Speaker 1: You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Garland. Hi. Everyone,
Speaker 1: welcome to I Choose Me. This podcast is all about
Speaker 1: the choices we make and where they lead us. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about our bellies aka our gut. Having a healthy
Speaker 1: gut is vital to our overall health. It not only
Speaker 1: aids in proper digestion and nutrient absorption, but it's also
Speaker 1: associated with positive mental health and emotional well being, a
Speaker 1: robust immune system, and protecting us from chronic inflammation and
Speaker 1: other chronic diseases. My guest today is someone I think
Speaker 1: we all need to listen to because what we're about
Speaker 1: to discuss. Yep, you guessed it. Gut health is connected
Speaker 1: to so many different things in our bodies. She is
Speaker 1: a gastro enterrologist and the author of Gut Renovation. Please
Speaker 1: welcome doctor Roshini Raj to the podcast. Hi, Hi, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for being with us today. This is
Speaker 1: going to be good, Okay, Gut health This is my
Speaker 1: number one and most important question. Gut health is linked
Speaker 1: to the aging process. Right. If we don't get our
Speaker 1: gut health in check, what are some of the possible
Speaker 1: risks we could be facing?
Speaker 2: One hundred percent So I wrote a book a couple
Speaker 2: of years ago called Gut Renovation, and it is all
Speaker 2: about exactly what you're discussing. How does gut health affect
Speaker 2: how we age, how we optimally age, and everything from
Speaker 2: external things like our hair and our skin, but also
Speaker 2: our internal aging, which is so important. You know, whether
Speaker 2: we develop certain chronic diseases, things like heart disease, you know,
Speaker 2: autoimmune diseases, inflammation throughout the body, which we know is
Speaker 2: kind of the key to how we age, as well
Speaker 2: as things like even cancer. So what we know now
Speaker 2: is that our gut microbiome and that's that community of
Speaker 2: bacteria organisms that live inside our gut, really dictate most
Speaker 2: of the processes that go on throughout our body from
Speaker 2: head to toe. And it can influence even things like
Speaker 2: collagen breakdown and elast and breakdown in our skin. It
Speaker 2: can influence whether there's inflammation, you know, causing build up
Speaker 2: of cholesterol in our arteries, in our heart or brain.
Speaker 2: So it really does affect everything, you know. I think
Speaker 2: mental health is a huge connection that we're now really
Speaker 2: mind connection. So I really think if you look at
Speaker 2: any aspect of aging, there is definitely like a line
Speaker 2: you can draw to your gut microbiome. And that's why
Speaker 2: I'm so passionate about taking care of your gut microbiome.
Speaker 1: I know, I'm so glad you are because I don't
Speaker 1: know a lot about this, but I know how it
Speaker 1: can really mess you up. So if you have an
Speaker 1: unhealthy gut, also, is there another word that we can
Speaker 1: call it other than gut?
Speaker 2: We can for sure, we can say microbiome, we can
Speaker 2: say digestion.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't know the word.
Speaker 1: Gut just freaks me out a little bit. But let's
Speaker 1: keep going. Let's use gut because that's what people know. Okay,
Speaker 1: what are some signs that you might have an unhealthy gut?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great question. So I'm a gastroentrologist, so
Speaker 2: I definitely see people in my office every day who
Speaker 2: have signs of an unhealthy gut. And I think some
Speaker 2: of the more basic or maybe obvious things are, you know,
Speaker 2: bowel irregularity, you're bloating, or pain in your abdomen, things
Speaker 2: like that. But what I think people don't realize could
Speaker 2: also be signs of an unhealthy gut are mood changes,
Speaker 2: just feeling kind of foggy, you know, feeling tired all
Speaker 2: the time, fatigued, joint pain. All of these things can
Speaker 2: be related to a disordered gut or disordered microbiome, meaning
Speaker 2: the balance of your good and bad bacteria is not
Speaker 2: where you would want it to be. And so that's
Speaker 2: why I think it's so important to take care of
Speaker 2: your gut, you know, investigate what's going on there, because
Speaker 2: you may notice positive changes once you have a better
Speaker 2: gut microbiome in every aspect of your life, not just
Speaker 2: how often you're gowning the mouth room that kind of thing.
