March 22, 2010 • 22 mins
We all poop, but we're often reluctant to discuss (and sometimes perform) this natural act -- especially women. Molly and Cristen give you the scoop on lady poop -- from poop "showdowns" to irritable bowel syndrome -- in this episode.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray.
It's ready. Are you welcome to stuff mom never told you?
From House to works dot Com. Hey, and welcome the podcast.
This is Milly and I'm Kristen what christ And I
(00:28):
think I'm making uncomfortable by saying poop. Not uncomfortable, just confused.
So why are you saying poop like that? We're gonna
talk about poop, lady poop, And I think that the
idea of poop and ladies together makes people really uncomfortable.
Well enough with ladies were let's call it women. So
I thought I thought I would just say poop a
(00:49):
bunch of times. People can adjust to their uncomfortable nous, yes,
or discomfort would be a better way to say that.
And let's get on with this topic because people like
to believe that women don't poop. Yeah, poop yeah. And
by the way, you know, if you guys would like
to commence with a drinking game right now, just do
a poop drinking game, because we're going to talk about
(01:11):
poop a lot poop, poop, poop, poo, and cently Molly
says it like a hoodel uh. Yeah, I think it's time.
We've talked about periods, We've talked about semen, we've talked
about all sorts of things. But one thing we haven't
talked about Molly's poop. Poop. It's high time to talk
about it. Women poop too, but women are really uncomfortable
(01:33):
about it. We were talking before we came in here
about what's known as the bathroom showdown. Yes, here at
the House Stuff Works office. And I hope this really
isn't divulging too much information, because I think this happens
at offices all across the US of A and Canada
and Canada, uh and beyond. There's a thing with pooping
(01:55):
in private and the women's bathroom. Like if you go
in any given day, you will see a pair of
feet in one of the stalls and they're not budging,
and there is no sound coming from that stall, and
it is obvious that one of your female coworkers is
waiting for some privacy. Yeah, we can't poop around each
(02:16):
other because then they might. Then you might let out
a fart, there might be some awkward splashing sounds, and
of course the telltale smell. Because no one wants to
be that person in the bathroom, the office bathroom. Who
makes the poop just in time for another coworker to
walk in and smell? Ever gone awful things just came
(02:41):
came out of you because you obviously made a poop.
I mean, there's no hiding it. It's really embarrassing. You
know what I dislike is if someone right before you
came in and left the smell, and then a coworker
sees you walking out, you want to be like, that
wasn't me. I have I may or may not have
in my lifetime at some point, not in the office,
totally done the preemptive blame game, like walked out of
(03:04):
a single single use beat them like whoa someone before me? Man? Really, okay,
I'm talking about my own poop. Let's move on. It's just,
you know, we think it's unladylike. Women are supposed to
poop roses and unicorns. Yea, I wish, and they don't.
So we're gonna talk about what poop should actually be
because you know what, KRISTI apparently has a real hang
(03:26):
up on smell. But if it smells, that just means
that your gut is working the way it's supposed to. Yes,
we found some very handy factoids on web m D
about what's normal with pooping, because while we would like
to think, you know, perhaps that that pooping is not
something that that women do. On average, people go once
or twice a day, but many people go even more,
(03:49):
and then some people go even less. I mean, it's
just you know, everyone everyone poops differently. There is no
normal amount of poop that should come out of you.
The only thing that would be abnormal is if, like
you're used to going once or twice a day and
then you don't go for a week. Yes, you like
some somehow I'll get off kilter. And another thing that
might indicate that something abnormal is going on is the
(04:11):
color of poop. Usually it should be brown because of
the bile in your gut. When it pushes it all out,
it's brown. But if it gets if it gets funky color,
that is a sign that something might be wrong. Yeah,
because I didn't realize this. Uh. It usually takes about
three days from the time that you eat a meal
until it ends up in the toilet, and if it
takes a shorter time, then you might have greener poop
(04:33):
because green is one of the first colors that will
show up in the digestive process, so it's just moving
right on down. It's going to be greener. Now, some
people think that shape and size is a big indicator
that something's wrong, but this is not true. Whatever is
normal for you is what is normal for you. Yeah,
some people evidently used to think that, uh, if your
(04:55):
stool was quote pencil thin, you had a problem. But
sometimes just make thin poops and it's okay. Just don't
have like a hang up about being thin thin pooped
like women have hang up about being thin bodied. Yes,
don't have a poop hanging up. Okay, I don't have
a pooping up, but poop hanging ups are very common
for women. And now we're going to get into a
little discussion of constipation and diarrhea because women do have
(05:19):
tender tummies, as Kristen put it earlier to me. Yeah,
and I think this would be a good time to
talk about one of the favorite of my favorite study
that we have found so far in our in Our
Mom's Stuff journey, female bowel function. The real story because
a lot of people haven't studied much about female bowel
movement patterns. Yeah, it's very hard to find real studies
(05:42):
about this. Issue because who wants to sign up for
a study where they talk about their poop. It's hard
enough to talk to your friends about your poop. So
fun fact too, about female pooping patterns, One third of females,
according to the study, read on the toilet, with a
majority doing so to relax or be distracted. In African
American females read the most, followed by Caucasians, and interestingly,
(06:06):
white females will read to conserve time. I don't really
know what that means. Well, maybe if you're distracted, your
poop comes out faster, because white females do have shorter
bow moments, apparently, like the average time for a bow
moment five to six minutes, but it's longer in African
American females seven point seven minutes versus Caucasian five point
(06:27):
zero monts. There are a lot of things that can
go wrong with with female pooping well, and for men
to you know, sometimes things come out a little too fast,
Sometimes we a little backed up. You were talking about
constipation a minute ago. Um For women, according to the study,
food is the number one thing that will cause changes
(06:48):
in our bow movement patterns. But then we also have
mensturation stress and childbirth that can also affect it smell.
