The One About Poop

Warning! We are talking about poop. No, seriously, we dedicated a whole episode to this topic because it is important.  As dietitians we talk a lot about what you are putting into your mouth, but we are also interested in how everything is coming out.
In this episode we will talk about how often you should be pooping, what your poop should look like, and why this is something you should pay attention to.

If you have questions, or topics that you want to hear about, head over to our Instagrams https://www.instagram.com/nucrewnutrition/ or https://www.instagram.com/brianna.dietitian/ and send us a DM!

If you are interested in working with us in Metabolism Makeover you can sign up here! https://metabolismmakeover.co/programs/metabolism-makeover/earlybird/?affiliate=mocktailminutes

Featured Mocktails:
Just Ingredients - https://www.instagram.com/just.ingredients/
Recess - https://www.instagram.com/takearecess/

Click play, sip back, and be empowered.

Transcript

Baylee: 0:22

Hello everyone, welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minutes. This is Bailey.

Brianna: 0:27

And this is Brianna.

Baylee: 0:29

This week I am drinking Just Ingredients had, I think it was their birthday sale, and so I stocked up on some more of their flavored waters. I did the orange pineapple one. It tastes like the orange pineapple juice, but it's not just like pure sugar going down your throat, so I

Brianna: 0:45

Nice. I talked upon all of their they have like a sample, like a box sampler of protein. And I got a ton of those and I feel like so far there hasn't been a flavor that I don't like. So

Baylee: 0:58

I really wish I could do their protein. Say all their flavors sound so good.

Brianna: 1:02

they're really good. They're like really good. Even like the fruity ones and I'm not a big, like fruity protein type person. Yeah, they're good.

Baylee: 1:10

I think it's a lime collagen. I'm pretty sure it's a line. Why don't you try that out

Brianna: 1:16

yeah, I like they have all kinds of stuff now, just like

Baylee: 1:21

at a few different things?

Brianna: 1:23

No. I'm doing one of the recess drinks today, the grapefruit tangerine. I think this is my favorite one, but it has, you know, magnesium, adaptogens. I think I need it. My day was a little stressful.

Baylee: 1:38

Yeah. I feel like we're kind of both in that boat. I yeah. With like coming back to working kind of like part time and virtually while still having Gannon at home, it's also been a little crazy day.

Brianna: 1:51

Yeah, so, these, they had, I almost got them on the Prime Day sale, but they have mocktails. Now, so they have like mojitos and a couple other things and I almost got them. I didn't, but everyone that I've talked to that's tried them. So they're like delicious. But that might be like a fun evening drink.

Baylee: 2:11

Yeah. Those are ones I keep order and then I forget about it.

Brianna: 2:14

Yeah. I was like, I'm doing it for prime day. Cause they had a great sale and then they just stayed in my cart along with a bunch of other stuff.

Baylee: 2:22

Well,

Brianna: 2:22

baby was probably happy for, but I'm like, dang it.

Baylee: 2:26

My Prime Day stuff did not stay in my cart, they,

Brianna: 2:31

Well, especially because you're at home with a new baby. It's like, Ooh, I have all this time to just scroll on my phone.

Baylee: 2:37

yeah. Well, one of the things, I got a paper shredder, and I was like, Yay, we can finally, like, shred some things and stuff. I mean, like, usually ribboned tiny pieces.

Brianna: 2:48

Yeah.

Baylee: 2:49

And, so I got it in. The first one, it was cracked. I was like, okay. So, I had them resend a new one. I got it in, and there was, like, sticky residue all over it. What the heck? So then I just returned it. So now we're back to having no shredder, but it's also frustrating because with our new house, people have a hard time finding our address, like the delivery person, because it's not on the maps yet. It kind of ends at the end of the road. So some people will like, just. Keep driving and find our house based on the number. And then some people don't. And so the post office is like, basically they're just kind of being lazy if they don't bring you the package. So then it's like a pain because half our things, I have to go to the post office and get it. So I was just like, all right. I'm done.

Brianna: 3:36

I had that problem too. Or it was like, we knew it as like Sapphire court, but. With the post office, it was Sapphire Circle, and then so it like never matched up, so it was like always like, are we gonna get our package? Or are we gonna be lost in limbo? We don't know. Yeah, and then you try to go and be like, yes, this is my ID, this is, I live on Sapphire, it says Sapphire Court, and they're like, sorry, this is for Sapphire Circle, and I'm like, I promise you, it's the same house.