Speaker 1: Well, we're learning so much about women's health, so much
Speaker 1: more about women's health now, thank god, and we're learning
Speaker 1: a lot about menopause and fatigue, brain fog, achy joints
Speaker 1: are all signs symptoms of menopause too, Like how do
Speaker 1: you know what is what?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not always easy to distinguish, but I will
Speaker 2: say that your gut health is also affected by menopause,
Speaker 2: because just like your gut is related to your mind
Speaker 2: and there's like a two way conversation there, your gut
Speaker 2: is also related to hormones and there's a two way
Speaker 2: conversation there. And as we go through the changes of
Speaker 2: menopause and all the different hormonal fluctuations that can affect
Speaker 2: your microbiome and vice versa. So it's not always easy
Speaker 2: to tease out. We know that, you know, making sure
Speaker 2: your hormones are sort of in the right balance during
Speaker 2: menopause can make a huge difference in symptoms, but things
Speaker 2: like bloating, irregularity, all of that can come as symptoms
Speaker 2: of menopause as well. And sometimes if you just rebalance
Speaker 2: your microbiome, whether that's through die or taking a probiotic,
Speaker 2: you can experience significant relief even if you're not taking
Speaker 2: actual hormone replacement and things like that.
Speaker 1: Interesting, that's so exciting because yeah, I guess it's all
Speaker 1: one and the same basically, So if you get your
Speaker 1: gut healthy, then it will have a positive impact on
Speaker 1: the rest of your body exactly exactly.
Speaker 2: It's really important.
Speaker 1: Is it possible to get your gut health under control
Speaker 1: and sort of reverse the signs of aging?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it is. I think that you know,
Speaker 2: sometimes people and it's funny because I write about this
Speaker 2: in sort of introduction to my book, where as a doctor,
Speaker 2: I see sometimes an eight year old woman walk in
Speaker 2: and she literally jumps on the table and has so
Speaker 2: much energy and just you know, oh I love that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, she just.
Speaker 2: Looks and it's so inspiring, and she looks and feels
Speaker 2: so much younger than her actual age that's written in
Speaker 2: the chart. And then I can see the opposite. I'll
Speaker 2: see let's say a forty year old woman come in
Speaker 2: and she's you know, she's just walking very slowly or
Speaker 2: hunched over. She just looks miserable, and she looks much
Speaker 2: older and feels much older than her state of age.
Speaker 2: So I think that definitely what's going on internally can
Speaker 2: absolutely affect how you age. And then yes, because I
Speaker 2: can sometimes see those same people that didn't you know,
Speaker 2: look or feel so great, come back, you know, or
Speaker 2: a year later or six months later when they've really
Speaker 2: been working on their microbiome, and it's like a different person.
Speaker 2: Ten years have been erased from there.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's good, that is from there, that's what I
Speaker 1: want to hear.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So it's definitely not, by any means a done deal.
Speaker 2: There are definitely things we can do, and our microbiome
Speaker 2: is always evolving, which is why you know, you do
Speaker 2: have to keep on it. It's not like a one
Speaker 2: and done. I took care of it. Now I'm good
Speaker 2: for the rest of my life. You have to really
Speaker 2: pay attention to it. Like most things when it comes
Speaker 2: to our health, you need to kind of pay attention
Speaker 2: to it on a daily basis.
Speaker 1: Okay, we've all heard about probiotics prebiotics. What is the
Speaker 1: difference between a prebiotic and a probiotic?
Speaker 2: Great question. So a probiotic and literally pro means four
Speaker 2: and iotic is your health basically, So, a probiotic is
Speaker 2: a good bacteria supplement or or actually within foods, good
Speaker 2: bacteria that confer some health benefit to a human being,
Speaker 2: to the person who's taking it. Now, a prebiotic is
Speaker 2: something that feeds a probiotic. So if you think about
Speaker 2: your gut, which I know you don't like that word,
Speaker 2: when we think about it as like a field of
Speaker 2: beautiful flowers, the fly.
Speaker 1: Is a field of beautiful flowers. Okay, I'm envisioning it.
