You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Garland. Hi. Everyone, welcome to I Choose Me. This podcast is all about the choices we make and where they lead us. Let's talk about our bellies aka our gut. Having a healthy gut is vital to our overall health. It not only aids in proper digestion and nutrient absorption, but it's also associated with positive mental health and emotional well being, a robust immune system, and protecting us from chronic inflammation and
other chronic diseases. My guest today is someone I think we all need to listen to because what we're about to discuss. Yep, you guessed it. Gut health is connected to so many different things in our bodies. She is a gastro enterrologist and the author of Gut Renovation. Please welcome doctor Roshini Raj to the podcast. Hi, Hi, thank you so much for being with us today. This is going to be good, Okay, Gut health This is my number one and most important question. Gut health is linked
to the aging process. Right. If we don't get our gut health in check, what are some of the possible risks we could be facing?
One hundred percent So I wrote a book a couple of years ago called Gut Renovation, and it is all about exactly what you're discussing. How does gut health affect how we age, how we optimally age, and everything from external things like our hair and our skin, but also
our internal aging, which is so important. You know, whether we develop certain chronic diseases, things like heart disease, you know, autoimmune diseases, inflammation throughout the body, which we know is kind of the key to how we age, as well as things like even cancer. So what we know now is that our gut microbiome and that's that community of bacteria organisms that live inside our gut, really dictate most of the processes that go on throughout our body from
head to toe. And it can influence even things like collagen breakdown and elast and breakdown in our skin. It can influence whether there's inflammation, you know, causing build up of cholesterol in our arteries, in our heart or brain. So it really does affect everything, you know. I think mental health is a huge connection that we're now really mind connection. So I really think if you look at any aspect of aging, there is definitely like a line
you can draw to your gut microbiome. And that's why I'm so passionate about taking care of your gut microbiome.
I know, I'm so glad you are because I don't know a lot about this, but I know how it can really mess you up. So if you have an unhealthy gut, also, is there another word that we can call it other than gut?
We can for sure, we can say microbiome, we can say digestion.
I don't know.
I don't know the word.
Gut just freaks me out a little bit. But let's keep going. Let's use gut because that's what people know. Okay, what are some signs that you might have an unhealthy gut?
Yeah, it's a great question. So I'm a gastroentrologist, so I definitely see people in my office every day who have signs of an unhealthy gut. And I think some of the more basic or maybe obvious things are, you know, bowel irregularity, you're bloating, or pain in your abdomen, things like that. But what I think people don't realize could also be signs of an unhealthy gut are mood changes, just feeling kind of foggy, you know, feeling tired all
the time, fatigued, joint pain. All of these things can be related to a disordered gut or disordered microbiome, meaning the balance of your good and bad bacteria is not where you would want it to be. And so that's why I think it's so important to take care of your gut, you know, investigate what's going on there, because you may notice positive changes once you have a better gut microbiome in every aspect of your life, not just how often you're gowning the mouth room that kind of thing.
Well, we're learning so much about women's health, so much more about women's health now, thank god, and we're learning a lot about menopause and fatigue, brain fog, achy joints are all signs symptoms of menopause too, Like how do you know what is what?
Yeah, it's not always easy to distinguish, but I will say that your gut health is also affected by menopause, because just like your gut is related to your mind and there's like a two way conversation there, your gut is also related to hormones and there's a two way conversation there. And as we go through the changes of menopause and all the different hormonal fluctuations that can affect your microbiome and vice versa. So it's not always easy
to tease out. We know that, you know, making sure your hormones are sort of in the right balance during menopause can make a huge difference in symptoms, but things like bloating, irregularity, all of that can come as symptoms of menopause as well. And sometimes if you just rebalance your microbiome, whether that's through die or taking a probiotic, you can experience significant relief even if you're not taking actual hormone replacement and things like that.
Interesting, that's so exciting because yeah, I guess it's all one and the same basically, So if you get your gut healthy, then it will have a positive impact on the rest of your body exactly exactly.
It's really important.
Is it possible to get your gut health under control and sort of reverse the signs of aging?
Yeah, I think it is. I think that you know, sometimes people and it's funny because I write about this in sort of introduction to my book, where as a doctor, I see sometimes an eight year old woman walk in and she literally jumps on the table and has so much energy and just you know, oh I love that.
Yeah, she just.
