Doctor reveals shocking theory behind why you suddenly need to use the toilet during shopping trips – and why BOOKSTORES act as powerful ‘natural laxative’ [Video]

10:55 EDT 12 Apr 2024 , updated 11:32 EDT 12 Apr 2024

A Harvard-trained doctor has revealed why shopping trips are more likely to have you running for the bathroom. 

Dr Saurabh Sethi, a gastroenterologist in California, took to TikTok to share that it’s not just your imagination: going shopping really does set off a signal in your bowels. 

In the video, which has over 30,000 views, Dr Sethi said: ‘Let me explain. This phenomenon is known as the Mariko Aoki phenomenon, which was first described in Japan in 1985.’

‘A lot of my patients have shared with me that they have also experienced the same thing.’

The term is named after a woman who wrote in a Japanese magazine that every time she wandered around in a bookstore, she had a sudden urge to use the restroom.