Speaker 2: We're going to transform that word for you. But yeah,
Speaker 2: so it's beautiful flowers. The beautiful flowers are your good,
Speaker 2: healthy bacteria, the things that are protecting you, and they're
Speaker 2: secreting hormones and neurotransmitters and all sorts of important things
Speaker 2: for your body that you really need. So those are
Speaker 2: the flowers, and you want them to grow and be beautiful.
Speaker 2: A prebiotic think of it as the fertilizer that you're
Speaker 2: sprinkling on it that's going to feed those flowers and
Speaker 2: allow them to flourish and grow and blossom. So prebiotics
Speaker 2: are basically food for your good bacteria. Most probiotics come
Speaker 2: in the form of fiber. So that's why fruits and
Speaker 2: vegetables and whole grains are so great for you. One
Speaker 2: of the reasons. One of the reasons they have great
Speaker 2: vitamins and antioxidants and all that, but the fiber content
Speaker 2: is really what's feeding your microbiome. And that's that's why
Speaker 2: we always encourage people, you know, Americans, it's said only
Speaker 2: about ninety five percent of Americans are not getting the
Speaker 2: recommended amount of fiber, so we all could be doing
Speaker 2: a better job with that. And this is one of
Speaker 2: the reasons why fiber is so crucial, because it feeds
Speaker 2: you the good stuff and make sure you maintain a
Speaker 2: healthy microbiome.
Speaker 1: I've just added fiber into my diet, so fabulous. I'm
Speaker 1: feeling good about that.
Speaker 2: It's so important. I mean That's what inspired me to
Speaker 2: start ya Day, you know, our probiotic Fiber company, and
Speaker 2: I just think it's a real need in our society,
Speaker 2: especially American the American diet, and I find that as
Speaker 2: a gastroenttrologist, I recommend fiber to I don't know seventy
Speaker 2: percent of my patients because like almost every GI condition
Speaker 2: can be improved with fiber. But a lot of times
Speaker 2: they don't follow through because they don't like the way
Speaker 2: it tastes, or they feel like it makes them feel
Speaker 2: ancient if they're taking fiber every day, you know. So
Speaker 2: we really with Yaday, tried to come up with a
Speaker 2: much more modern, fresh, tasty, delicious formula.
Speaker 1: It's a little confusing, I gotta be honest. Pre biotic probiotic, Okay,
Speaker 1: So do you don't have to take one before the other?
Speaker 1: Or because when I think of pre I think you
Speaker 1: should take that before.
Speaker 2: Does imply that? But no, because you in your body
Speaker 2: right now as we speak, have plenty of good bacteria
Speaker 2: that could use nourishment at any time of the day
Speaker 2: or night. So you can take a probatic whenever you want,
Speaker 2: and then again because you already have your probiotics naturally,
Speaker 2: you don't necessarily need to take a probiotic, but if
Speaker 2: you want it to take one, I do think you
Speaker 2: can get it imformented foods, you know, whether that's yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut,
Speaker 2: me So there are a lot of different ways to
Speaker 2: get it, or taking a supplement can definitely be ben
Speaker 2: official in certain circumstances for certain things. But what I
Speaker 2: like about probatics it's sort of feeding all your good bacteria,
Speaker 2: as opposed to a probatic that might just have one
Speaker 2: strain or two strains or you know.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, that's another question. They always say how many
Speaker 1: thousands of whatever strains?
Speaker 2: Yeah, billions and billions.
Speaker 1: Billions strains, so that you want just like the higher
Speaker 1: the number, the better, No, And.
Speaker 2: I think that can be kind of confusing and also
Speaker 2: a bit of marketing, where twenty billion is necessarily better
Speaker 2: than five billion, you know. I do think that usually
Speaker 2: you need a certain threshold, like one billion at least
Speaker 2: to have a good clinical effect, but beyond that, it
Speaker 2: really depends on the strain, how they're you know, what
Speaker 2: they're mixing it with. So I wouldn't get sort of
Speaker 2: seduced by this bigger is always better when it comes
Speaker 2: to biotics, and it is confusing. I mean, I don't
Speaker 2: even know how many out there. Probably there's probably a
Speaker 2: billion of companies out there, maybe not that many, but
Speaker 2: it's very hard to choose which one. And I think
Speaker 2: that's when I do you think talking to your healthcare
Speaker 2: provider can be helpful? Because different proetics are helpful for
Speaker 2: different things. They're probatics for vaginal health. We were talking about menoplause.
