Whether you are trying to drop a few pounds, get in better shape for an upcoming 10K or just live a healthier lifestyle, you should take a peek into the toilet bowl. Alternative health expert Bryce Wylde said, “Your poop is a window into your health,” when he appeared on Detroit’s Action News this Morning. Wylde dived into this subject because many of us suffer from digestive problems, but aren’t too keen on discussing it. You know poop happens. Now it’s time to learn how to poop healthy.
A healthy stool has a distinctive shape
Health experts use the Bristol Stool Chart to classify human poop shapes. This chart has seven types depicted by pictures. “You don’t want type 1 and 2. You don’t want it to look like a goat turd,” said Wylde. “What you are looking for is an S-shaped stool.” This should pass easily and require a minimal amount of toilet paper.
“What if it’s in little pieces?,” asked the host.“That tells you that you don’t have enough fiber,” answered Wylde.
Regular Girl contains a regulating fiber which helps manage both occasional constipation and diarrhea.
How to improve your poop’s shape
Wylde suggested consuming a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. They contain insoluble fiber. “That means we don’t digest it,” explained Wylde. “But we need more of it to create the bulk that’s in our stool.”
Soluble fiber and probiotics also support digestive health.
- Soluble fiber is not abundantly found in foods we typically consider fiber rich, such as high-fiber cereals or leafy vegetables. It is present in beans and seeds. It helps you feel fuller longer which helps you maintain a healthy weight. It also helps reduce serum cholesterol which may lower your heart disease risk.
- Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that live in your gut. “We want more yogurt, sauerkraut and other fermented foods in our diet,” said Wylde, who added that antibiotic use can kill these good guys. “We need more probiotics,” he said, “but we also need to feed them with prebiotics. That’s the soluble fiber that I’m talking about.”
To become more regular, Wylde suggested, “mixing your prebiotic (fiber) with your probiotic.”
Hey, that’s Regular Girl’s symbiotic blend!