She well, she throws some stufs at me, Molly about
about when things get get backed up. Well, let's let's
make sure everyone knows exactly what we're talking about. So
constipation is when you normally have abound movement once or
(07:08):
twice a day, and then that changes. You haven't gone
in three days or more. Do you feel gassy, you
feel bloated, you feel gross. Now you're also going to
feel gross if you've got diarrhea, which I don't. I
don't know if I need to define this one, but
loose spells, watering, seems like everything's just coming out at once.
We I don't want to. I think that's enough. Everyone's
(07:30):
got everyone's got a good picture. But I think that
what's interesting for us in terms of having a podcast
that's interested in women's issues is that it can really
happen around the time of your period. Yes, And what
was interested interesting to me was this concept of prostag landings,
which really reek havoc on your poop. Yes. Prostag Landings
(07:54):
are compounds that perform a variety of functions, including simulating
smooth muscles in the uterus. To construct and expel accumulated
uterine lining. So and when you menstrate, your body is
flushing out um some of it's shedding some of that
uterine lining. That kind of kickstarts menstruation really yeah so,
(08:15):
but then if the body makes more prostat landings than
it needs, a woman is more likely to experience stronger
cramping and pain in her period. And they also think
that with this prostagland and overproduction might get into your
bloodstream and affect your bowel movements. And just as the
prostaglands help your body flush out the uterine lining, it
(08:38):
will start helping your body flush out everything in the
organs it's affecting, which is why you might have diarrhea
or constipation around the time of your period. Yeah. So,
just another fun menstruation symptom, but it affects all women differently. Obviously,
you're making different amounts of prostict lands, which is why
I know for some women this is a big issue.
(09:00):
For others, this might be news that this happens to ladies.
And another digestive issue that some doctors sink is linked
to menstruation because it happens a lot more in women.
Something called Irritable Belle Syndrome or IBS IBS. Let's talk
about it, because what um it's interesting is more women reported.
(09:21):
More women are likely or the doctor with complaints about IBS.
That doesn't mean that more women have it. Men just
might not be talking about their poop with their doctors.
But the syndrome does affect to forty five million Americans.
It's pretty common, and about two thirds of them, at
least the ones who report it are women, according to
the International Foundation for Functional gastro Intestinal Disorders in Milwaukee.
