With today’s emphasis on health and wellness, we’re all trying to do what’s right for our bodies. This encouraged a New Orleans’ Morning News anchor to wonder: How can you tell if your gut is healthy? Registered dietitian and nutritionist Felicia Stoler had the answer. She told the viewers to just look in their toilet bowl. We were overjoyed that America’s Health and Wellness expert referenced Regular Girl’s printable poop guide during this appearance. She agrees that your poop is a window into your health.
Life is good when your insides are happy. “When people have a healthy gut they have more vitality and energy. They just feel better. They’re less bloated,” said Stoler. “Don’t we all want to feel that way?”
Consuming highly sweetened foods may take a toll on your insides. “That irritates your gut microbiome,” Stoler explained, stressing that each of us has unique bacteria residing in our intestinal tract. “You don’t want to damage it or stimulate it the wrong way.” To maintain gut health, she suggested consuming foods that are higher in fiber. Probiotics may also help. “Foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi can be natural sources,” said Stoler. “Dark chocolate also has a little bit of probiotics in it.” Then she added: “Probiotics are great but they don’t work by themselves. You need a prebiotic fiber.”
We were excited when Stoler then poured a single-serve packet of Regular Girl into a glass of water. Each serving of Regular Girl contains eight billion active and clinically proven probiotics as well as five grams of easy-on-your-stomach prebiotic fiber. As Stoler explained, prebiotic fiber is the food for the good bacteria in your gut. “We need 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day,” explained Stoler. “The typical American diet has less than 10 grams of fiber.”
When asked how you can tell if your gut is healthy, Stoler smiled. “I brought a poop chart so we can talk about what your poop should look like. Many people don’t realize it.” After pointing to normal and abnormal bowel movements, she added that frequency varies from person to person. “For some people, it’s once a day. Sometimes it’s once every three days. But you want to make sure that you’re getting that fiber in on a regular basis. That is why we call this Regular Girl.”