You’ve heard of “paying it forward”, right? Well now it’s time to poop it forward. This idea is literally flushed with humor. “It’s time to have a conversation about bowel health with your friends,” says Dietitian Nutritionist and author Felicia Stoler, DCN. “I find that women talk about going to the bathroom more than men do. We’re just more comfortable discussing our bodily functions. So let’s have some fun with it.”
Stoler wants American women to start this conversation by talking with friends about how they exercise their colons. Huh? We know how to exercise our muscles … even our minds … but our colons? “I’m referring to how we move our poop through the chute,” jokes Stoler. “Our bodies are designed to move waste through our digestive system using a process called peristalsis. It’s basically an involuntary muscle movement, similar to how a snake moves a meal through its body. Without being asked to move regularly, your colon can lose muscle tone.
“You can’t simply put on an exercise DVD to work out your colon. You need fiber to stimulate it. Your goal is to have a normal poop at least once a day.” Stoler recognizes that it’s difficult to consume the recommended 25 grams of fiber through diet alone. In fact, about half of us rarely reach that goal.
That’s why she suggests that you and your friends start using Regular Girl daily. “We worry that fiber supplements will give us bloating, cramping and embarrassing gas. What’s great about Regular Girl is that it contains Sunfiber, which doesn’t do any of that. It can also be added to your favorite non-heated foods and daily beverages without you or your family even seeing, smelling or tasting the difference,” says Stoler. “Sprinkle it into your yogurt, onto your cereal or even into your juice and smoothies.”
In addition to giving your colon something to do, dietary fiber helps to support healthy cholesterol levels, normal blood pressure and healthy blood glucose levels. It also promotes satiety which can help with weight management.
Regular Girl (www.RegularGirl.com) also contains probiotics. “There’s a lot of talk about probiotics today, but here’s what many women miss,” says Stoler. “Almost all of the products are focusing on who has the highest count of probiotics. It is important to remember that we already have a wealth of bacteria within our digestive tracts. It’s important to provide both the new and existing bacteria with the best prebiotic fiber – such as Sunfiber – to act in harmony and proliferate the good bacteria.”