(09:46):
So let's talk about some symptoms. If you've got recurring cramping, pain,
discomfort in the lower abdomen, beloading diarrhea, constipation or alternating
diarrhea and constipation that is milder sevie that lasts for
twelve weeks but not necessarily consecutive weeks, then you might
have IBS. Oh, and I forgot one symptom mucus in
(10:08):
the stool, which I don't want to forget that. Don't
forget about the mucus now. IBS is tricky to diagnose
because it's categorized as a functional disorder, which means that
there's no known physical cause. So a lot of times
people will be having all these g I problems and
very painful bowel movements, and they'll be totally undiagnosed and
(10:32):
therefore untreated for years and years and years. And it
can affect you, know, your ability to go to school,
go to work. Um, it might affect you wanting to
go to parties and whatnot, because who wants to have
bowel problems at a party? Not me? Yeah, I mean,
there was a There's two thousand two survey by the
Novartists Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and it found that thirty nine percent
(10:54):
of people with ib S say that they had either
missed work or had a decrease in productivity on an
average of six to sixteen days over just a three
month period, and nine said it limited their ability to
perform daily functions because, I mean, anyone who's had a
case of diarrhea knows, like when things are not going
well in the tummy, it's just it ruins your day. Yep,
(11:17):
it's not it's not fun, it's not. Now. The reason
we brought this up right after menstruation is that women
often have an increase in IBS symptoms around the time
that they men straight, So that to to some doctors,
like Kristen said earlier, you know, people thought there was
a link, but but there's really no known cause, as
Kristen said, but we're gonna go over a few of
(11:39):
the theories. But backing up a little bit, doctors have
concluded that people with IBS have a more sensitive g
I tracked your gas tro intentional truck tracked, which is
essentially your eri esophagus to your rectum. Now, what was
interesting to me is that we think of the human
body as you know, getting messages from the brain brain
(12:00):
works down. But this New York Times article about IBS
that came out in two thousand three started talking about
all the information that goes the other way from the
gut to the brain, and that is why you could
have such a bad day if you have diarrhea. I mean,
it's not just feeling bad, it's your messages from the
gut are telling your brain distress, distress, watery poop. I
(12:21):
didn't realize this at all, but according to this article,
the number of nerve fibers that are signaling information from
the gut to the brain is about nine times the
number that travel from the brain to the gut, and
so when things are going wrong in your tummy, you
have far more nerve signals telling the brain that everything
(12:42):
is out of whack, which is probably why it's so
painful and hard to deal with. And on a side note, Molly,
you know the phrase gut reaction and gut feeling, gut feeling,
that's where it's coming from. Yeah, Like if you have
a stomach ache when maybe you're thinking about taking a job,
it might be a sign that your guts, like I
don't think so, we're not going to be happy at
that job. And that's also why you get feelings of
(13:04):
butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous, because of that
connection from the brain to the enteric nervous system, which
is basically the guts. That's little the guts brain. So
now the reason where we're concerned about these um these
nervous systems and the connection between the gut and the
brain is one hypothesis for the cause of IBS is
that something in that chain is misfiring, that there's some
(13:28):
connection that's broken, and that's why the gut manifests with
all these awful, painful symptoms. And doctors have pinpointed seratonin,
which is a major neuro transmitter that we talked about.
I think a lot on sminty um that not only
helps regulate your mood, we associated a lot with your
(13:48):
your reward system, uh, but it also regulates your bowels.
And there's actually a lot more serotonin housed around the
gut than there is in the brain. So doctors think
that people who might have um serotonin imbalances will also
suffer from more IBS or gastro intentional problems and linked
(14:09):
to that have more stress and anxiety problems, which does
put you in a sort of a vicious circle way
does put your risk for IBS. People with high levels
of stress and actually people who have really significant trauma
in their past, like sexual abuse, domestic abuse, they are
more predisposed to IBS perhaps because of this brain gut connection.
(14:33):
Do you think that all that serotonin in our gut
is why when you have a really good poop you're
really happy? Maybe? So, I mean, am I alone and
feeling that? No, not at all. The good poop is satisfying,
satisfying pop. It's hard satifying body, so in less than
satisfying news. However, there is no cure for IBS UM
(14:54):
and there is you know, really even no way they diagnosis. Basically,
they rule out everything else that might go on with
your gas or intestinal tract and then be like, well
it might be ibs yea. And a lot of times
you might get a you might have a colonoscopy performed
where they'll stick a stick a camera uh your colon
to see if there's any irritation going on in there.
(15:15):
But yeah, it's it's it's kind of like, you know,
the catch all sort of yes, but there are things
you can do, and there are things you can do
if you just got an ordinary, you know, running the
mill case of constant patient or diarrhea, there are things
that can be done, like most notably diet modification. Yeah,
(15:35):
because you're gonna have certain foods and beverages that are
going to make stomach problems even worse. And the common
ones are fried, fatty and spicy foods, and alcohol and caffeine, chocolate,
carbonated liquids. Basically, anything that is delicious or intoxicating in
any kind of way um might wreck your stomach. And
(15:57):
then on top of that, we also have things like
dairy products that contain lactose. Anyone who's lactose intolerant. You know,
sometimes I can hurt the stomach. Stomach got sweeteners like
sorbital and then wheat products because of a lot of
times the gluten and if I'm not mistaken, will be
the irritant. And then we have beans, broccoli and cabbage
(16:18):
and other high ruffage foods that just take a lot
of work to break down. Right. And it's interesting you
mentioned gluten because I do want to say that Celiac disease,
which is the disease most associated with inability to diagnosed gluten,
can often be misdiagnosed as IBS or vice versa. But
just remember that selac disease does have a definitive diagnostic test,
(16:40):
whereas IBS does not. And then to round out our
list of potential irritants, we have certain medications and vitamins,
but there are certain foods and beverages that you can
consume that will alleviate these symptoms. Your tummy love fiber
and water. Fiber and water. A lot of us do
not eat enough fiber every day, and a lot of
(17:03):
us don't drink enough water. Yeah, but up them up
the anti on the fiber in the water. Yes, regardless,
if you have ibs or not. Yeah, it's just good.
