the afternoon or at night is what we had in the morning. Just like how Ray Kent puts it, it's like our train system. If a train departs, of course it has to reach somewhere. If it doesn't, wouldn't it be extremely bizarre? Unless of course, you eat only one meal a day. That would make one bowel movement a day perfectly ok.

我们吃进去的东西，离开胃以后，慢慢就进入了小肠大肠，胃空了，我们就开始想吃东西了，因此又开始进食。那么之前吃的东西现在在哪里呢？到了肠子了，算是成了粪便了，也就是身体不要的毒素，但是，要是我们纤维不够，就等于我们体内少了清道夫这么至关重要的员工。没有清道夫，垃圾就这么停滞在里头，累积在里头了！想想，这多可怕啊！废物留在里头越久，就失去越多水分，变得越干，越难排出来，慢慢就粘在我们的肠壁，越积越多，也就是我们常听到的素便（宿便）。也许有人会说，素便多就多嘛，有什么大不了？既然是毒素，为什么让它留在体内？我们的身体是一个有机体，我们的身体是活物，器官之间都互相影响，肠子里毒素累积多了，当然会影响我们身体其他部位的正常运作。这些毒素累积多了，我们各种各样的慢性病也就来了。其实，现代人几乎都有很多素便，就是像我们一天排3、4次，也是素便多多！

As food leaves our stomach, it enters the small intestines and colon. Our stomach, being empty now, calls us to feed it with the next batch of food. And so we succumb to the call and start eating the next meal. By this time, what has happened to the food that we had previously? It's already in the instestines, pretty much having become fecal matter and getting ready to leave our body. However, if our fibre intake is insufficient, it's akin to having an important post vacant inside, that is, the post of the sweeper in our body. Without him, waste accumulates inside, don't you think this is really gross? The longer waste matter stays inside, the more moisture it loses, and so the harder it becomes, and the more difficult it is to pass out. It then sticks on the walls of our colon, and when it accumulates, that becomes what we call old fecal matter. Some people might say, what's the big deal about old fecal matter？Well, since it's unwanted toxins, why leave it inside? Our body is a living organism, the different organs all affect one another in an intricate way. If the intestines are clogged up and unwell, of course it will affect the workings of our other organs. As toxins accumulate, we'll find that we're plagued with all kinds of chronic illnesses. In fact, the vast majority of people today have accumulated quite a whole lot of old waste inside them. Even people like me who move their vowels 3 times a day!

常常听人说自己肠胃不好，似乎这是通病，是人人都有的，司空见惯的，不足为奇的小毛病。其实，我们深入去思考一下，就不难发现，肠胃不健康，身体不可能健康。有的人可能其他方面好像很好，但是，那可能只是病症还没有爆发出来。要照顾好身体，首先就要照顾好肠胃。肠胃健康，我们的身体才有可能健康。肠胃怎么才能健康呢？因素很多，但是，饮食是至关重要的，也是我们最能掌握的一环。

We often hear people say that they have digestive problems, or something near that. It seems to be a pretty common problem, so common that I wonder if people consider it trivial. But in fact if we think deeper, we'll realize that a weak digestive system can't possibly result in good health. Some people might seem ok in other aspects, but seriously, couldn't it be just that other problems just haven't risen to the surface? To take care of our health, first we have to take care of our digestive system. Many factors have to be taken into consideration, but first and foremost, our eating habits are crucial. They are also one factor that is within our control.

我们常说病从口入，但是，多少人真正体会到这句话的精髓？

You are what you eat. This is a very common saying, but how many people truly understand this and keep it in mind?

很多所谓的食物，是我们身体根本无法吸收的东西，是有害物。什么东西不该吃呢，这恐怕要长篇大论一番了，今天就不多谈了。但是借用姜淑惠医师的话，肉、蛋、奶，都是今天社会的三大毒素。你要是不能断掉这三大毒，至少，少吃点吧？

Many 'foods' are in fact not stuff that our body can take in, and are harmful to our health. What are the things that we shouldn't eat? This would produce another lengthy post, so I shan't drive in on that. But to summarize using Dr Jiang Shuhui's words, the 3 leading poisons of today's society are meat, egg and milk. If you can't discontinue consumption of these, maybe you can try cutting down on them?

至于什么东西应该多吃，这倒是简单一些。除了上次我提过的蔬果汁以外，我们还应该多吃纤维。从哪里摄取？蔬菜、水果。而且应该尽量吃生的。生鲜蔬菜水果饱含了我们身体真正需要的营养，别煮熟了煮烂了，把这些宝贵的营养都毁掉了，那多可惜，多浪费！另外，只吃肉不吃菜的朋友可能会很失望：肉类都没有纤维，吃了只是白白给身体添加毒素负担。

As for what we should consume, I guess this is simpler. Apart from juice, which I recommended in a previous blog, get a high intake of fibre from fresh vegetables and fruits. As far as possible, try to take them raw. Raw vege and fruits contain such an abundance of nutrients that our body needs, it's such a waste to cook them and hence destroy the nutrients! Another point, no fibre is available in meat. Meat only gives your system unnecessary burden with its loads of toxins.

你今天便便了吗？几次了呢？

So, have you moved your bowels today? How many times?