Looks and it's so inspiring, and she looks and feels so much younger than her actual age that's written in the chart. And then I can see the opposite. I'll see let's say a forty year old woman come in and she's you know, she's just walking very slowly or hunched over. She just looks miserable, and she looks much older and feels much older than her state of age. So I think that definitely what's going on internally can
absolutely affect how you age. And then yes, because I can sometimes see those same people that didn't you know, look or feel so great, come back, you know, or a year later or six months later when they've really been working on their microbiome, and it's like a different person. Ten years have been erased from there.
Okay, that's good, that is from there, that's what I want to hear.
Yeah, So it's definitely not, by any means a done deal. There are definitely things we can do, and our microbiome is always evolving, which is why you know, you do have to keep on it. It's not like a one and done. I took care of it. Now I'm good for the rest of my life. You have to really pay attention to it. Like most things when it comes to our health, you need to kind of pay attention to it on a daily basis.
Okay, we've all heard about probiotics prebiotics. What is the difference between a prebiotic and a probiotic?
Great question. So a probiotic and literally pro means four and iotic is your health basically, So, a probiotic is a good bacteria supplement or or actually within foods, good bacteria that confer some health benefit to a human being, to the person who's taking it. Now, a prebiotic is something that feeds a probiotic. So if you think about your gut, which I know you don't like that word, when we think about it as like a field of beautiful flowers, the fly.
Is a field of beautiful flowers. Okay, I'm envisioning it.
We're going to transform that word for you. But yeah, so it's beautiful flowers. The beautiful flowers are your good, healthy bacteria, the things that are protecting you, and they're secreting hormones and neurotransmitters and all sorts of important things for your body that you really need. So those are the flowers, and you want them to grow and be beautiful. A prebiotic think of it as the fertilizer that you're sprinkling on it that's going to feed those flowers and
allow them to flourish and grow and blossom. So prebiotics are basically food for your good bacteria. Most probiotics come in the form of fiber. So that's why fruits and vegetables and whole grains are so great for you. One of the reasons. One of the reasons they have great vitamins and antioxidants and all that, but the fiber content
is really what's feeding your microbiome. And that's that's why we always encourage people, you know, Americans, it's said only about ninety five percent of Americans are not getting the recommended amount of fiber, so we all could be doing a better job with that. And this is one of the reasons why fiber is so crucial, because it feeds you the good stuff and make sure you maintain a healthy microbiome.
I've just added fiber into my diet, so fabulous. I'm feeling good about that.
It's so important. I mean That's what inspired me to start ya Day, you know, our probiotic Fiber company, and I just think it's a real need in our society, especially American the American diet, and I find that as a gastroenttrologist, I recommend fiber to I don't know seventy percent of my patients because like almost every GI condition can be improved with fiber. But a lot of times they don't follow through because they don't like the way it tastes, or they feel like it makes them feel
ancient if they're taking fiber every day, you know. So we really with Yaday, tried to come up with a much more modern, fresh, tasty, delicious formula.
It's a little confusing, I gotta be honest. Pre biotic probiotic, Okay, So do you don't have to take one before the other? Or because when I think of pre I think you should take that before.
Does imply that? But no, because you in your body right now as we speak, have plenty of good bacteria that could use nourishment at any time of the day
or night. So you can take a probatic whenever you want, and then again because you already have your probiotics naturally, you don't necessarily need to take a probiotic, but if you want it to take one, I do think you can get it imformented foods, you know, whether that's yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, me So there are a lot of different ways to get it, or taking a supplement can definitely be ben
official in certain circumstances for certain things. But what I like about probatics it's sort of feeding all your good bacteria, as opposed to a probatic that might just have one strain or two strains or you know.
Yes, yes, that's another question. They always say how many thousands of whatever strains?
Yeah, billions and billions.
Billions strains, so that you want just like the higher the number, the better, No, And.
I think that can be kind of confusing and also a bit of marketing, where twenty billion is necessarily better than five billion, you know. I do think that usually you need a certain threshold, like one billion at least to have a good clinical effect, but beyond that, it really depends on the strain, how they're you know, what they're mixing it with. So I wouldn't get sort of seduced by this bigger is always better when it comes to biotics, and it is confusing. I mean, I don't
even know how many out there. Probably there's probably a billion of companies out there, maybe not that many, but it's very hard to choose which one. And I think that's when I do you think talking to your healthcare provider can be helpful? Because different proetics are helpful for different things. They're probatics for vaginal health. We were talking about menoplause. I mean, there are many different ways you can take care of your gut and other microbiomes in your body.
So I think some guidance is important on a more individual, personalized level when it comes to that.