It's just good for your body. Keep your system clean,
and then keeping your stress at bay is also important. Exercising,
doing yoga, um, cognitive therapy, acupuncture, all of this stuff
(17:24):
because of that connection between your stress and your stomach.
Meditate on having a good poop, very good poop. And
then we also have some medications that can treat it
um specifically anti spasmodics, because a lot of times when
you have g I problems, it will be because when
food is passing through on its journey to the toilet bowl,
(17:49):
it will cause your intestines to spasm. We can be
very painful, and so they are there are medications that
you can take that will will keep your your insides
calm while it is processing this food. And you have
anti diarrhetls like emmodium, and then also in out a
pressense because once again going back to that stomach brain connection.
(18:09):
But before you start taking medications, of course, you need
to see your doctor because some of those medications do
have side effects. Now you might have a question about
things like probiotics and the yogurts that will make you poop,
which I think we've talked about a little bit before,
haven't we Jamie Lee Curtis actually personal little activitia. Um.
There are no studies yet. It's still sort of an
emerging field that people have their eye on. So it's
(18:31):
not a definitive cure all yet. Um, but that's where
we are with IBS. I think the best things that
you could do, um, even if you're just stealing a
little low one day, not necessarily even having IBS, is
just watch your diet, reduce your stress, go for a walk,
meditate on the poop. Yeah, but pay attention to the
symptoms and don't let it go untreated. Because you don't
(18:52):
want to talk about poop. Yeah, talk your doctor can
listen to you talk about poop. Your doctor. Doctors aren't
gonna be squeamish about your poop. Just listen to us.
Listen we listen to this podcast. Listen to how many
times we say poop, and hopefully it will open you
up and just want to talk about poop. Yeah, Because
my I don't think that I have ever talked this
extensively about poop to another person. I haven't either, And
(19:13):
I'm sure there are people out there who are a
little disgusted right now, but probably you know what, in
the in the name of the old book, everybody poops. Yeah.
And you know what, Molly, I feel a little bit
more bonded to you, um, because of this extensive poop discussion.
And I you and next time I go to the bathroom,
you might come to mind. I might not do have
a bathroom showdown the next time I've gotta gott a poop. Yeah,
(19:34):
I might just go ahead and let her rip. Just
go for it, hope, please do. I probably won't because
I'm a coward. But enough about Molly and Mine's thoughts
on pooping. We want to hear from you poo poop.
We want to hear about, you know, if you've got
problems with ib s, if you are horrified that Molly
and I just said poop about sixty five times in
(19:56):
the past a few minutes. Let us all your thoughts, um,
and and you know, keep it clean though, people, even
though we're talking about a dirty topic, if you will,
Mom Stuff How stuff works dot Com is email address.
In speaking of which, Molly, let's read a couple of emails. Okay,
(20:17):
these are from our female directors podcasts, and we have
a few omissions. We'll just kind of go through quickly.
Jesse reminded us about Amy Heckerling, who directed some classics
like Fast Times, a Richmond High and Clueless, which you
know is a modern day classics. So Amy Heckerling shout out.
Mia pointed out a big one that we missed, Miss
(20:39):
Penny Marshall directed Jumping Jack Flash Awesome, followed by big Hello.
We missed on the director of Big Awakenings, A League
of their Own, a movie that we have talked about,
Molly Renaissance, The Preacher's Wife, which I may or may
not out have watched number of times because I may
or may not have a crush on Denzel Washington, and
(21:00):
then riding in cars with boys. Yes, many of our
listeners wrote in about about Oldpenny. Yeah, Penny Marshall actress
director Barbara streisand is one that we also left off,
and Wade reminded us that we forgot Mary Herron, who
directed American Psycho. So there are many female directors out there,
but not as many as there are men. Yes, so
(21:23):
thanks for those editions everybody, and again our email addresses
mom stuff at house stuff works dot com if you
think of any female directors, or again, any thoughts on poop.
Our blog is how to Stuff and it is at
how stuff works dot com. As our numerous articles, probably
not on poop, but on everything else, on ibs, on Iba,
on tummy trouble, on tummy Trouble, those are at our
(21:45):
home base how stuff works dot com. For more on
this and thousands of other topics. Because it how stuff
works dot com. Want more house stuff works, check out
our blogs on the housetop works dot com homepage. Brought
(22:06):
to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready,
are you
Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray.