Speaker 2: I mean, there are many different ways you can take
Speaker 2: care of your gut and other microbiomes in your body.
Speaker 2: So I think some guidance is important on a more individual,
Speaker 2: personalized level when it comes to that.
Speaker 1: Okay, I have another question about probiotics. You know, when
Speaker 1: you go into the fancy grocery store I won't name names,
Speaker 1: and there is a sea of wall, a literal wall
Speaker 1: full of probiotic quote unquote healthy sodas. Yes, are those
Speaker 1: actually good for our gut? Because there are so many
Speaker 1: and they're so pretty, like there's all beautiful cans.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, I know, and I mean some of
Speaker 2: them are doing really well. You see prebiotic sodas, you
Speaker 2: see probiotic sodas. I think one thing that you need
Speaker 2: to be careful of is what else is in the soda,
Speaker 2: and you know, make sure you're looking at the other ingredients,
Speaker 2: because if there are some probiotics in there, you know,
Speaker 2: all the health benefits will be negated by the massive
Speaker 2: amounts of sugar that might be in there. I think
Speaker 2: that the artificial coloring or you know, whatever it is
Speaker 2: that's making it look so pretty, So definitely read your
Speaker 2: labels carefully. I will say that, you know, for many
Speaker 2: companies like that, you do have to really wonder about
Speaker 2: are they just sort of sprinkling some probiotics in there
Speaker 2: or is it the actual dose that you would need
Speaker 2: to see a benefit. And I do think some of
Speaker 2: the bigger ones, because they're under they're bigger, they're under scrutiny,
Speaker 2: they have been, you know, pretty good about making sure
Speaker 2: they are giving you at least a decent amount. It's
Speaker 2: not all marketing, but I mean you raise a valid concern.
Speaker 2: It's it's not easy to know for sure if those
Speaker 2: are really helping. And I think for me personally, I
Speaker 2: think trying to get your probiotics through foods and your
Speaker 2: probatics through foods that are also healthy for you. In
Speaker 2: many other ways, like fruits and vegetables. I talked about fiber,
Speaker 2: you know, I think fermented foods. These are ways that
Speaker 2: not only are you going to get you know, you're
Speaker 2: going to get a healthy dose of probiotics and probotics,
Speaker 2: but you're also getting vitamins and antioxidants and all the
Speaker 2: other fabulous things that come along with those foods.
Speaker 1: Okay, So if I do succumb to buying a pretty
Speaker 1: can of pro or prebiotic beverage, what is the dose
Speaker 1: that I'm looking for that would be beneficial? And does that?
Speaker 1: Does it say it on the can?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it should say it, probably in fine print on
Speaker 2: the can somewhere. But you do want to I mean again,
Speaker 2: I don't think I would rely on drinks or sodas
Speaker 2: write as much as you need on a daily basis,
Speaker 2: but it certainly can't hurt. So if you say something
Speaker 2: like a billion, I think you're in good shape. If
Speaker 2: it's less than that, I mean, and you're probably don't
Speaker 2: you don't want to drink several cans a day necessarily?
Speaker 2: I would say, drink it because you like it, but
Speaker 2: not necessarily because you're going to get some huge probiotic benefit.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's that's very revealing. I like that you said
Speaker 1: too about like the sugar content is very important than
Speaker 1: anything I think. I don't eat sugar, and I see
Speaker 1: massive benefits to my overall well being in health and
Speaker 1: mental health. Oh man, does sugar damage the gut? Is
Speaker 1: it going in there and killing all the good stuff?
Speaker 2: Yeah? In a word, yes, so definitely there are certain
Speaker 2: things that are damaging to your gut microbiome, to those
Speaker 2: healthy bacteria that you want to be flourishing and blossoming.