Baylee: 4:06

I feel like the post office is getting to know us. So they know, like when we come in and like, here's your packages. But we are talking about poop today. Everyone's favorite topic. Honestly, talking about poop does not bother me. Like, I think it's just because our profession, like, I tell people all the time because when, like, we talk to anyone that we work with, a lot of times we're going to ask you, like, how are you pooping? I think anyone that I've worked with one on one, I'm asking how you're pooping. It tells us a lot about you and then there's no such thing as too much information when you're talking to a dietitian. Like, I can talk about poop while I'm eating dinner. It does not bother me.

Brianna: 4:43

Oh, yeah. Like, it's something I ask my kids. They're like, Mom, stop. I'm like, what? Did you? I don't know. No. And it's, you know, and every time I work with someone, they're like, okay, TMI, I'm so sorry. But I'm like, no, we're talking about everything that goes in.

Baylee: 4:54

it look like?

Brianna: 4:56

I know it comes out. I need to know how it's coming out. That tells me a lot. And so I think people would just think like, oh, I shouldn't talk about it. But yeah. Yeah.

Baylee: 5:05

Let's talk about it.

Brianna: 5:06

Let's do it. How are you pooping?

Baylee: 5:10

when it comes to like how often we should poop, really, ideally, I would say one to three times a day. Now, I think there's other information out there that says like, if you're going every other day or like three times a week, that can also be normal. My thing with that is, a lot of people, like, if you're only going three times a week, usually you're not feeling so great, and it's probably with some bloating as well.

Brianna: 5:35

Yeah.

Baylee: 5:35

I mean, I guess if you don't feel bad or anything, it's fine, but I would say you're probably gonna feel best if you're going one to three times a day, at least once every day.

Brianna: 5:47

Yeah. I think like it even goes up to like, I think a week, like if, as long as you're going one time a week and you're not experiencing pain or discomfort, that's a normal regimen, which I'm just like, What? Like, I couldn't imagine

Baylee: 6:01

That sounds terrible.

Brianna: 6:02

It sounds horrible. And we, like, we'll get into it, but that's one of the ways that we get rid of toxins. And so I want to be kind of reading myself of things I don't need daily. Weekly. Yeah.

Baylee: 6:16

Yeah, absolutely. So I would, yeah, I would say one to three times a day. You might find other information out there that's like, Oh, if you've always gone like two times a week and that's your normal. But then, yeah, my question is like, do you feel good with that? Which if you're working with a dietitian and I find out you're only pooping twice a week, then you're not feeling good.

Brianna: 6:37

I will say too, like, Once people start eating a balanced diet and they're eating adequate food and they're having fiber and all the things that we need, I think you notice like, like, cause that's a common thing I see at least as clients being like, Oh yeah, I'm really regular. Like this has never been this, like I'm using the bathroom every day or like my bowel movements, like feel great. Okay. So I, I don't know. I just find it hard to believe. Like if you're eating adequate nutrients, you're eating enough fiber, you're only going one time a week

Baylee: 7:06

And sometimes we don't, like, realize that we are uncomfortable, I think, because, like, yeah, if you're so used to only going once or twice a week, like, that's all you know. That's kind of your normal. It's like the saying, like, you don't know how bad you feel until you feel good.

Brianna: 7:20

Yeah, exactly. Until you experience something else. And then you'll know, like if you go from, you know, pooping every day to pooping twice a week, you're like, okay, help me

Baylee: 7:31

Yes. But yeah, like you said, we do need to have a bowel movement because it's going to, it's eliminating your fecal matter. Basically it is part of your detox system. So you're getting rid of your undigested food. Your GI tract actually sheds its surface layer every few days. So you're getting rid of some of that, getting rid of bacteria, mucus, and even salt. So kind of just gets rid of all the things that you don't need. Your body's going to absorb it. The nutrients, the macro nutrients, the micronutrients, like your, your vitamins and minerals to keep you alive. And then it's leaving behind like your insoluble fiber, not absorbing that. So you got to get it out of your body. That's why I like a lot of times like constipation and bloating, like they can go together because if you're constipated and this stuff that should be getting out of your body is now just hanging out in your body. It can lead to some bloat.

Brianna: 8:26

a hundred percent. You also excrete like cholesterol and stuff too, with your poop, that excess cholesterol, you know? And that's. You know, your liver is doing a great job at trying to do that. Well, the end product is getting rid of it through pooping. So yeah, I mean, there's things that we need to excrete.

Baylee: 8:46

I like how we hesitate every time we say pooping, even though we said it's not weird, but I'm glad.