It's ready. Are you welcome to stuff mom never told you?
From House to works dot Com. Hey, and welcome the podcast.
This is Milly and I'm Kristen what christ And I
(00:28):
think I'm making uncomfortable by saying poop. Not uncomfortable, just confused.
So why are you saying poop like that? We're gonna
talk about poop, lady poop, And I think that the
idea of poop and ladies together makes people really uncomfortable.
Well enough with ladies were let's call it women. So
I thought I thought I would just say poop a
(00:49):
bunch of times. People can adjust to their uncomfortable nous, yes,
or discomfort would be a better way to say that.
And let's get on with this topic because people like
to believe that women don't poop. Yeah, poop yeah. And
by the way, you know, if you guys would like
to commence with a drinking game right now, just do
a poop drinking game, because we're going to talk about
(01:11):
poop a lot poop, poop, poop, poo, and cently Molly
says it like a hoodel uh. Yeah, I think it's time.
We've talked about periods, We've talked about semen, we've talked
about all sorts of things. But one thing we haven't
talked about Molly's poop. Poop. It's high time to talk
about it. Women poop too, but women are really uncomfortable
(01:33):
about it. We were talking before we came in here
about what's known as the bathroom showdown. Yes, here at
the House Stuff Works office. And I hope this really
isn't divulging too much information, because I think this happens
at offices all across the US of A and Canada
and Canada, uh and beyond. There's a thing with pooping
(01:55):
in private and the women's bathroom. Like if you go
in any given day, you will see a pair of
feet in one of the stalls and they're not budging,
and there is no sound coming from that stall, and
it is obvious that one of your female coworkers is
waiting for some privacy. Yeah, we can't poop around each
(02:16):
other because then they might. Then you might let out
a fart, there might be some awkward splashing sounds, and
of course the telltale smell. Because no one wants to
be that person in the bathroom, the office bathroom. Who
makes the poop just in time for another coworker to
walk in and smell? Ever gone awful things just came
(02:41):
came out of you because you obviously made a poop.
I mean, there's no hiding it. It's really embarrassing. You
know what I dislike is if someone right before you
came in and left the smell, and then a coworker
sees you walking out, you want to be like, that
wasn't me. I have I may or may not have
in my lifetime at some point, not in the office,
totally done the preemptive blame game, like walked out of
(03:04):
a single single use beat them like whoa someone before me? Man? Really, okay,
I'm talking about my own poop. Let's move on. It's just,
you know, we think it's unladylike. Women are supposed to
poop roses and unicorns. Yea, I wish, and they don't.
So we're gonna talk about what poop should actually be
because you know what, KRISTI apparently has a real hang
(03:26):
up on smell. But if it smells, that just means
that your gut is working the way it's supposed to. Yes,
we found some very handy factoids on web m D
about what's normal with pooping, because while we would like
to think, you know, perhaps that that pooping is not
something that that women do. On average, people go once
or twice a day, but many people go even more,
(03:49):
and then some people go even less. I mean, it's
just you know, everyone everyone poops differently. There is no
normal amount of poop that should come out of you.
The only thing that would be abnormal is if, like
you're used to going once or twice a day and
then you don't go for a week. Yes, you like
some somehow I'll get off kilter. And another thing that
might indicate that something abnormal is going on is the
(04:11):
color of poop. Usually it should be brown because of
the bile in your gut. When it pushes it all out,
it's brown. But if it gets if it gets funky color,
that is a sign that something might be wrong. Yeah,
because I didn't realize this. Uh. It usually takes about
three days from the time that you eat a meal
until it ends up in the toilet, and if it
takes a shorter time, then you might have greener poop
(04:33):
because green is one of the first colors that will
show up in the digestive process, so it's just moving
right on down. It's going to be greener. Now, some
people think that shape and size is a big indicator
that something's wrong, but this is not true. Whatever is
normal for you is what is normal for you. Yeah,
some people evidently used to think that, uh, if your
(04:55):
stool was quote pencil thin, you had a problem. But
sometimes just make thin poops and it's okay. Just don't
have like a hang up about being thin thin pooped
like women have hang up about being thin bodied. Yes,
don't have a poop hanging up. Okay, I don't have
a pooping up, but poop hanging ups are very common
for women. And now we're going to get into a
little discussion of constipation and diarrhea because women do have
(05:19):
tender tummies, as Kristen put it earlier to me. Yeah,
and I think this would be a good time to
talk about one of the favorite of my favorite study
that we have found so far in our in Our
Mom's Stuff journey, female bowel function. The real story because
a lot of people haven't studied much about female bowel
movement patterns. Yeah, it's very hard to find real studies
(05:42):
about this. Issue because who wants to sign up for
a study where they talk about their poop. It's hard
enough to talk to your friends about your poop. So
fun fact too, about female pooping patterns, One third of females,
according to the study, read on the toilet, with a
majority doing so to relax or be distracted. In African
American females read the most, followed by Caucasians, and interestingly,
(06:06):
white females will read to conserve time. I don't really
know what that means. Well, maybe if you're distracted, your
poop comes out faster, because white females do have shorter
bow moments, apparently, like the average time for a bow
moment five to six minutes, but it's longer in African
American females seven point seven minutes versus Caucasian five point
(06:27):
zero monts. There are a lot of things that can
go wrong with with female pooping well, and for men
to you know, sometimes things come out a little too fast,
Sometimes we a little backed up. You were talking about
constipation a minute ago. Um For women, according to the study,
food is the number one thing that will cause changes
(06:48):
in our bow movement patterns. But then we also have
mensturation stress and childbirth that can also affect it smell.
