The Scoop On Poop: What Your Poop Reveals About Your Health

Host Evan Roberts delves into the topic of bowel movements, explaining the importance of understanding stool consistency and what it indicates about one's gastrointestinal health. Drawing from his personal experiences with gastrointestinal issues, including IBS and a tapeworm, Evan discusses the seven classifications of stool and what each type signifies, from severe constipation to diarrhea.

The episode offers advice on achieving a healthy digestion through hydration, increasing fiber intake, and possibly using magnesium for constipation, as well as the role of pre, pro, and postbiotics along with digestive enzymes for those dealing with frequent, loose stools. Evan aims to provide listeners with actionable insights on improving their digestive health by paying attention to their stool and adjusting their diet and supplementation accordingly.

00:00 Welcome and Show Introduction

00:16 Today's Focus: The Scoop on Poop

00:39 Listener Feedback and Episode Format Changes

01:28 Personal Journey with Gastrointestinal Issues

02:31 Understanding Stool: From Constipation to Diarrhea

07:19 Tips for Managing Constipation

09:43 Achieving the Ideal Stool Consistency

11:34 Addressing Loose Stool and Digestive Health

14:38 Concluding Thoughts

Welcome to the elemental.

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I've been podcast.

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This is your host, Evan Roberts.

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And on this show, I break down

health topics from a simplified in

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holistic perspective, to give you

all some tools that you can take

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away from each episode and actually

start applying them to your life.

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And on today's episode, we're going

to get down and dirty with it.

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We're going to be talking with literally

poop, how poop looks, what it means,

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depending on how your poop looks as well.

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And, uh, whether you are constipated or.

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Maybe the exact opposite of that,

or, , what can help to get you

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into the right balanced state

that you might be looking for.

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And very quickly, before we hop

into today's episode, I wanted

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to mention that I have listened

to all of your guys's answers.

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, I posted on social media asking

questions on what were some of the

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topics, as well as formats of these

episodes that you all enjoyed.

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And I'm going to be trying

out a few new things here.

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So for my solo episodes,

they are going to be.

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A little bit shorter.

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I'm going to try to keep them

a little bit more condensed.

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So it's going to be packed with

information, but in a shorter

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amount of time so that we're

not eating up a ton of the day.

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Getting these episodes.

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Uh, into your ears.

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And then on the guest interview episodes,

we're going to keep those nice and long.

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, making sure we're getting down into

the nitty gritty with our guests

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and making sure we are providing

tons of information on those.

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So without further ado, let's go

ahead and jump into today's episode.

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So once again, all about poop.

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Um, honestly with me, this is a

common topic that I have spoken

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about and dealt with for a very.

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Large portion of my life.

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Uh, specifically because I dealt

with a lot of gastrointestinal issues

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growing up as a kid, I had a lot of,

I mean, what was labeled as IBS or

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irritable bowel syndrome, as well

as a lactose intolerance, which.

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More or less was correct, but, I also

had a tapeworm for who knows how long.

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So anyways, dealt with a ton

of gastrointestinal issues.

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And even to this day, as I am

a full grown adult now, Uh, my

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digestion is so, so much better.

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However, there is still room for

improvement and , one of the big

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things that I've gotten away from

was the stomach cramps and the

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pain that I used to deal with.

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And now, uh, I no longer really deal with

that, but rather now I'm just working on

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getting my stool, my bowel movements to

look perfect as they, as they should look.

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And, uh, that's what we're

going to get into today.

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So first off, I just wanted to

mention that your body is literally

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always communicating to you.

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In one way or another.

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You know, when we get skin rashes, it's

usually a sign that we're consuming

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something that's not good for us.

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That isn't reacting well with our body.

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Uh, when we are getting stomach pain

probably means that we're eating

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something that we shouldn't be eating.

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Uh, when we have a pain in our

knee, it might mean that we need

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adjustments in our body, right?

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So our body is always speaking

to us in one way or another.

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And one of those ways in

which it is communicating is

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the consistency of our stool.

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So I'm going to break down.

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There are, I believe it's seven

different classifications for stool.

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You can look these up online.

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Maybe I'll try to post

one in the description.

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Where it's a chart and it literally

shows you the different kinds of stool.

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At you can produce and, uh, yeah,

starting off, we are going to go.

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Essentially from very

extremely constipated to.

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Not constipated at all, rather,

uh, diarrhea on the other end.

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And so it starts off with

separate hard clumps.

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So basically like balls essentially

of just hard poop and so little,

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little pieces of them, uh, likely

you're not feeling fully relieved

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every time you're using the restroom.

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And so this would be very constipated.

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This would be on the

far end of constipation.

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You're probably only

using the restroom every.

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Couple of days, maybe, um,

three, four days even I could

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definitely be that extreme.

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And when you do go, it doesn't

feel like you are fully relieved.

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So that is the far end of constipated.

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Now moving our way into the

center, into where we want to be.

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Um, you're going to go from separate,

hard, low, uh, hard clumps to lumpy and

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sausage, like, so it's technically a

sausage form, but rather quite lumpy.

