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Disadvantages and health risks
The sitting position causes the defecating human to assume a narrow anorectal angle, which some people believe is obstructive and causes difficulty in emptying the bowels. Critics of this posture say that squatting is "the only natural defecation posture".
The sitting position can cause the defecating human being to repeat the Valsalva maneuver many times and with great force, which may overload the cardiovascular system and cause defecation syncope. Sikirov also published 2004 study in which he compared the length of time needed to defecate using various postures, and concluded that the sitting defecation posture requires "excessive expulsive effort compared to the squatting posture".
A sitting posture may increase diverticulosis of the colon. The magnitude of straining during defecation is at least three times greater than with the squatting posture.
Is the Western toilet in part responsible for problems like hemorrhoids, constipation, IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), appendicitis, and even heart attacks?
If you examine the data, there is a great deal of evidence this is true. The modern toilet has required us to change the position we use to evacuate our bowels, which changes the anatomy of… well, a poop, to put it bluntly.
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Sitting to evacuate your bowel requires you to apply additional force (straining), which has some unwanted biological effects, including a temporary disruption in cardiac flow.
Explains Dr. David Gutman, founder and lead physician of Advanced Hemorrhoid Specialists, "Hemorrhoids are derived from anatomical structures called anal cushions — like small balloons — embedded within the wall of the anal canal. When abdominal pressure is increased, these cushions instantly fill with blood to form a hydraulic seal to help prevent leakage.
"If the anal cushions become stretched out or get irritated, they are called hemorrhoids and can cause bleeding, itching, pain, and the protrusion of tissue through the rectum," the last condition also known as Jimmyfallonitis. "Sitting on the toilet too long can increase pressure on these anal cushions, which may eventually cause them to become hemorrhoids."
So, like the Emperor’s New Clothes, the water closet was tacitly accepted. It was a grudging acceptance, as evidenced by the popularity of "squatting stools" sold in the famous department store, Harrods of London. As shown below on the left, these footstools merely elevated one's feet in a crude attempt to imitate squatting.