Brianna: 8:51

I'm like, I feel like it should be like a trigger warning. Like, Hey guys, just so you know, we're saying poop.

Baylee: 8:56

Yeah,

Brianna: 8:57

So it makes you feel weird. I think that's why, because I, I will see pace like people's faces, like demeanors totally change. Like I see him and I'm like, okay, how often are you pooping? And they're like

Baylee: 9:06

like supposed to say bowel movement to be professional, but it's our podcast and

Brianna: 9:11

I don't want to think about movement.

Baylee: 9:13

we'll just, we're just going to say poop. It's

Brianna: 9:16

every time I write BM, I think baby mama, just something in my head that no one needed to know about.

Baylee: 9:24

going to be my initials. So there's that.

Brianna: 9:27

Oh, yeah.

Baylee: 9:28

Get married. Yeah.

Brianna: 9:30

Oh, yeah. So now I'm just gonna think about Bailey and baby mamas and I'm not gonna be thinking about movement. I hate BM. Poop. Okay?

Baylee: 9:36

then I messed Gannon up. So his middle name is Brower. So his is GBM. So I'm like, it's like a giant bowel movement.

Brianna: 9:44

I might not have put that together, but now I'll never forget.

Baylee: 9:47

Yep.

Brianna: 9:48

Sorry, man. It's just what you got. Yeah, well, it's like Colton's name is You know, it's Colton, but if you leave out one letter, it's colon. And I'm like, there's only so much time I have with him in middle school before a kid figures that out. Colon. Whatever. Colons are great.

Baylee: 10:09

Okay, so another thing that comes up with the pooping is, I feel like this comes up a lot more with the men. And I don't know if it's because you're actually having trouble pooping or if it's because you're just hanging out on the toilet, like on your phone. I'm guilty of that sometimes too, but ideally it should take you like 10 ish minutes. To the bathroom. It shouldn't be like a 30 minute process and honestly, I mean this might be too much information for you guys But again, it doesn't it doesn't exist in our world. I can be in and out in like five minutes

Brianna: 10:45

Oh, yeah.

Baylee: 10:46

Good.

Brianna: 10:47

Yeah, because it should be like relatively quick like I have to go to the bathroom, and you shouldn't be straining it should be I mean it shouldn't be like super loose just like, you know, I can go in 60 seconds, but you know it should be like okay I feel like I can do this. I'm not straining. It's relatively quick and easy to leave. If you're on there for like 15, 20, 30 minutes being like, I feel like I haven't fully finished. I would say that's a little abnormal. I don't know if your doctor would agree with that, but.

Baylee: 11:17

What I would say too Basically, you should feel like you have to poop. You should go to the bathroom Be able to like let it out. I always tell josh like it's like it should just like fall out That doesn't literally mean like it's just falling out

Brianna: 11:32

Yeah.

Baylee: 11:33

You like you should not be red face pooping your lips.

Brianna: 11:37

yeah, struggling. Yeah. Like, you know, all the memes you see of like people, like the struggling poop means no, that's not what we want. It should, it should, I mean, I guess that's kind of weird to think of it this way, but it should feel like good. Like, okay. I had to go to the bathroom and I did it and the great leaving should be okay. You don't need emotional support. You shouldn't need emotional support.

Baylee: 11:58

Yes. So yeah, one to three times a day, about 10 ish minutes. It can definitely be quicker. And like, you can still differ person to person on how many times you're going, maybe even differ day by day. Like I said, just. at least one time a day would be a great goal. And really, you just want to kind of have some sort of consistency, like schedule, but also like thinking of consistency of your poop, it should be smooth. And like I said, pretty easy to pass. So you want it to kind of be like a sausage, like basically going to resemble what your intestines look like on the inside, and it should just like come out nicely. And then It should be like that brownish color. Now it can be other colors as well too. Some of them are concerned, some of them you don't really have to be concerned with.

Brianna: 12:48

Yeah. And it should be like going back to like the sausage, I think another thing too, that kind of helps people feel like, Oh, like, is it formed, you know, like, do I have a formed bowel movement? So, you know, but yeah, the colors have a lot to do with like your bile and Billy Rubin and like all of our, your digestive enzymes and fluids and all that good stuff. So bile is like yellowish green. Fluid and that's normal. It helps you break down your food. We need it. And then it kind of mixes with, you know, broken down red blood cells, broken down food particles. And it kind of just turns into brown. Like, I mean, if you think about like, if you were to use all the colors, like on paper with a marker, it would turn brown. Like that's kind of how I describe it. So brown is very normal, but there's also green coop, which I think is normal if it's a little bit green. It may be a sign that you're having like a lot of like your leafy greens. And so this is what I try to like warn people. Like sometimes your poop is the color of your food, right? Like and I see this a lot with moms, you know, it's like, oh my gosh, my baby had like purple poop. I'm like. Did they eat a ton of blueberries? You know, like, is this their present? And it's like, Oh, this makes sense. Or I always give moms this morning, like after your kids are going to birthday parties, like that die on like the cupcakes and cakes, Oh, it'll come out in your poop, you'll be having like bright blue poop.

