Preparations before taking Dr. Ouellette's Wellness Knowledge Calculator.

Wellness Recovery is our goal.

Wellness Risk Management

There are some things for you to do in advance that will make taking this Wellness Risk measurement easier for you. You should collect these five measurements on yourself first, before you take TheQ so you will have them ready.

• Height
• Weight
• Waist Circumference at the narrowest point, or at the belly button if you have a large abdomen.
• Hip Circumference at the widest point. This is always around the hips. 
• Your Bowel Transit Time. (BTT)

Note: If you do not have a narrow part of your waist then measure at the widest part usually close to the belly button. Then move down to the hips and measure at the widest part again around the hips.

To calculate your BOWEL TRANSIT TIME (BTT), eat a handful of sunflower seeds with a large meal of the day, but do not chew them very well. You want to leave the cellulose layer around the seed so it stays undigested and acts like a marker system.

On a sheet of paper mark the time and date when the seeds were first taken. Now watch your bowel movements and when you see the kernels of sunflower seeds come out in your stools, then mark this time down. Corn also works well as a marker.

Calculate the hours between the two recorded times. Don't try to remember the times, write them down. That time difference is your BTT. This gives us a measure of colon health.

Please know, the BTT is NOT the timing between bowel movements.

Timing between bowel movements is not important as it varies quite a lot. We are interested in the transit time of a meal from the mouth to the toilet when you are feeling well. We are not interested in the timing when your bowel movements may be very loose and watery. In that case, wait for another time to test.

You can use corn on the cob as well and not chew it, or only chew it a tiny amount.

If you decide to take the online consultation measurement right away before you determine your BTT, then just use 24 hours as your BTT if you do not know what the real number is. The next time you take TheQ you will have figured out your true BTT. Remember that the number of times that you may have a bowel movement in a day is not indicating your BTT nor your bowel health. You actually need to measure it the way we describe here.

Click here to go back to the register page and sign up now.