It's tempting to think of feces as simply the used-up remains of the food you ate - the stuff that makes it through after digestion. Lactobacillus johnsonii, a beneficial species of gut bacteria. 1) Poop is mostly bacteria - not old food

Here are some facts about poop you might like to know.

With that in mind, I spoke to Robynne Chutkan, a gastroenterologist at Georgetown Hospital and the author of Gutbliss and the forthcoming The Microbiome Solution: a pair of books about the gastrointestinal tract, the microbes that live in it, and the stool that comes out of it.

Paying closer attention to your stool can tell you about the condition of these vital bacteria - and your overall health. The scientists and doctors who study feces have found that it's the byproduct of a diverse community of bacteria in your gut that impacts your health in all sorts of ways. But that doesn't mean everybody's aware of all there is to know about it.