She well, she throws some stufs at me, Molly about
about when things get get backed up. Well, let's let's
make sure everyone knows exactly what we're talking about. So
constipation is when you normally have abound movement once or
(07:08):
twice a day, and then that changes. You haven't gone
in three days or more. Do you feel gassy, you
feel bloated, you feel gross. Now you're also going to
feel gross if you've got diarrhea, which I don't. I
don't know if I need to define this one, but
loose spells, watering, seems like everything's just coming out at once.
We I don't want to. I think that's enough. Everyone's
(07:30):
got everyone's got a good picture. But I think that
what's interesting for us in terms of having a podcast
that's interested in women's issues is that it can really
happen around the time of your period. Yes, And what
was interested interesting to me was this concept of prostag landings,
which really reek havoc on your poop. Yes. Prostag Landings
(07:54):
are compounds that perform a variety of functions, including simulating
smooth muscles in the uterus. To construct and expel accumulated
uterine lining. So and when you menstrate, your body is
flushing out um some of it's shedding some of that
uterine lining. That kind of kickstarts menstruation really yeah so,
(08:15):
but then if the body makes more prostat landings than
it needs, a woman is more likely to experience stronger
cramping and pain in her period. And they also think
that with this prostagland and overproduction might get into your
bloodstream and affect your bowel movements. And just as the
prostaglands help your body flush out the uterine lining, it
(08:38):
will start helping your body flush out everything in the
organs it's affecting, which is why you might have diarrhea
or constipation around the time of your period. Yeah. So,
just another fun menstruation symptom, but it affects all women differently. Obviously,
you're making different amounts of prostict lands, which is why
I know for some women this is a big issue.
(09:00):
For others, this might be news that this happens to ladies.
And another digestive issue that some doctors sink is linked
to menstruation because it happens a lot more in women.
Something called Irritable Belle Syndrome or IBS IBS. Let's talk
about it, because what um it's interesting is more women reported.
(09:21):
More women are likely or the doctor with complaints about IBS.
That doesn't mean that more women have it. Men just
might not be talking about their poop with their doctors.
But the syndrome does affect to forty five million Americans.
It's pretty common, and about two thirds of them, at
least the ones who report it are women, according to
the International Foundation for Functional gastro Intestinal Disorders in Milwaukee.