Okay, I have another question about probiotics. You know, when you go into the fancy grocery store I won't name names, and there is a sea of wall, a literal wall full of probiotic quote unquote healthy sodas. Yes, are those actually good for our gut? Because there are so many and they're so pretty, like there's all beautiful cans.
Yeah, I know, I know, and I mean some of them are doing really well. You see prebiotic sodas, you see probiotic sodas. I think one thing that you need to be careful of is what else is in the soda, and you know, make sure you're looking at the other ingredients, because if there are some probiotics in there, you know, all the health benefits will be negated by the massive
amounts of sugar that might be in there. I think that the artificial coloring or you know, whatever it is that's making it look so pretty, So definitely read your labels carefully. I will say that, you know, for many companies like that, you do have to really wonder about are they just sort of sprinkling some probiotics in there or is it the actual dose that you would need
to see a benefit. And I do think some of the bigger ones, because they're under they're bigger, they're under scrutiny, they have been, you know, pretty good about making sure they are giving you at least a decent amount. It's not all marketing, but I mean you raise a valid concern. It's it's not easy to know for sure if those are really helping. And I think for me personally, I think trying to get your probiotics through foods and your probatics through foods that are also healthy for you. In
many other ways, like fruits and vegetables. I talked about fiber, you know, I think fermented foods. These are ways that not only are you going to get you know, you're going to get a healthy dose of probiotics and probotics, but you're also getting vitamins and antioxidants and all the other fabulous things that come along with those foods.
Okay, So if I do succumb to buying a pretty can of pro or prebiotic beverage, what is the dose that I'm looking for that would be beneficial? And does that? Does it say it on the can?
Yeah, it should say it, probably in fine print on the can somewhere. But you do want to I mean again, I don't think I would rely on drinks or sodas write as much as you need on a daily basis, but it certainly can't hurt. So if you say something like a billion, I think you're in good shape. If it's less than that, I mean, and you're probably don't you don't want to drink several cans a day necessarily?
I would say, drink it because you like it, but not necessarily because you're going to get some huge probiotic benefit.
Okay, that's that's very revealing. I like that you said too about like the sugar content is very important than anything I think. I don't eat sugar, and I see massive benefits to my overall well being in health and mental health. Oh man, does sugar damage the gut? Is it going in there and killing all the good stuff?
Yeah? In a word, yes, so definitely there are certain things that are damaging to your gut microbiome, to those healthy bacteria that you want to be flourishing and blossoming. Sugar can be directly toxic to your microbiome. So you can see people who have like a high sugar diet, they'll have a shift in their microbiome towards a more unhealthy mobile. The good bacteria are not as plentiful in
that situation. Other things that can be toxic to your gut are alcohol, antibiotics for sure, that can definitely wipe out your all your healthy bacteria. So definitely, sugar is one thing you want to be mindful of in your diet for many reasons, but particularly if you're looking to have a healthy gut.
So cut out sugar for one. And also you said alcohol and the antibiotics, so for anybody that doesn't know when you take an antibiotic because the doctor prescribes it for you, it's really really important to give your gut back the.
Healthy stuff exactly. Yeah, because you know, it's such an interesting I mean, this is why I find the whole probiotic microbime story is so fascinating because you know, whenever antibiotics were discovered, I think it was around World War two, it might even World War One, but it was such a huge medical breakthrough, right because people were dying from seemingly in our world, minor infections that would just ravage
their whole body. And then finally pedicillin was discovered and you were saving so many lives on the battlefield and then just with regular people. And it wasn't until maybe twenty now, I would say, thirty years ago that this whole concept emerged of actually not all bacteria or bad. There are some that we want to keep around that are good. And so the antibiotic story, which was the hero of me medicine for several decades, then became something
of a villain. And there's still absolutely life saving and necessary in many circumstances, but you really want to be cautious of when you're using antibatics, because now we know they can really have detrimental effects on your microbiome, because unfortunately, most antibatics are not so selective that they only kill the bacteria you want to get rid of. They kill almost all your healthy bacteria. And sometimes that's a temporary effect,
but sometimes it can have more long term effects. I mean, they're really interestingies looking at children who had repeated courses of antibatics for ear infections, which we know children get very frequently, and the kids that had the more frequent courses twenty thirty years down the road had higher incidences of autoimmune disease and things like Krohn's disease or things
like asthma. So there are effects that you really and so I'm always very hesitant to take antibiotics or prescribe antibiotics unless I think they're absolutely necessary, because now we know there's definitely a potential downside.
It's just so hard though, because like for in my personal experience, I take my daughter to the doctor and they just automatically give her antibiotics, and if I were to I'm assuming if I were to say is this absolutely necessary, they would probably say, yeah, it.
