What is Gut Transit Time? And How to Measure it at Home
Our digestive system is constantly communicating with us, and one way to learn from your body is to determine how long it takes for food to travel from your mouth to your stool, known as "Whole Gut Transit Time."
In this article, we'll explore what this test can reveal about your body and gut microbiome, as well as how to measure your transit time at home.
What is gut transit time?
The time it takes for the food you eat to travel through your digestive system and be eliminated is called your gut transit time.
Think of it as the time it takes for dinner to go from the table to the toilet. Your gut transit time is a key indicator of how well your microbiome is functioning.
Ideally, this timeline should be between 12-24 hours. A time less than 12 hours could mean you're passing food through your system too quickly, not properly breaking it down, or absorbing nutrients. A time beyond 24 hours could mean you are constipated.
So, we want the timeline to be neither too fast nor too slow.
How to Test Your Transit Time:
Choose your marker:
Sweetcorn (one cup cooked)
Sesame seeds (two teaspoons mixed in a glass of water)
Red beetroot (one cup raw or cooked)
Avoid eating your food marker for a week before conducting the gut test.
Consume the marker alone, one hour away from other food, and record the time and date.
Check your stool for the food marker and record the time and date when you first pass it.
Calculate the difference between time #3 and #4 to find your transit time.
Compare your transit time with the ideal range of 12-48 hours.
If it’s too slow (more that 24 hours)
A slow transit time is considered a sign of constipation. Slow transit times can be a sign of imbalanced gut flora, toxin build-up, or higher likelihood of gas and bloating, SIBO and pathogenic infections
How to improve slow transit time:
Increase your fiber intake to promote healthy bowel movements. Some fiber-rich foods include broccoli, beans, sweet potatoes, berries, apples, brown rice, and almonds.
Move your body. In addition to a hit of endorphins, regular movement can also improve motility and keep you regular.
Drink dandelion root tea or ginger tea between meals.
For more tips for constipation, check out this article.
Too fast (less than 12 hours)
This means that food is passing through your digestive system too quickly. A quick transit time suggests that you may not be absorbing nutrients from your food properly. Fast transit times can be a sign of nutrient deficiencies or gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or celiac disease.
How to improve fast transit time:
Slowly incorporate more soluble fibers that will absorb water and help bulk up the stool. Good sources include oats, psyllium, or apple pectin.
Opt for cooked vegetables instead of raw vegetables.
Incorporate fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi or kefir to help bring in friendly bacteria.
Try a probiotic, such as Sacchromyces Boulardii, which has been found to help with diarrhea.
Something to Remember
Certain foods will naturally move more slowly or quickly through your digestive system, depending on their fiber and water content.
Gut transit time can be impacted by many factors such as water intake, caffeine, alcohol, or stress and anxiety.
This at home test is not a perfect measure, but it will give you a good idea of where you stand. At the end of the day, transit time is just one piece of information if you’re investigating your bowel movements.
References
Nature Microbiology, “Colonic transit time is related to bacterial metabolism and mucosal turnover in the gut”, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551461/
Clinical Gastroenterology, “The Use of Probiotics in Healthy Volunteers With Evacuation Disorders and Hard Stools”, DOI: 10.1097/MCG.0b013e3181ee31c3
American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, “Distal colonic transit is linked to gut microbiota diversity and microbial fermentation in humans with slow colonic transit.”, https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpgi.00283.2019/
Journal of Fungi “Saccharomyces boulardii: What Makes It Tick as Successful Probiotic?”, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32512834/
*Disclaimer: This exercise is not intended to diagnose any medical conditions nor is it a substitute for professional medical evaluation.