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It might even be a bit dry or

like with cracks all over it.

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And this is going to be still constipated,

like, but rather, maybe slightly

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constipated, not fully constipated.

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You might feel a little bit more

relieved when you do use the restroom.

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Maybe not fully relieved, uh, but

definitely a little bit better

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than the small, hard clumps.

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So this is going to be

slightly constipated.

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Then we're going to move into a normal

sausage shape with cracks in it.

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So now we have the, you know, typical

form of what we think poop comes in,

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which is the sausage shape, but this

is going to have some cracks in it.

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Uh, this is going to be normal.

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Uh, maybe a little bit towards the

constipated side, but still rather normal.

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And typically you would feel

rather relieved every time

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you do re use the restroom.

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If your stool is looking like this, and

then we're going to move into the very

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sweet spot, which is an absolute, smooth

sausage shape and with no cracks on it,

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just smooth and sausage, like, and that

is going to be right in the sweet spot.

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That is.

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Quote unquote, basically normal.

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Now of course everyone's

body is different.

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So how your stool looks can vary

depending on obviously what you're

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consuming and, um, you know,

just your body type essentially.

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But this is kind of the ideal form that

we're looking to achieve every time.

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So the normal is that

smooth sausage shape.

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Now we're going to move into the other

side of this, which is a loose stool.

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So not constipated at all, but rather,

um, the opposite you're going probably

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quite frequently and it is quite runny.

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So.

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Now we move into soft

blobs with clear cut edges.

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Uh, I would just say we're

putting everything in a bubble

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here, but rather this is saying

that you need more fiber now.

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Of course.

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Everyone's body is different.

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So this is just a broad

statement, but typically this

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means that you're lacking fiber.

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If you have these soft blobs

with clear cut edges on them.

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And then moving on even further, we have

mushy consistency with ragged edges.

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So there is still some shape to.

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Uh, your stool, but it is very mushy.

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And, uh, this would typically mean that

you do have some inflammation in your gut.

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Uh, as a, you know, as

opposed to just eating fiber.

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Uh, to stiffen up your stool.

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So this would be now

moving into inflammation.

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And then if we go one step further, you

have liquid consistency, no solid edges.

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It's essentially just diarrhea.

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And that is going to be as well.

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A high state of inflammation,

probably a form of leaky gut as well.

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Uh, there's many, many things that

could be the cause here and the kind of

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like what you're actually experiencing.

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So we're going to give some

broad statements here, though.

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To kind of help you get your stool,

looking like the nice, smooth sausage

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shape that we want to kind of shoot for.

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So if you were a person who deals with

a lot of constipation, honestly, there

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are so many different things that

could be causing your constipation.

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That we're just not going to have

enough time in today's episode.

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And it could really just vary

depending on your lifestyle.

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But some of the kind of overarching

like themes or, uh, typical issues

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that people have here is usually

dehydration is like one of the

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first ones that people go towards.

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If you're not consuming enough water.

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Uh, your stool can become very dry

and you can become very constipated.

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It could be hard to,

uh, to use the restroom.

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So hydrating staying hydrated is

a great way to ensure that you're

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getting enough liquid and fluid into

your body to avoid that constipation.

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So that would be the first place

to start is with some water.

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Uh, you can also increase your fiber

if you do not have a high fiber diet.

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And a lot of people think that

this is kind of counterintuitive.

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Uh, but there are some people who

actually find that they do not have

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enough fiber in their diet and by

actually consuming fiber connect,

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actually help with their constipation.

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So that is also something to try.

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Of course not a medical doctor here.

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So this is all trial and error.

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Um, I don't see a ton of downside

in trying to increase your fiber,

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honestly, as a whole society, we

typically don't get enough fiber.

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Um, so probably a good place

to start is with some water,

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maybe including some fiber.

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And if you are severely constipated,

um, I don't know if doctors

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wouldn't necessarily recommend

this, but one thing that you can do.

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Is, you can consume a magnesium

and you can consume magnesium

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in just normal amounts.

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But honestly, if you did just a little

more magnesium than you might've wanted.

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Um, It can cause you to have

diarrhea because it does pull

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that water into the intestines.

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Uh, that's not something

you want to rely on.

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It's not something you want to do all the

time, but if you are severely constipated

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and you just have not gone in a long

time, Um, maybe you take some magnesium.

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Maybe you go a little bit heavy on the

magnesium, not too much, but a little

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bit extra, or just simply take some

magnesium and that will help you to

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stay regular, uh, hopefully as well.

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And it'll, you know, by pulling

in liquid into the bowels, um, and

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helping to move everything along.

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So.

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If you're on the constipated side,

those would kind of be my three

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things up your magnesium intake, stay

hydrated and maybe try some fiber.

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Now, if you're in the sweet spot,

keep doing what you're doing for

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the most part, unless you have

just a really terrible diet.

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Um, you might want to switch that up

and you might just be blessed with

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some great digestion, which is awesome.

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Um, but of course we want to shoot

for having a pretty healthy diet here.

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And then if you're going on to the other

spectrum, which for full disclosure

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is kind of where I am and where I was,

uh, I've obviously gotten a lot better,

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but is the lack of fiber or form.