Baylee: 14:12

Even, yes, so like the Captain Crunch, like the berries, the one, it'll change the color.

Brianna: 14:21

Yeah. So, you know, just kind of think like before you're like, Oh my gosh, is something wrong? I think like, Hey, what did I eat? So like green poop. Okay. If you're having a lot of dark, leafy greens, that makes sense. If your poop suddenly looks like a neon green play doh color, that's, you know, like I was saying, like, it's probably the artificial colors or drink mixes, frosting, that sort of thing. I feel like it comes out neon, like you'll know. And those of you listening who've like, Oh yeah, that's happened to me. Like, Oh yeah, that's probably, I had a cupcake at a birthday party.

Baylee: 14:51

Yeah, I feel like everything in life, like anything that comes up, I'm always asking people, I'm like, would you eat? Would you drink? Like everything comes back to nutrition, but like it really does because. For your body to function and stay alive, like you have to eat. So it makes sense that all these things are going to affect

Brianna: 15:10

Yeah.

Baylee: 15:11

all these different ways.

Brianna: 15:12

Exactly.

Baylee: 15:13

I mean, other colors like red poop. So again, it could be different foods, beets, cranberries, or like tomato juice, but it can also be of concern because if you have some like bleeding in your colon, This is something you'd want to get checked out. I believe like the more red it is, the more it is like at the end of your digestive system. If it's kind of more like, like black almost, then it's towards the top

Brianna: 15:42

Yeah. Like a upper GI type issue. And again, you'd be surprised how much dieticians are talking about poop. Like when you're in the hospital, the nurses, doctors, and dieticians are talking about your color of poop, your consistency, all of a sudden, cause it tells you a lot like, Oh, is something going on in the upper? So yeah, if it's like black tarry, almost like by the time it's coming out, that's a sign that you had some like bleeding further up in the digestive tract and the bright red is.

Baylee: 16:09

Yeah, or if it's like black and tarry, it can also be a sign of fat malabsorption. So that's a sign. Another thing you want to get checked out, like if it's tar like, or if it's like really sticking to the toilet, like it's tar. I kind of think about it as like the baby's first poop, like the meconium poop.

Brianna: 16:26

Oh my gosh. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Your poop shouldn't look like that.

Baylee: 16:31

Yes. I was so scared after I gave birth because I've been told before you had to poop before you left the hospital. So like I packed my chia seeds, I packed all these different things, the fibers, those like. I don't want to get stuck in like, it's gonna hurt. I know that

Brianna: 16:47

Yeah.

Baylee: 16:48

I was like getting all this fiber me and nothing was happening. It was like the day we're supposed to leave. And I asked the nurse was like, Do I really have to stay here if I don't poop? She's like, No. And I was like, Oh, well, I'm gonna stop eating all this fiber. And she's like, Yeah, that's like an old thing. It doesn't we don't do

Brianna: 17:04

I remember that I have been with my first two and like, so my first one, I, thankfully I pooped and I just lied. I lied on my second one. I was like, yes, I've had a bowel movement. I flushed. I'm so sorry. And then my third one, they like did not care. And I remember like I hyped myself up where I was like, okay, you got to poop before you leave. And the nurse was like, no, no, no.

Baylee: 17:23

we don't

Brianna: 17:24

fine. I was like, Oh, she's like, if you don't poop in the next couple of days, call your doctor. And I was like, Oh, okay. He's like, man. So my first experience, like that was the worst poop in my life. Talk about terrified to poop right from birth. Horrible.

Baylee: 17:39

yeah, that, mine was like three days later, and it was terrible. I was like, I'm just crying on the toilet, just trying to,

Brianna: 17:49

This is kind of, this will probably be too much too bad, but I can remember being like, I can't stop what's about to happen.

Baylee: 17:55

I know, it's like I, like I want to stop it, but it also just like needs to come

Brianna: 18:02

I need to come out, but also I don't want it to.

