Misconceptions about Constipation
The incidence of chronic constipation in the general population, based on self-reported statistics, ranges from 2-30%. At the higher end of the incidence scale, it is not unreasonable to imagine that many misconceptions about constipation and bowel movements have sprouted up. There are two major ones which upon inspection are related to each other.
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One is a misconception about toxicity of colonic contents that have resided in the colon for too long. The other is a misconception about the "best" frequency for bowel movements.
The Myth of Toxin Build-up
There is a popular idea that if stool remains in the colon too long (i.e. chronic constipation), it leads to build-up of excessive toxins. This idea, interestingly, can be found in translated Egyptian papyrus (using the Rosetta stone) dating from 3600 years ago. This idea known as autointoxication, was kept alive and reached great heights during the early 1900s in English medicine. At that time, autointoxication was ascribed as the cause to many other disorders, and vilified as the most widespread disease in the advanced world.
The theory of toxic chronic constipation is based on the idea that stool that has slowed down in its journey through the colon starts to develop bacterial growths. These bacteria produce toxins which then lead to various ailments. Things as unrelated, and ludicrous, as high blood pressure, arthritis, cancers and skin conditions were blamed on autointoxication. Nowadays, we know the origins of each of those conditions lie elsewhere, and treat them correspondingly at the source rather than in the colon.
Why There is No Evidence for Autotoxicity
But could toxins from chronic constipation be produced by bacteria in the stool that cause problems other than the ones listed above? There are two arguments against the theory. The first one is that toxins which cause any of the ailments popularly ascribed to autointoxication have never been isolated. The would-be famous scientist or physician who isolates such a toxin would prove his case by introducing the toxin in animals to show that it does indeed cause rashes, cancer or another disease. However, no such toxin has ever been found. The other argument against the theory is that it is blamed for just about everything, and yet no controlled study has found that any of the purported colonic cleansing methods to have reduced the severity of the conditions caused by autointoxication.
Why There is No "Healthy" Frequency of Bowel Movements
The scientific and medical community is now set quite strongly against the theory. Likewise, the various colon cleansing products, laxatives and enemas are generally not recommended by physicians. The topic speaks to another misconception about chronic constipation. Because of a fear of autotoxicity, patients often wonder if their bowel movement frequency is too low. But physicians caution that while regular, daily bowel movements may be the norm, lower frequencies on the order of three or fewer bowel movements per week do not pose an immediate problem in the manner suggested by autointoxication theories. There is only a select, small group of patients for which low frequency of bowel movements is worrying.
Sources:
Muller-Lissner, The Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Constipation, Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 2009; 106(25):424-32