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Uh, to my, to my stool.

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So for me personally, I have absolutely

found that increasing my fiber intake

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has greatly increased my, um, ability

to have normal stool bowel movements.

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Now I go at least once a day,

typically, um, That's a very common

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thing for me, maybe even twice a day.

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Now I was reading online that they said

you can they say going anywhere from, uh,

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at least once a day to anywhere at around

three times a week is considered normal.

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I think three times a week is

constipated person personally.

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Uh, that's very little for an entire week.

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I think the sweet spot is probably

somewhere around once a day.

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Um, I personally wouldn't want

to have my stool sitting in side

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me for multiple days at a time.

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Uh, you typically want to be

somewhat regular every day, at least.

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So that you're moving things along

and having a solid digestion as well.

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Um, with constipation

for women specifically.

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Uh, this can also be a.

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Cause for, uh, higher levels

of estrogen because estrogen is

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being, uh, re there's a re uptake.

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I believe that takes place

when, uh, women are constipated.

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So high estrogen levels can occur.

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Uh, from being constipated.

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So that's also something to watch out for.

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But for people who getting back to the

loose stool, who need to, uh, solidify

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up their stool more than it already is.

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Then yeah, definitely increasing the

fiber is going to be very key here.

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And this can be hard obviously

because we live in a world where

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it's kind of harder to get fiber.

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It's very easy to.

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Have meals that honestly are very

delicious, but lack a lot of fiber.

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So trying to get more

fiber is very important.

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, this is typically going to take

place in, things like vegetables.

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So increasing your vegetable intake is

one great way of increasing your fiber.

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Uh, I know that people also take

things like psyllium husk, for example,

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that's going to have a lot of fiber

and it's going to help you to, uh,

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go to the restroom as well, possibly.

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So that's definitely something

you can do is finding a high fiber

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supplement, or honestly, in my opinion,

the best way to do it is just eat

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foods that have higher fiber in them.

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That's going to be a great way of

kind of solidifying your stool.

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And also it's going to be typically a

healthier diet because it means you're

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including more vegetables in your diet.

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And then another thing that I've

actually found quite a bit of benefit

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with is, well, there's two things.

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One of them is a pre pro and

post biotic, or even just at

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least a pre and a probiotic.

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Um, A lot of people only

know about probiotics.

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There are three different kinds.

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It's a preapproval and a post

biotic not going to get super

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into it, but nonetheless.

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I like taking a pre approa

and a post biotic all in one.

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I take the one from ritual.

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I really enjoy.

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Uh, the way it makes me feel and it

has helped with my digestion, but

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then the other thing that really

helps with my digestion as well.

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Is, uh, a digestive enzyme.

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And so I typically use the digestive

enzymes from, uh, bio BiOptimizers,

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I believe is how you say their name.

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Uh, BI and then optimizers.

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So anyways, I really like, uh, the, the

digestive enzymes from there as well.

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They seem to really help to.

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You know, solidify my stool and

really just make me very normal.

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Uh, they, they slow down

my frequency as well.

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So it's really been a pretty big game

changer by including the pre-pro and

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post biotic with the digestive enzymes.

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I don't take the digestive

enzymes every single day.

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I kind of alternate the

days in which I take them.

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Uh, but yeah.

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And then aside from that is really

just including more fiber in your diet.

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If you include more fiber in

your diet and I mean, really

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include more fiber, like eat.

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A good amount of vegetables.

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In your diet.

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Uh, especially ones that are higher

in fiber that will or should make a

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pretty big difference in your digestion.

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Now, the other part of that is

if you have loose stool, you

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probably also have a leaky gut.

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And so that's going to be

something that you're also going

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to want to look into fixing.

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Um, once again, don't have the

time for it to on this episode

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right now, but definitely check out

leaky gut and ways of healing that.

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And that should definitely help out

with, uh, getting you to be more

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normal in terms of your stool and

bowel movements and your frequency.

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So anyways, that is

going to do it for today.

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I hope this was beneficial and I hope

now you have a better understanding of

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what your poop is trying to tell you.

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And.

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Next time you, uh, go ahead

and take a look at it.

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You can now have a better understanding

of if you are, you know, feeling very

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constipated and you need more of that

water, maybe some fiber or magnesium,

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or if you need to include more fiber in

your diet, as well as maybe a digestive

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enzyme and a pre-pro and post biotic.

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Okay, that is going to do

it for today's episode.

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I hope you enjoyed it.

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And I hope you found some benefit in it.

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And hopefully these shorter episodes are

going to be very beneficial for everyone

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and quick and easy listens for everyone.

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I love chatting it up with

y'all every single time.

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I hope you guys found this

beneficial and looking forward to

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seeing y'all on the next episode.

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I will be coming in with

some more short episodes.

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And I also have a few guest

episodes come coming up very

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soon, super excited for those.

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So anyways, I hope you all

have a great rest of your day.

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You know, the motto of the show.

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It's do everything with good intentions

and connect to your elements.

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RD all have a great one,

much love everybody.

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Peace.