Baylee: 18:05

Like, how can I give myself diarrhea so it just falls out?

Brianna: 18:09

Yeah. Just some water.

Baylee: 18:10

Yeah,

Brianna: 18:11

Oh my god. Sorry for any of the men listening to this, but like, it's no joke. Terrified. Terrified. Have you ever been terrified to poop? My husband has never been terrified to poop. I'm gonna tell you that much. I have been terrified. You

Baylee: 18:24

again, it's kind of like a baby, every time Dan has to poop, like, he gets all red faced, and he looks so scared, just let it go, man. Really

Brianna: 18:33

He's just trying to learn how to like, control his bodily functions. Yeah, that's scary.

Baylee: 18:38

well once he's like in his swaddle So, I don't know if it like helps him kind of like relax his muscles because every time at night I get him swaddled up I'm like holding him And

Brianna: 18:51

it's got to redo the whole thing. You know, yeah, he's probably like calm and relax how you should be when you poop. Let's see other colors would be yellow. So if your poop is yellow, if it's greasy, if it's really smelly, because technically poop has a smell to it, but it shouldn't be like, Really foul smelling. I guess that's like a good term for it. So if it's yellow, greasy, really foul smelling, it probably means you're eating too much fat. But sometimes it also be a sign of you're not absorbing. So malabsorption of fat. So it's having a hard time like pulling the new, your body's having a hard time pulling the nutrients it needs from your digestive tract and absorbing it. So, and usually that has to do with fat. So, malabsorption usually happens to, like, because of sickness, some food intolerances, or disease that affect the intestinal lining. So, like, gluten, or IBD, or IBS, or something where your GI tract is just really angry, and it's not doing everything it needs to do.

Baylee: 19:55

then it can also be pale or white this is I feel like this is kind of more rare I would say I don't this often. But basically you don't want your poop to look chalky. It may mean that your body isn't producing that vial. So it could mean there's an infection going on, or maybe your vial duct is blocked. It could also just be like a side effect of medicines. So again, something to kind of be aware of, like, look at your poop, make sure, make sure we're Brown. If it's these other colors check in with other things that we mentioned to see okay. Okay, what's going on? Is there a normal explanation? Did I eat Captain Crunchberry cereal?

Brianna: 20:31

Yeah. What did I eat? Yeah. And so, you know, I kind of talked about this when we were like talking about, you know, sausage shaped or whatever. So, you know, is your, is your poop loose? And if it is, or, you know, it could be like a digestive irritant. So, you know, if you eat something that you're not able to really tolerate, or you have too much of, you know, like a food ingredient that you don't really tolerate, like maybe too much, you know, sugar alcohols or something for some people, it could be loose. It could be watery. And this kind of just means it's going through the intestines too fast. This is usually when it's uncomfortable, like, okay, I need to get to a bathroom now type thing. And we don't really want that because if it's, if it's moving through Too quickly, your body isn't having enough time to absorb the nutrients from it. So this is where, where like if you're using laxatives as a way to like lose weight, you're really kind of just not allowing your body to get adequate nutrients. So I don't recommend just making yourself poop a bunch to lose weight. I don't know if we're doing that anymore. I guess we were like with colon boom for like a minute. I think we're done with like the teas and the colon booms. I don't know.

Baylee: 21:44

Maybe,

Brianna: 21:45

Maybe not.

Baylee: 21:46

I don't know. But you know, I guess to mention here like coffee, because this is a big thing where people are like, I can't poop, I drink coffee, or it's like, I drank my morning coffee and now I'm exploding type feeling. So things with coffee, coffee is acidic, which does boost a hormone called gastrin. So this hormone is going to stimulate your stomach muscles, which is going to help kind of get things moving. And then caffeine is also going to kind of affect this. And then coffee is also a diuretic, which it's going to pull water into your GI tract, which is also going to help get things moving. So if you notice, you're like, okay, coffee, it's things moving. That's why it's because it's acidic and it's a diuretic.

Brianna: 22:29

Yeah. Also some like supplements, like I know magnesium is really popular, but like magnesium citrate can kind of be almost like a gentle laxative. So again, it's just pulling a lot of water in to your GI system. Or your, you know, your intestine. So if you started taking a magnesium supplement, thinking it would help with certain things, and all of a sudden you feel like your bowel movements have increased, maybe they're looser, almost like diarrhea, double check your ingredients, make sure you're not just taking a ton of magnesium citrate. I like to recommend that if you're having some constipation, I think it's like a nice gentle way of like, okay, let's get things moving. But I don't think you need to be taking it every single day, really, unless you're chronically constipated, but then we got to talk about other things.