Speaker 2: Sugar can be directly toxic to your microbiome. So you
Speaker 2: can see people who have like a high sugar diet,
Speaker 2: they'll have a shift in their microbiome towards a more
Speaker 2: unhealthy mobile. The good bacteria are not as plentiful in
Speaker 2: that situation. Other things that can be toxic to your
Speaker 2: gut are alcohol, antibiotics for sure, that can definitely wipe
Speaker 2: out your all your healthy bacteria. So definitely, sugar is
Speaker 2: one thing you want to be mindful of in your
Speaker 2: diet for many reasons, but particularly if you're looking to
Speaker 2: have a healthy gut.
Speaker 1: So cut out sugar for one. And also you said
Speaker 1: alcohol and the antibiotics, so for anybody that doesn't know
Speaker 1: when you take an antibiotic because the doctor prescribes it
Speaker 1: for you, it's really really important to give your gut
Speaker 1: back the.
Speaker 2: Healthy stuff exactly. Yeah, because you know, it's such an
Speaker 2: interesting I mean, this is why I find the whole
Speaker 2: probiotic microbime story is so fascinating because you know, whenever
Speaker 2: antibiotics were discovered, I think it was around World War two,
Speaker 2: it might even World War One, but it was such
Speaker 2: a huge medical breakthrough, right because people were dying from
Speaker 2: seemingly in our world, minor infections that would just ravage
Speaker 2: their whole body. And then finally pedicillin was discovered and
Speaker 2: you were saving so many lives on the battlefield and
Speaker 2: then just with regular people. And it wasn't until maybe
Speaker 2: twenty now, I would say, thirty years ago that this
Speaker 2: whole concept emerged of actually not all bacteria or bad.
Speaker 2: There are some that we want to keep around that
Speaker 2: are good. And so the antibiotic story, which was the
Speaker 2: hero of me medicine for several decades, then became something
Speaker 2: of a villain. And there's still absolutely life saving and
Speaker 2: necessary in many circumstances, but you really want to be
Speaker 2: cautious of when you're using antibatics, because now we know
Speaker 2: they can really have detrimental effects on your microbiome, because unfortunately,
Speaker 2: most antibatics are not so selective that they only kill
Speaker 2: the bacteria you want to get rid of. They kill
Speaker 2: almost all your healthy bacteria. And sometimes that's a temporary effect,
Speaker 2: but sometimes it can have more long term effects. I mean,
Speaker 2: they're really interestingies looking at children who had repeated courses
Speaker 2: of antibatics for ear infections, which we know children get
Speaker 2: very frequently, and the kids that had the more frequent
Speaker 2: courses twenty thirty years down the road had higher incidences
Speaker 2: of autoimmune disease and things like Krohn's disease or things
Speaker 2: like asthma. So there are effects that you really and
Speaker 2: so I'm always very hesitant to take antibiotics or prescribe
Speaker 2: antibiotics unless I think they're absolutely necessary, because now we
Speaker 2: know there's definitely a potential downside.
Speaker 1: It's just so hard though, because like for in my
Speaker 1: personal experience, I take my daughter to the doctor and
Speaker 1: they just automatically give her antibiotics, and if I were
Speaker 1: to I'm assuming if I were to say is this
Speaker 1: absolutely necessary, they would probably say, yeah, it.
Speaker 2: Is well, it depends. I mean, I do think it's
Speaker 2: important as a parent or a consumer to push back
Speaker 2: a little bit. And when that decision is made by
Speaker 2: the doctor and is it, you know, is this something
Speaker 2: we could maybe wait and see, or is it something
Speaker 2: we should do right now? And you know, you have
Speaker 2: a doctor that you like and trust, and if they
Speaker 2: say no, we really should give it now, then then
Speaker 2: that is the right decision. But at least to make
Speaker 2: everyone think about it a little bit without having, you know,
Speaker 2: a sort of a knee jerk reaction to give it.
Speaker 2: And I do think most most physicians realize exactly what
Speaker 2: I'm saying, that antibiotics do not come without potential down
Speaker 2: you know, a downside, So they are thoughtful of it.