Is well, it depends. I mean, I do think it's important as a parent or a consumer to push back a little bit. And when that decision is made by the doctor and is it, you know, is this something we could maybe wait and see, or is it something we should do right now? And you know, you have a doctor that you like and trust, and if they say no, we really should give it now, then then
that is the right decision. But at least to make everyone think about it a little bit without having, you know, a sort of a knee jerk reaction to give it. And I do think most most physicians realize exactly what I'm saying, that antibiotics do not come without potential down you know, a downside, So they are thoughtful of it.
And I'm hoping that your europe nutricians are giving it because they think it's really necessary and not just kind of throwing it at people because we've all seen the effects of it.
Yeah, okay, I'm seeing all over the TikTok the trend of when people start their day with a spoonful of live probiotic coconut yogurt or something like that. Does that actually work and what are the benefits?
Yeah? I mean, I definitely think yogurt, whether it's the coconut yogurt with bacteria or just regular yogurt, has live and active cultures most of the time. You can check the label to be sure. I mean, I definitely have that every morning. I have yogurt every morning because I
want to get my dose of probiotics that way. And yeah, I think it definitely is a great way to help introduce and keep introducing on a daily basis healthy bacteria into your system, which will then kind of settle, you know, set up shop in your gut and reproducing. But I definitely think that's a great, great way to start your day.
Well, that's a lesson learned from the TikTok, So thank you to all those people doing it. Also, this is another one I wanted to ask you about castor oil packs on your belly button.
Yeah, that I've seen vaguely. I don't think that there's any good evidence to support that being beneficial in any way. But if I'm.
Doing it, and I have no idea, why.
Say it for whatever reason makes you feel calmer or suits you in some way, Like I'm all for it, that's fine, But do I think it's somehow like sweeping in and causing actual internal changes in a good way. No, I don't think so.
Yeah, I know a lot of people, probably some of our listeners right now are sober or sober curious.
Yeah.
We talked about this briefly in the effects of alcohol on the gut? Are no bueno right?
Correct? Yeah?
A hammer at home?
Yeah it is, and it's you know, it's been unfortunate, I guess, unfortunate in the sense that we used to think, well, drinking and moderation actually could be healthy for you overall, and then we found well, moderation isn't what you may think. Moderation is only one glass for a woman per day, and now it looks like even that is not healthy. I mean, if you're doing it because you enjoy it, then do it, But don't do it because you think
there's a health benefit. Now it looks really not. It's better not to.
I just heard it all but different ways, like, yes, it's good to drink a glass of red wine every day, No, you should never drink alcohol.
Yeah, I think that's I mean, I think the research research is showing us that none is better than some. That doesn't mean in moderation is the worst thing in the world. There are many worst things you could be doing, but I wouldn't say you should really kid yourself to think that it's doing you any good and over time about the gut directly or you know, specifically, No, it's
not good for your gut at all. I mean, we see, I do endoscopes, colonoscopies, and you see this is more with heavy alcohol use, but you actually can see, you know, irritations, tears, redness, all these things going on in the stomach and the digestive track because the alcohol is directly toxic your digestion.
Okay, let's get down to really brass tacks here. Yes, let's talk about poop.
Yeah, I thought you were going to go there.
I mean, everybody must go there when they talk to you, so exciting.
They're supposed to.
Yeah, okay, So does how frequently you use the bathroom have anything to do with your gut health? And what about the consistency of the poop?
Yeah? Well, I mean I definitely get this question a lot. And one thing I want to say is I don't want people to get too hung up on a certain magic number that if they're not going that number, there must be something terribly wrong, because I do think as gastroinrologists what we look for is changes or you know, things that are outside your normal routine. So I could have a patient who goes to the bathroom once every
two to three days, but she feels totally fine. She doesn't feel bloated or uncomfortable or anything, and that's been her pattern for the last twenty years. So for her, I'm like, that's fine, if you feel good, there's nothing dangerous going on in your body, that's just your colon seems to move at that pace, and that's all good.
But if she was, you know, normally going every day and all of a sudden she says, for the last six months, I've been going at once every two or three days, that's definitely an alarm in my mind that, okay, we need to figure out why that is. And could be something as simple as, you know, she changed her diet, or she's not exercising as much so she's not moving
and that's affecting her bowels, or she's more stressed. It could be something very serious like a tumor in her colon, you know, So we definitely need to get to the bottom of it. But I would say this is a general rule of thumb somewhere in between going two times a day to once every three days in that range. If that's if that's your pattern for many years, that's
totally fine. If it's beyond that, if you're going every four days or five days, that's probably something you want to get checked out, even if that's been for a long time. And if you're going, you know, four or five times a day, that's also something that you probably want to end.