Baylee: 23:10

So then I can see that we also don't want to have like really hard stools as well because number one, it's uncomfortable. And then number two, it can also cause hemorrhoids. Very uncomfortable. You don't want those. And then it can even cause like a backup in your intestines. Like if you're someone who will kind of like hold your poop all day because you don't like to poop in public or anything like that, you're going to give yourself more issues. Honestly, my sampling is everyone poops. If you gotta go, just go.

Brianna: 23:41

Yeah. I think you start to see this a lot with like little kids. Like they'll be like, I didn't want to poop at school. And it's like, no, they're constipated. So yeah, I used to be one of those kids, like terrified. I was even like that as like a young adult and I don't know why, because yeah, hello people poop. And now I'm like, all right, my butt isn't as shy. I may not do it in a small office if it's just me and one of their coworker, I may not, but I'll probably go somewhere and do it

Baylee: 24:07

Go somewhere. Not right next door, but like, down the hall.

Brianna: 24:10

like a couple, you know, like a couple places over. All right. Yeah, I

Baylee: 24:16

So then, other things like, when you're looking at your poop. So you can actually pull up a Bristol scale, like, just Google it. It's going to pop up for you. And there are seven types of poop, basically. When it has to do with like its shape and consistency. So type one is going to be kind of like round little pellets. They're going to kind of feel hard to get out, but it's like one of those who's like, wow, I just worked really hard. And there's like three little pebbles. That means you're constipated. And basically your poop is hanging out in your digestive system for too long. Normally it takes your food about three days for it to kind of complete. It's Ralph. So that could be a very big sign that, I mean, it is a very big sign that you're constipated. So looking at things like, okay, how are we going to get this digestive system moving? Cause you don't want to do that every day. Cause yeah, if you're constantly having to strain again, you're going to lead to hemorrhoids. You're not going to feel great. Your digestive system isn't moving along, so you're messing up that detox process as well.

Brianna: 25:21

like to kind of describe it as like little rabbit pellets, you know, little rabbit pellets. If you're pooping like that, not great. I would say that's not very regular. Your next one is like your type two. And so this is more of like a log, but it's just not like the healthiest type. And we'll kind of get into it. Cause you know, poop is different. But type two poop looks like a lumpy type log. So, and you can tell like it's too, cause it, it took a little bit of effort to get out, which is different than the other type of logs, I guess, if you will. So if you're having this type of type two poop, it means you probably have some mild constipation and. As with kind of the type one, the common causes is all causes are like diet. So maybe not enough fiber, maybe too much of one type of fiber blockage, or even like hormonal changes. Hormones affect how we poop.

Baylee: 26:10

I really do, which is why they're affected after you have a baby. Type three. So type three is also kind of, it's like that log shaped, but it's going to have more cracks on the surface. It almost looks like corn on the cob. So sorry if we just ruined corn on the cob for you, but that's kind of what you can think about it as. And it should basically come out. With little effort and it shouldn't like fall apart or anything. This is going to be more of that normal poop. Your digestive system is working how it should.

Brianna: 26:42

so this is good. Type four is going to be a log similar to two, but this one is smooth. So almost like a, like a sausage or like a snake. And this is the type it's easy to push out when you flush it still stays in one piece and it's normal. That's good.

Baylee: 27:01

Type three. Type four

Brianna: 27:02

Yeah. And I'm going to work for it's the one where you're like, I'm done five minutes or less. Great. Done. We like smooth logs.

Baylee: 27:10

Yes, we corn on the cuff.

Brianna: 27:12

Yeah.

Baylee: 27:13

Type five. This is getting more into like the diarrhea side of things. So this is gonna be like soft blobs. They kind of have def defined edges, so they're gonna be small like the type one, but you didn't have to work as hard to get it out. So this is kind of that start of that. Bile diarrhea could be related to diet. It could be that you're getting sick. It could be a medical condition But basically if you have chronic diarrhea It can be difficult for your body to be absorbing the nutrients that needs so something to pay attention to

Brianna: 27:47

And then number six would be like mushy blobs with ragged edges. So like oatmeal porridge type thing. So really there's not shape to it. It's blobby, maybe even not even like formed at all, like liquid, not liquidy, but you know, like a oatmeal, like a porridge consistency, basically. So. This could mean that you're having again, some sort of diarrhea. It could also just be like, this is what I'm having all the time. I think this is really common for people. Like when, cause again, I'm talking about bowel movements. Most people are like, Oh, they're supposed to be formed. And like, people don't think they're having diarrhea, but they're also having this. And so I would say this is like a sign that your poop isn't as great as it should be.