(09:46):
So let's talk about some symptoms. If you've got recurring cramping, pain,
discomfort in the lower abdomen, beloading diarrhea, constipation or alternating
diarrhea and constipation that is milder sevie that lasts for
twelve weeks but not necessarily consecutive weeks, then you might
have IBS. Oh, and I forgot one symptom mucus in
(10:08):
the stool, which I don't want to forget that. Don't
forget about the mucus now. IBS is tricky to diagnose
because it's categorized as a functional disorder, which means that
there's no known physical cause. So a lot of times
people will be having all these g I problems and
very painful bowel movements, and they'll be totally undiagnosed and
(10:32):
therefore untreated for years and years and years. And it
can affect you, know, your ability to go to school,
go to work. Um, it might affect you wanting to
go to parties and whatnot, because who wants to have
bowel problems at a party? Not me? Yeah, I mean,
there was a There's two thousand two survey by the
Novartists Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and it found that thirty nine percent
(10:54):
of people with ib S say that they had either
missed work or had a decrease in productivity on an
average of six to sixteen days over just a three
month period, and nine said it limited their ability to
perform daily functions because, I mean, anyone who's had a
case of diarrhea knows, like when things are not going
well in the tummy, it's just it ruins your day. Yep,
(11:17):
it's not it's not fun, it's not. Now. The reason
we brought this up right after menstruation is that women
often have an increase in IBS symptoms around the time
that they men straight, So that to to some doctors,
like Kristen said earlier, you know, people thought there was
a link, but but there's really no known cause, as
Kristen said, but we're gonna go over a few of
(11:39):
the theories. But backing up a little bit, doctors have
concluded that people with IBS have a more sensitive g
I tracked your gas tro intentional truck tracked, which is
essentially your eri esophagus to your rectum. Now, what was
interesting to me is that we think of the human
body as you know, getting messages from the brain brain
(12:00):
works down. But this New York Times article about IBS
that came out in two thousand three started talking about
all the information that goes the other way from the
gut to the brain, and that is why you could
have such a bad day if you have diarrhea. I mean,
it's not just feeling bad, it's your messages from the
gut are telling your brain distress, distress, watery poop. I
(12:21):
didn't realize this at all, but according to this article,
the number of nerve fibers that are signaling information from
the gut to the brain is about nine times the
number that travel from the brain to the gut, and
so when things are going wrong in your tummy, you
have far more nerve signals telling the brain that everything
(12:42):
is out of whack, which is probably why it's so
painful and hard to deal with. And on a side note, Molly,
you know the phrase gut reaction and gut feeling, gut feeling,
that's where it's coming from. Yeah, Like if you have
a stomach ache when maybe you're thinking about taking a job,
it might be a sign that your guts, like I
don't think so, we're not going to be happy at
that job. And that's also why you get feelings of
(13:04):
butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous, because of that
connection from the brain to the enteric nervous system, which
is basically the guts. That's little the guts brain. So
now the reason where we're concerned about these um these
nervous systems and the connection between the gut and the
brain is one hypothesis for the cause of IBS is
that something in that chain is misfiring, that there's some
(13:28):
connection that's broken, and that's why the gut manifests with
all these awful, painful symptoms. And doctors have pinpointed seratonin,
which is a major neuro transmitter that we talked about.
I think a lot on sminty um that not only
helps regulate your mood, we associated a lot with your
(13:48):
your reward system, uh, but it also regulates your bowels.
And there's actually a lot more serotonin housed around the
gut than there is in the brain. So doctors think
that people who might have um serotonin imbalances will also
suffer from more IBS or gastro intentional problems and linked
(14:09):
to that have more stress and anxiety problems, which does
put you in a sort of a vicious circle way
does put your risk for IBS. People with high levels
of stress and actually people who have really significant trauma
in their past, like sexual abuse, domestic abuse, they are
more predisposed to IBS perhaps because of this brain gut connection.
(14:33):
Do you think that all that serotonin in our gut
is why when you have a really good poop you're
really happy? Maybe? So, I mean, am I alone and
feeling that? No, not at all. The good poop is satisfying,
satisfying pop. It's hard satifying body, so in less than
satisfying news. However, there is no cure for IBS UM
(14:54):
and there is you know, really even no way they diagnosis. Basically,
they rule out everything else that might go on with
your gas or intestinal tract and then be like, well
it might be ibs yea. And a lot of times
you might get a you might have a colonoscopy performed
where they'll stick a stick a camera uh your colon
to see if there's any irritation going on in there.
(15:15):
But yeah, it's it's it's kind of like, you know,
the catch all sort of yes, but there are things
you can do, and there are things you can do
if you just got an ordinary, you know, running the
mill case of constant patient or diarrhea, there are things
that can be done, like most notably diet modification. Yeah,
(15:35):
because you're gonna have certain foods and beverages that are
going to make stomach problems even worse. And the common
ones are fried, fatty and spicy foods, and alcohol and caffeine, chocolate,
carbonated liquids. Basically, anything that is delicious or intoxicating in
any kind of way um might wreck your stomach. And
(15:57):
then on top of that, we also have things like
dairy products that contain lactose. Anyone who's lactose intolerant. You know,
sometimes I can hurt the stomach. Stomach got sweeteners like
sorbital and then wheat products because of a lot of
times the gluten and if I'm not mistaken, will be
the irritant. And then we have beans, broccoli and cabbage
(16:18):
and other high ruffage foods that just take a lot
of work to break down. Right. And it's interesting you
mentioned gluten because I do want to say that Celiac disease,
which is the disease most associated with inability to diagnosed gluten,
can often be misdiagnosed as IBS or vice versa. But
just remember that selac disease does have a definitive diagnostic test,
(16:40):
whereas IBS does not. And then to round out our
list of potential irritants, we have certain medications and vitamins,
but there are certain foods and beverages that you can
consume that will alleviate these symptoms. Your tummy love fiber
and water. Fiber and water. A lot of us do
not eat enough fiber every day, and a lot of
(17:03):
us don't drink enough water. Yeah, but up them up
the anti on the fiber in the water. Yes, regardless,
if you have ibs or not. Yeah, it's just good.
