Was talking about that with my GP. His view was that there's a lot of variance on that front, and that we shouldn't read too much into it. In particular, it's not because your shit isn't "perfect" that you're unhealthy, and there's not much to do about it anyway.
Don't shoot the messenger! I know this is HN where people want (and think they can) optimise everything,
On a lighter note, this paper is _really_ studying the gut flora which we do know has at least some impact on immunological function.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzXPyCY7jbs
>The German toilets, the old type -- now they are disappearing but you still find them -- it's the opposite. The hole is in front. So that when you produce excrement, they are displayed in the back, they don't disappear in water. This is the German ritual, you know, use it every morning, sniff, inspect your shits for traces of illness. It's High Hermeneutic. I think the original meaning of Hermeneutic for Germans may be this.
Žižek: Ideology and Toilets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpSiMbkhkuE
>"It is easy for an academic at a round table to claim that we live in a post-ideological universe, but the moment he visits the lavatory after the heated discussion, he is again knee-deep in ideology."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics
>Hermeneutics (/ˌhɜːrməˈnjuːtɪks/)[1] is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretive principles or methods we resort to when immediate comprehension fails. Rather, hermeneutics is the art of understanding and of making oneself understood.
We called this the "shit shelf". And it had the unfortunate side effect of exposing the smell, so you got used to flushing during and not just after.
From the History of European Stool Inspections, Henry O.R. Scrap (Oxford 2003)
Nominal determinism.
Here in Italy we are checked every two years at +50yo: huge lines of people dropping off their small amounts of (safely stored in an appropriate container) poo. A few weeks later...good news, or bad, in the post. Both my wife and I were a bit embarrassed at first, being relative youngsters, but the over 70s - a great day out for them.
I figure this is why the parent post is recommending more research into the area. Your GP is probably right that you shouldn't look and draw conclusions, but I'm curious as to whether it's because conclusions can't be drawn, or because we simply haven't learned how to draw the right conclusions yet.
"Not perfect" for means "meh" (sometimes too solid, sometimes too liquid, sometimes with weird things inside, ...). If I had systematically a weird poo I would be worried.
At the same time: it is not because your poo is "perfect" that everything is fine. Some things you cannot see, some other are not there but somewhere else (even related to colon, stomach, ...)