"When you see validation of life's work and dedication, it's a beautiful day. Mary Gauthier
So, you've retooled your diet. You started eating fermented foods and fiber. And you move your body daily by either exercising or just plain walking.How do you know this stuff is working?
I wanted to know early on as well.Remember when I told you I have an unquenchable thirst for answers to so many of life's questions? For better or worse?Well, I've been like this my whole life. Like on my last day of school in 2nd grade. The beginning of summer vacation should have been the happiest day of the year...right? Yeah, not for me.
I walked out to the parking lot, climbed into the backseat of the family station wagon and began to cry. Of course my Mom asked why the hell I was crying.I replied "because I'm going into 3rd grade where we have to learn fractions in math class and I don't know how to do them yet!
So as a function of my DNA, I too needed to know how I could tell if this gut health thing was working.When it comes to gut health, there's a bunch of ways you can tell you're shifting the balance of bacteria to the good side.
But first you have to ignore all the grifters out there who want to take your money for sketchy lab testing to identify exactly the probiotic strains necessary for you to live to be 120 yrs. old.
“I don’t know of any serious microbiome scientist who believes recommendation of custom probiotics is possible given our current state of knowledge,” says Justin Sonnenburg, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine and author of The Good Gut. (there's that awesome book I talk about all the time...again)
But don't take my word for it. One of these companies got taken to task in an article I read. Jack Gilbert, director of the University of California at San Diego’s Microbiome and Metagenomics Center, helped develop the meta transcriptomics sequencing technology techniques that companies such as Viome have incorporated to detect microbes and sell their stuff.
“Even I can’t make the predictions that [Viome] claims they can make,” Gilbert says. “And if I can’t, I’m really perplexed as to how they say they can do it.”
Save your money and trust yourself and your own body.
All your work is beginning to pay off because you have developed good eating habits that are crowding out the "not so good" days.You're beginning to "feel" better.These are very important metrics but how do we know this is not the "placebo effect" where your mind tricks you into feeling a desired effect from nothing?
Well, if you're like me- unfortunate enough to have a disease like diabetes, I get the privilege of seeing quarterly bloodwork panels. So I have receipts from the last 8 or 9 years. About half of them were before I got my act together, and the rest after.
Since I've retooled my gut:
*My lipid panels for cholesterol levels have improved markedly.
*My blood sugar numbers are approaching Type 2 Diabetes remission levels.*My blood pressure has never been an issue but the numbers are even better.
*And my weight dropped consistently. I now comfortably maintain a weight 70-80 pounds below my heaviest weight with relative ease.So, if you can relate to ANY of these examples, you too have a number of ways to validate your hard work. And if any of these areas are problematic for you, get started today.
Now, let's talk about a subject that is not always pleasant to talk about. But I believe this to be THE best indicator of a healthy gut. It's also very early validation that your gut is achieving a healthy balance of good bacteria.(If we've been in regular communication at all, in-person, on social media, or even just through emailing about this newsletter, you know by now I pay very close attention to how and what food enters my body.
But even closer attention to how and when the same food leaves my body.)I will not gross you out, I promise.
I will attempt to make this discussion like a Seinfeld episode.
They could often talk about some of the most controversial and otherwise taboo subjects, without ever uttering the word or words naming or best describing the subject. It was pure genius.
This is usually an uncomfortable subject, but I assure you the subject has to enter the discussion.It's a must.It's vitally important to notice bowel habits, regularity, and ANY changes in your frequency, consistency, and appearance.If you're not comfortable discussing the subject, you're at greater risk of possible trouble signs going unnoticed, undetected, and ultimately unchecked.That cannot happen. Believe me on that one.I promise you my familiarity and ease with this discussion is 100% because I had my colon surgically severed, cancerous tumor and surrounding tissue removed, and reattached. Then 16 (not 12) lymph nodes were removed for biopsy. 16 were taken because the ulcerated tumor was that close to leaving the cozy confines of my gut barrier, free to travel throughout my body.Everyday I treasure every glorious thing about a fully functioning colon and bowel system.Here's a sanitized version of how you can best monitor your progress. You hopefully have a good idea of your normal bowel habits. And since everyone is different, we may or may not have started in different places on the Bristol Stool Chart.
What is the Bristol Stool Chart?
Ken Heaton, MD, from the University of Bristol, developed the chart in 1997 with the help of 66 volunteers. They changed their diets, swallowed special marker pellets, and kept a diary about their BMs: weight, shape, and how often they went.
The chart is designed to help doctors measure the time it takes for food to pass through your body and leave as waste. The shape and form of your bowel movements may also point your doctor toward a diagnosis of some digestive problems.
Or worse.
On the Bristol Stool Chart, stools are assigned a number from 1 to 7, from hardest to loosest. Normal stools are those in the middle of the chart, in the 3 to 4 range.
A healthy gut from a whole food diet, rich in dietary fiber and fermented foods will have you settling into the 3-4 range on a regular basis.
I liken my gut to a sports car. When it's tuned up and clicking on all cylinders, things run very smoothly.
When I'm off my diet game because no one is perfect, I can immediately recognize it by leaving the 3-4 range on the chart. It's like clockwork.
I also can tell when my fiber and hydration levels are not where they should be by stool consistency and / or frequency.
I encourage you to pay closer attention to your bowel habits if you don't already. They can be a great tool to measure your progress.
More importantly, they can also be a very good indicator that something is not right.
I hope that wasn't too awkward. But I don't apologize if it was. If this discussion gets things moving in the right direction (pun fully intended), I will be a happier man.
Next week, we'll get back into the fermentation laboratory to discuss why I prefer to make my own ferments.
Spoiler alert- the 2nd grade kid in me reappears!
Do me a favor and drop me a reply if there is anything I can help you with or something you would like discussed.
And please share this with as many people that you think might need to hear how a good gut can help them too!
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