Baylee: 28:34

Yeah, and even like when you're starting to get into like the diarrhea side of things with that type 5 So it can also be a sign like you're just not getting enough soluble fiber So probably something to look at because it's soluble fiber essentially kind of adds bulk. It kind of helps solidify your poops a little bit.

Brianna: 28:52

Yeah.

Baylee: 28:53

And then the last one, type seven. So this is like liquid. There's no solid pieces. You're, it's like gravy, not fun. You have diarrhea and it's kind of the same thing. It can be caused by a variety of things like food poisoning illnesses, but again, it can be caused by medical conditions as well, or just, or food intolerances like gluten or lactose intolerance, allergies, anything like that that's acting up. You can get that. But yeah, like you can just Google Bristol scale, B R I S T O L, and then you can kind of see visuals of these as well.

Brianna: 29:29

And it's funny too. Like I will talk with clients and they've like never realized like, Oh, like my poop should be a certain way. I'm like, yeah, it tells us a lot about how things are going. So. You know, next time you poop, look at it. And like, it's funny now because like I've shared with my kids, like, okay, this is what your poop should look like. I'm like, my oldest would be like, yay. My poop was like, I got an A plus today. Cause

Baylee: 29:53

Yeah,

Brianna: 29:53

like,

Baylee: 29:54

I've had, yes, I've had clients, like I have them journal, if they're having like pooping issues, I have them journal like their poop. And it's kind of fun to see it start to solidify day by day.

Brianna: 30:08

Yeah. Right. Like we are having form, but your, you know, your digestive system, how you could be affected by a lot of things. So like, we've already talked about diet, right? Like soluble and insoluble fiber work together to promote regular bowel movements. So you want to have a good balance of it. You don't want too much of one. Cause then you can have too loose or too bulky, which would be diarrhea or constipation. Fluid. You need to have enough fluid to soften your stool and keep it moving. I don't think people realize how much hydration really does affect their ability to be able to poop. And so I see this a lot, like with my older patients, like that are having fewer and fewer bowel movements. Usually they're also like dehydrated, like chronically just not drinking up. So how much water you drink really affects it. And also You know, if you are trying to have better bowel movements and you are increasing fiber, also make sure you're increasing water because that increase in fiber can kind of throw things off. And then other things like age. So you have reduced gastric activity and motility, which just means things slow down. They don't go as quickly through your digestive system. Many medications can cause constipation. A lot of any medications that kind of slow gastric emptying, any pain medications, all those things, they definitely impact the motility and activity of our gut. And then how much you're moving your body. So peristalsis is helped. Peristalsis is, you know, moving through. It is helped by physical activity. So if you are really struggling after a meal, you feel really constipated. You just can't go get out and move your body a little bit. And I have some clients that's like, all they needed is like, whoa, I didn't realize, like I started kind of moving my body a little bit after meal times and suddenly it's like I'm on a pooping regimen, you know, I know when I'm gonna have to poop.

Baylee: 31:53

And that's another thing, like ideally you're pooping about the same time every day. So if you're not having healthy bowel movements or healthy poops that we have talked about, basically the things Brianna just kind of mentioned, check in on your fiber, check in on your water, cut out foods that you know irritate your stomach. It might not be something you have to cut out forever. I mean, this is, it could take further testing, but I mean, functional medicine testing can be. expensive. So if you don't have the means to figure out why you're having a reaction to this food, then just cut it out for now and see how your body reacts. You can always try and reintroduce it, but The best way to see how your body reacts is just to get rid of it for like six weeks and see how you go. Eating on a schedule is going to be helpful. If you're eating on a schedule, you're probably going to poop a little bit more on a schedule. Moving around throughout the day. Even your bathroom posture can make a difference. Like they have the squatty potties. Like if you're really struggling, get one of those. And, Last tip I would say just like just go. Don't feel, don't keep holding it or anything because you're in public. It can take some building up some courage if right now you're not pooping in public, but everyone poops and Like if you're at Target and someone's in there You're gonna walk out and you're probably not even gonna see them or you're never gonna see them again Okay,

Brianna: 33:19

Exactly. Just go, because a lot of people will be like, oh, if I just hold it long enough, I'll, like, the feeling will go away, but that's not great. We don't want that.