It's just good for your body. Keep your system clean,
and then keeping your stress at bay is also important. Exercising,
doing yoga, um, cognitive therapy, acupuncture, all of this stuff
(17:24):
because of that connection between your stress and your stomach.
Meditate on having a good poop, very good poop. And
then we also have some medications that can treat it
um specifically anti spasmodics, because a lot of times when
you have g I problems, it will be because when
food is passing through on its journey to the toilet bowl,
(17:49):
it will cause your intestines to spasm. We can be
very painful, and so they are there are medications that
you can take that will will keep your your insides
calm while it is processing this food. And you have
anti diarrhetls like emmodium, and then also in out a
pressense because once again going back to that stomach brain connection.
(18:09):
But before you start taking medications, of course, you need
to see your doctor because some of those medications do
have side effects. Now you might have a question about
things like probiotics and the yogurts that will make you poop,
which I think we've talked about a little bit before,
haven't we Jamie Lee Curtis actually personal little activitia. Um.
There are no studies yet. It's still sort of an
emerging field that people have their eye on. So it's
(18:31):
not a definitive cure all yet. Um, but that's where
we are with IBS. I think the best things that
you could do, um, even if you're just stealing a
little low one day, not necessarily even having IBS, is
just watch your diet, reduce your stress, go for a walk,
meditate on the poop. Yeah, but pay attention to the
symptoms and don't let it go untreated. Because you don't
(18:52):
want to talk about poop. Yeah, talk your doctor can
listen to you talk about poop. Your doctor. Doctors aren't
gonna be squeamish about your poop. Just listen to us.
Listen we listen to this podcast. Listen to how many
times we say poop, and hopefully it will open you
up and just want to talk about poop. Yeah, Because
my I don't think that I have ever talked this
extensively about poop to another person. I haven't either, And
(19:13):
I'm sure there are people out there who are a
little disgusted right now, but probably you know what, in
the in the name of the old book, everybody poops. Yeah.
And you know what, Molly, I feel a little bit
more bonded to you, um, because of this extensive poop discussion.
And I you and next time I go to the bathroom,
you might come to mind. I might not do have
a bathroom showdown the next time I've gotta gott a poop. Yeah,
(19:34):
I might just go ahead and let her rip. Just
go for it, hope, please do. I probably won't because
I'm a coward. But enough about Molly and Mine's thoughts
on pooping. We want to hear from you poo poop.
We want to hear about, you know, if you've got
problems with ib s, if you are horrified that Molly
and I just said poop about sixty five times in
(19:56):
the past a few minutes. Let us all your thoughts, um,
and and you know, keep it clean though, people, even
though we're talking about a dirty topic, if you will,
Mom Stuff How stuff works dot Com is email address.
In speaking of which, Molly, let's read a couple of emails. Okay,
(20:17):
these are from our female directors podcasts, and we have
a few omissions. We'll just kind of go through quickly.
Jesse reminded us about Amy Heckerling, who directed some classics
like Fast Times, a Richmond High and Clueless, which you
know is a modern day classics. So Amy Heckerling shout out.
Mia pointed out a big one that we missed, Miss
(20:39):
Penny Marshall directed Jumping Jack Flash Awesome, followed by big Hello.
We missed on the director of Big Awakenings, A League
of their Own, a movie that we have talked about,
Molly Renaissance, The Preacher's Wife, which I may or may
not out have watched number of times because I may
or may not have a crush on Denzel Washington, and
(21:00):
then riding in cars with boys. Yes, many of our
listeners wrote in about about Oldpenny. Yeah, Penny Marshall actress
director Barbara streisand is one that we also left off,
and Wade reminded us that we forgot Mary Herron, who
directed American Psycho. So there are many female directors out there,
but not as many as there are men. Yes, so
(21:23):
thanks for those editions everybody, and again our email addresses
mom stuff at house stuff works dot com if you
think of any female directors, or again, any thoughts on poop.
Our blog is how to Stuff and it is at
how stuff works dot com. As our numerous articles, probably
not on poop, but on everything else, on ibs, on Iba,
on tummy trouble, on tummy Trouble, those are at our
(21:45):
home base how stuff works dot com. For more on
this and thousands of other topics. Because it how stuff
works dot com. Want more house stuff works, check out
our blogs on the housetop works dot com homepage. Brought
(22:06):
to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready,
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