Speaker 2: And I'm hoping that your europe nutricians are giving it
Speaker 2: because they think it's really necessary and not just kind
Speaker 2: of throwing it at people because we've all seen the
Speaker 2: effects of it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, I'm seeing all over the TikTok the trend
Speaker 1: of when people start their day with a spoonful of
Speaker 1: live probiotic coconut yogurt or something like that. Does that
Speaker 1: actually work and what are the benefits?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean, I definitely think yogurt, whether it's the
Speaker 2: coconut yogurt with bacteria or just regular yogurt, has live
Speaker 2: and active cultures most of the time. You can check
Speaker 2: the label to be sure. I mean, I definitely have
Speaker 2: that every morning. I have yogurt every morning because I
Speaker 2: want to get my dose of probiotics that way. And yeah,
Speaker 2: I think it definitely is a great way to help
Speaker 2: introduce and keep introducing on a daily basis healthy bacteria
Speaker 2: into your system, which will then kind of settle, you know,
Speaker 2: set up shop in your gut and reproducing. But I
Speaker 2: definitely think that's a great, great way to start your day.
Speaker 1: Well, that's a lesson learned from the TikTok, So thank
Speaker 1: you to all those people doing it. Also, this is
Speaker 1: another one I wanted to ask you about castor oil
Speaker 1: packs on your belly button.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that I've seen vaguely. I don't think that there's
Speaker 2: any good evidence to support that being beneficial in any way.
Speaker 2: But if I'm.
Speaker 1: Doing it, and I have no idea, why.
Speaker 2: Say it for whatever reason makes you feel calmer or
Speaker 2: suits you in some way, Like I'm all for it,
Speaker 2: that's fine, But do I think it's somehow like sweeping
Speaker 2: in and causing actual internal changes in a good way. No,
Speaker 2: I don't think so.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know a lot of people, probably some of
Speaker 1: our listeners right now are sober or sober curious.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: We talked about this briefly in the effects of alcohol
Speaker 1: on the gut? Are no bueno right?
Speaker 2: Correct? Yeah?
Speaker 1: A hammer at home?
Speaker 2: Yeah it is, and it's you know, it's been unfortunate,
Speaker 2: I guess, unfortunate in the sense that we used to think, well,
Speaker 2: drinking and moderation actually could be healthy for you overall,
Speaker 2: and then we found well, moderation isn't what you may think.
Speaker 2: Moderation is only one glass for a woman per day,
Speaker 2: and now it looks like even that is not healthy.
Speaker 2: I mean, if you're doing it because you enjoy it,
Speaker 2: then do it, But don't do it because you think
Speaker 2: there's a health benefit. Now it looks really not. It's
Speaker 2: better not to.
Speaker 1: I just heard it all but different ways, like, yes,
Speaker 1: it's good to drink a glass of red wine every day, No,
Speaker 1: you should never drink alcohol.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's I mean, I think the research
Speaker 2: research is showing us that none is better than some.
Speaker 2: That doesn't mean in moderation is the worst thing in
Speaker 2: the world. There are many worst things you could be doing,
Speaker 2: but I wouldn't say you should really kid yourself to
Speaker 2: think that it's doing you any good and over time
Speaker 2: about the gut directly or you know, specifically, No, it's
Speaker 2: not good for your gut at all. I mean, we see,
Speaker 2: I do endoscopes, colonoscopies, and you see this is more
Speaker 2: with heavy alcohol use, but you actually can see, you know, irritations, tears, redness,
Speaker 2: all these things going on in the stomach and the
Speaker 2: digestive track because the alcohol is directly toxic your digestion.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's get down to really brass tacks here. Yes,
Speaker 1: let's talk about poop.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought you were going to go there.
Speaker 1: I mean, everybody must go there when they talk to you,
Speaker 1: so exciting.
Speaker 2: They're supposed to.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, So does how frequently you use the bathroom
Speaker 1: have anything to do with your gut health? And what
Speaker 1: about the consistency of the poop?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Well, I mean I definitely get this question a lot.
Speaker 2: And one thing I want to say is I don't
Speaker 2: want people to get too hung up on a certain
Speaker 2: magic number that if they're not going that number, there
Speaker 2: must be something terribly wrong, because I do think as
Speaker 2: gastroinrologists what we look for is changes or you know,
Speaker 2: things that are outside your normal routine. So I could
Speaker 2: have a patient who goes to the bathroom once every
Speaker 2: two to three days, but she feels totally fine. She
Speaker 2: doesn't feel bloated or uncomfortable or anything, and that's been
Speaker 2: her pattern for the last twenty years. So for her,
Speaker 2: I'm like, that's fine, if you feel good, there's nothing
Speaker 2: dangerous going on in your body, that's just your colon
Speaker 2: seems to move at that pace, and that's all good.
