Did you know women have longer colons than men – on average four to five inches longer? That may not seem like much but it can cause a lot of extra looping and twists and turns – what I like to call: The Voluptuous Venus Colon.
Women also have a wider, deeper, pelvis in order to accommodate a fetus during pregnancy. This means that in women, the colon is located low down in the pelvis, where it has to compete for space with the reproductive organs. Men have a narrower pelvis so most of their colon ends up in the roomier abdominal area, and when it is in the pelvis, the only other thing taking up space there is a very small prostate gland.
Men also have higher levels of testosterone, which causes their abdominal muscles to be tighter and stronger. In women, lower testosterone levels means a weaker abdominal wall – kind of like a stretched out Spanx. That leads to lots of looping and bloating of the intestines because you don’t have a strong abdominal wall binding everything in nice and tightly.
These three factors – a longer colon, a wider pelvis, and lower levels of testosterone – unfortunately all add up to lots more bloating and constipating for women. But it’s not all bad news – check out what you can do to help decompress your curvy colon – and it works for both women and men!