Baylee: 33:27

don't want that. And then I would say the last thing I Thought we could bring up is htma testing and how I can play a part in here. So one thing that htma tests does so it tests your mineral status over like a three month period. So like one thing sodium for example. So chloride is necessary to produce stomach acid and sodium chloride, which is salt, facilitates the absorption and transportation of nutrients in the intestines after they have been broken down during digestion. So therefore if you consume enough salt, You're going to have better digestive health. So that's something like HTMA testing can kind of point out for you. And we can drop a link of how you can order an HTMA test. You can do that through Metabolism Makeover. You send in your hair sample. It tells you exactly how to do it. And then you get sent back a video with your results and also kind of like a protocol of what to do next. So this is one thing it can help and I have someone who we've been working on her sodium intake and she is pooping so much better. But salt is one of the best sources of chloride and adequate levels of chloride. It's, it's needed to produce the HCl, that hydrochloric acid. So then that acid, it's also, it's breaking down that food and it kills bacteria, which is how it promotes your digestive health.

Brianna: 34:50

hmm. Which is good because we want to make sure that we have the good bacteria in our gut keeping things happy. So salt is not bad. And yeah, getting an HGMA test, I think it's, it's really helpful to like, I think so many people don't realize like, wow, I didn't know, like sending my hair in was going to show this. But the other thing too is like your stress level and HGMAs are great for identifying how stressed you are and how depleted your minerals are because stress also affects that HDL secretion. It's just if you have a really stressed out nervous system, you have a hard time digesting your food, you know, that really like rest and digest, you need to not be in such a stressed state in order to digest your food correctly. So those hormones are impacted by stress. And I would say the HGMA is really good at pointing that out. The HCL secretion is increased with a parasympathetic activity to the stomach's enteric nervous system. And it stimulates that acetylcholine, gastro and histamine. And basically what that means is just, you have to have a calm nervous system to get all your gastric juices going correctly. So that you can digest and absorb your food and so you can have good bowel movements. So for a lot of people, they realize. When I work on my stress, I'm not as constipated or I'm not, I don't have as bad diarrhea. Like we all kind of know that like nervous poop, right? It's like, Oh my gosh, I'm like nervous. I have to poop, you know, or it's like, I'm stressed. I feel like I can't.

Baylee: 36:17

That kind of testing is available checking and just minerals in general and there's can be other things Food wise that are affecting your poops. I feel like a lot of times when it comes to our digestive health It's like it feels like it's almost something. I don't know like extreme where it's like, oh my gosh This is going on. I need to do all these like ultrasound or whatever kind of scan or I need to get started on this new medication. It feels like this big thing where sometimes it could just be your mineral status or your fiber intake or your water intake. I've had lots of people come to me with IBS and we've been able to definitely decrease their IBS symptoms

Brianna: 36:57

And it's,

Baylee: 36:58

just adjusting their food. And also if you're not eating enough, you're not going to have enough to poop out. So that's another. Another

Brianna: 37:05

That is something I have people really track when they're like, Am I eating enough food or am I this? I'm always like, how's your bowel movements? Cause if you're eating adequate, your bowel movements are good. And then I'll have people that are like, Oh my gosh, you know, I definitely didn't realize like I had a weekend away and it was kind of crazy. And I didn't really eat much. And like, times are just off. And like, I haven't pooped. You'll know it's really hard to poop consistently if you're not eating consistently because you know you need to we're pushing things out. It's a one way track, you know

Baylee: 37:35

that's probably, yeah, people have so many issues with constipation and traveling because you're, you're off schedule. I

Brianna: 37:41

mm hmm. Your stress is different Your hydration is different. Your fiber is probably different. Your food intake is different. So yeah,

Baylee: 37:48

Lots of things. We talked a lot about poop. So,

Brianna: 37:52

We weren't really in depth with it. And so hopefully Hopefully this is helpful to you guys Like I feel like it's not talked about enough but your poop is it's a great indicator of really how everything's going You

Baylee: 38:02

turn around, check it out. After you listen to this episode, let us know how your poops are. We want. Sausages.

Brianna: 38:11

Brown sausages. Or smooth logs.

Baylee: 38:13

Yeah. Hopefully we didn't ruin anyone's day. If poop is a trigger for you, sorry. But this needed to be talked about, especially, and Brianna had an episode that she recorded while I was on maternity leave, so if you missed that one, go back to The Magic Fiber. That'll go along nicely with this topic.

Brianna: 38:33

Yep, get you pooping everyday. That's what I want.

Baylee: 38:36

All right, everyone. Have a great rest of your week, and we will talk to you next week. Bye.

Brianna: 38:41

Bye!