Speaker 2: But if she was, you know, normally going every day
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden she says, for the last
Speaker 2: six months, I've been going at once every two or
Speaker 2: three days, that's definitely an alarm in my mind that, okay,
Speaker 2: we need to figure out why that is. And could
Speaker 2: be something as simple as, you know, she changed her diet,
Speaker 2: or she's not exercising as much so she's not moving
Speaker 2: and that's affecting her bowels, or she's more stressed. It
Speaker 2: could be something very serious like a tumor in her colon,
Speaker 2: you know, So we definitely need to get to the
Speaker 2: bottom of it. But I would say this is a
Speaker 2: general rule of thumb somewhere in between going two times
Speaker 2: a day to once every three days in that range.
Speaker 2: If that's if that's your pattern for many years, that's
Speaker 2: totally fine. If it's beyond that, if you're going every
Speaker 2: four days or five days, that's probably something you want
Speaker 2: to get checked out, even if that's been for a
Speaker 2: long time. And if you're going, you know, four or
Speaker 2: five times a day, that's also something that you probably
Speaker 2: want to end.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I think that's good. Okay, that's a really
Speaker 1: good guideline. And especially if your pooh rhythm changes.
Speaker 2: Correct changes and then yeah, sorry, you asked about the consistency.
Speaker 1: What did your poo look like?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you want it to be And again it
Speaker 2: can change with so all of us. If we eat
Speaker 2: something that we're not we don't normally eat, or something
Speaker 2: a little different, you might notice that your your poop
Speaker 2: looks a little different than it normally.
Speaker 1: Do I'm want to laugh every time we say poo
Speaker 1: or poop. I don't know what is wrong with me.
Speaker 1: That's okay.
Speaker 2: But if you notice a consistent change where things are
Speaker 2: much looser than normal, or they're sort of falling apart
Speaker 2: in the toilet bowl and through the water. You really
Speaker 2: wanted to be somewhat formed. Solid. You want to have
Speaker 2: a fair size. You don't want tiny little pellets or right.
Speaker 2: And then too hard is also not good. So I
Speaker 2: said solid, But you don't want it to be rock
Speaker 2: hard or painful to come out or anything like that.
Speaker 2: So that's also a sign that things are not optimal inside.
Speaker 2: So yeah, you just want it to be kind of
Speaker 2: like a nice they say, a sausage shape or an
Speaker 2: s shape, but that kind of thing. And again I
Speaker 2: don't want I don't want people to become obsessed with
Speaker 2: like it has to be the perfect poop every time.
Speaker 2: But generally they're if you're not straining, you're not wiping
Speaker 2: for thirty minutes because it's so loose or it's a
Speaker 2: strange consistency, you know, then you're probably okay.
Speaker 1: If you're not doing I don't know how you do
Speaker 1: your job. I couldn't do this, like I couldn't talk
Speaker 1: about people's poo all day every day.
Speaker 2: That's yeah, yeah, well we're a strange breed.
Speaker 1: God bless you, so definitely, God bless you. Okay, So
Speaker 1: my manager, mister showbiz he does intermittent fasting. Is that
Speaker 1: good or bad for your gut?
Speaker 2: That's a new question. I think intermittent fasting that the
Speaker 2: research is sort of mixed on it overall, not just
Speaker 2: gut health, but for overall health. And some research suggests
Speaker 2: that it can be quite beneficial. Other research as it
Speaker 2: really doesn't make a difference. I don't think it essentially
Speaker 2: going to be harmful for your gut or your health.
Speaker 2: What I do think is it's hard to maintain. It's
Speaker 2: a pretty difficult, not sustainable for most people kind of
Speaker 2: eating pattern. I don't think there's you know, I don't
Speaker 2: think there's evidence to show that it's good for your gut.
