When my girlfriend first moved in, I marveled at how she never seemed to use the bathroom when I was around. When she did, the shower water always seemed to be running... I figured she was just shy about using the can.

But recently, something happened which rocked my world and transformed my understanding of the female species (ok they're not a separate species, but work with me here). We went on a trip to a third world country, and she didn't go number two once. For one whole week!

Wow... that is some digestive discipline. If I went three days without a bowel movement, I would be taking a cab to the nearest hospital. If I were a week "pregnant", I don't even know how swollen my belly would be.

But my traveling companion had no problems with her week-long vacation from it all. I asked for details, and what I discovered shocked me.

Apparently, girls often go many days without a bowel movement (or as the medical term goes, they are often constipated). The odds are especially bad for Asians. I kinda knew this, but never really thought about it. As an Asian female, my girlfriend is 4 times more likely than a white male to be constipated!!  Wow, those are some brutal odds.

Now that I think about it, I've seen some info on this recently. Activia yogurt is aimed at women who have this very issue.  If you eat their yogurt every day for two weeks and it doesn't "naturally regulate your digestive system", then they will give you your money back.  This is probably a profitable guarantee for them — because if you're not naturally regulated within two weeks, you would be in the hospital and too sick to collect!

I guess all that time I figured my girlfriend was running the shower to mask the sounds of number two... she really was just taking a shower.

I wonder if this is a broader issue for women. Do you have umm... "issues" with constipation? Or put another way, how regular are you?