Speaker 2: But I don't think there's evidence to show it's bad
Speaker 2: for your guts. So if you're doing it for other reasons.
Speaker 2: For some people it just helps them overall control their
Speaker 2: eating and calorie and take and that kind of thing,
Speaker 2: then it's fine. But again, I don't think there's strong
Speaker 2: evidence showing that it's hugely beneficial.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'll let him keep doing it. Then I just
Speaker 1: have two last questions. Is there a difference between men
Speaker 1: and women's needs when it comes to gut health.
Speaker 2: Yes, there is so I talked about fiber and why
Speaker 2: it's so important that most Americans are not getting enough fiber,
Speaker 2: and actually the women's needs are different from men, and
Speaker 2: in some stages of life, women need more fiber, other
Speaker 2: stages of life, men need more fibers, So that that
Speaker 2: is one difference. The other thing is when you look
Speaker 2: at a lot of GI conditions, things like irritable bealve
Speaker 2: for example, you definitely see a higher prevalence in women,
Speaker 2: and we're not exactly clear why that is. And you know,
Speaker 2: there's some overlap with some anxiety and things like that,
Speaker 2: which are also more women. But I also think there's
Speaker 2: just biological differences in female digestive tracts compared to men,
Speaker 2: and I'm sure the hormones play a role in that.
Speaker 2: I don't think we're one hundred percent clear why there
Speaker 2: are differences, But like most things in life, you know,
Speaker 2: women's bodies are different and we have to kind of
Speaker 2: recognize that and treat it accordingly, for sure. But it's
Speaker 2: interesting because you talk about, you know, feeling uncomfortable talking
Speaker 2: about battle movements, and even there I see a difference
Speaker 2: where men actually often are much more comfortable not talking
Speaker 2: about these things. Wouldn't feel like it's not ladylike, or
Speaker 2: they're much more embarrassed when they have to tell me something,
Speaker 2: whereas men kind of just lay it all out there.
Speaker 1: And lucky for that. I don't know. Yeah, I'm gonna okay.
Speaker 1: First of all, I'm going to read your book. I
Speaker 1: recommend everybody reading Good Gut Renovation. And then I'm also
Speaker 1: going to go back and read the children's book Everybody Poops,
Speaker 1: and maybe I will get more comfortable with it. There
Speaker 1: you go, before I let you go, Doctor Raj, what
Speaker 1: was your last I Choose me moment?
Speaker 2: Oh? Wow, let's see.
Speaker 1: You take care of a lot of people.
Speaker 2: I do. I do as I think most of us do.
Speaker 2: But I guess my last I Choose Me moment was well,
Speaker 2: I think you're into home design, so maybe you'll appreciate
Speaker 2: the song.
Speaker 1: Yes, I saw this.
Speaker 2: Beautiful on Facebook marketplace, this beautiful antique settee like Rosewood,
Speaker 2: so pretty. I need some re string. But my fance
Speaker 2: didn't like it. I knew it was going to be
Speaker 2: a big hassle to get to my house, but it's like,
Speaker 2: I'm going to get this for myself.
Speaker 1: So you bought yourself a settee. I did I love that?
Speaker 2: Well, well, it's going to go at the foot of
Speaker 2: the bed. But and I carried it in with the
Speaker 2: guy who was selling it. It was really heavy, but
Speaker 2: I brought.
Speaker 1: It in And you didn't even ask. You didn't even
Speaker 1: ask for your husband's help.
Speaker 2: No, no, I knew it was all right. Right.
Speaker 1: Listen. We are we are innovative, We get around things.
Speaker 1: We can make it happen if we really want to
Speaker 1: make it happen. I'm proud of you.
Speaker 2: Thank you well.
Speaker 1: Enjoy sitting on your settee and it's been such a
Speaker 1: pleasure talking to you today. Thank you for being on
Speaker 1: the pod.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Just have the same I as many of
Speaker 2: my generation. Huge fan of nine O two one oh.
Speaker 2: My collegemates and I were just glued to the screen
Speaker 2: every week, so big band to talk.
Speaker 1: We grew up together. Yeah, thank you, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Have a great day.
Speaker 2: Heare you too.
Speaker 1: Bye bye