Yeah, yeah, I think that's good. Okay, that's a really good guideline. And especially if your pooh rhythm changes.
Correct changes and then yeah, sorry, you asked about the consistency.
What did your poo look like?
Yeah, so you want it to be And again it can change with so all of us. If we eat something that we're not we don't normally eat, or something a little different, you might notice that your your poop looks a little different than it normally.
Do I'm want to laugh every time we say poo or poop. I don't know what is wrong with me. That's okay.
But if you notice a consistent change where things are much looser than normal, or they're sort of falling apart in the toilet bowl and through the water. You really wanted to be somewhat formed. Solid. You want to have a fair size. You don't want tiny little pellets or right. And then too hard is also not good. So I said solid, But you don't want it to be rock hard or painful to come out or anything like that. So that's also a sign that things are not optimal inside.
So yeah, you just want it to be kind of like a nice they say, a sausage shape or an s shape, but that kind of thing. And again I don't want I don't want people to become obsessed with like it has to be the perfect poop every time. But generally they're if you're not straining, you're not wiping for thirty minutes because it's so loose or it's a strange consistency, you know, then you're probably okay.
If you're not doing I don't know how you do your job. I couldn't do this, like I couldn't talk about people's poo all day every day.
That's yeah, yeah, well we're a strange breed.
God bless you, so definitely, God bless you. Okay, So my manager, mister showbiz he does intermittent fasting. Is that good or bad for your gut?
That's a new question. I think intermittent fasting that the research is sort of mixed on it overall, not just gut health, but for overall health. And some research suggests that it can be quite beneficial. Other research as it really doesn't make a difference. I don't think it essentially going to be harmful for your gut or your health. What I do think is it's hard to maintain. It's a pretty difficult, not sustainable for most people kind of
eating pattern. I don't think there's you know, I don't think there's evidence to show that it's good for your gut. But I don't think there's evidence to show it's bad for your guts. So if you're doing it for other reasons. For some people it just helps them overall control their eating and calorie and take and that kind of thing, then it's fine. But again, I don't think there's strong evidence showing that it's hugely beneficial.
Okay, I'll let him keep doing it. Then I just have two last questions. Is there a difference between men and women's needs when it comes to gut health.
Yes, there is so I talked about fiber and why it's so important that most Americans are not getting enough fiber, and actually the women's needs are different from men, and in some stages of life, women need more fiber, other stages of life, men need more fibers, So that that is one difference. The other thing is when you look at a lot of GI conditions, things like irritable bealve for example, you definitely see a higher prevalence in women,
and we're not exactly clear why that is. And you know, there's some overlap with some anxiety and things like that, which are also more women. But I also think there's just biological differences in female digestive tracts compared to men, and I'm sure the hormones play a role in that. I don't think we're one hundred percent clear why there are differences, But like most things in life, you know, women's bodies are different and we have to kind of
recognize that and treat it accordingly, for sure. But it's interesting because you talk about, you know, feeling uncomfortable talking about battle movements, and even there I see a difference where men actually often are much more comfortable not talking about these things. Wouldn't feel like it's not ladylike, or they're much more embarrassed when they have to tell me something, whereas men kind of just lay it all out there.
And lucky for that. I don't know. Yeah, I'm gonna okay. First of all, I'm going to read your book. I recommend everybody reading Good Gut Renovation. And then I'm also going to go back and read the children's book Everybody Poops, and maybe I will get more comfortable with it. There you go, before I let you go, Doctor Raj, what was your last I Choose me moment?
Oh? Wow, let's see.
You take care of a lot of people.
I do. I do as I think most of us do. But I guess my last I Choose Me moment was well, I think you're into home design, so maybe you'll appreciate the song.
Yes, I saw this.
Beautiful on Facebook marketplace, this beautiful antique settee like Rosewood, so pretty. I need some re string. But my fance didn't like it. I knew it was going to be a big hassle to get to my house, but it's like, I'm going to get this for myself.
So you bought yourself a settee. I did I love that?
Well, well, it's going to go at the foot of the bed. But and I carried it in with the guy who was selling it. It was really heavy, but I brought.
It in And you didn't even ask. You didn't even ask for your husband's help.
No, no, I knew it was all right. Right.
Listen. We are we are innovative, We get around things. We can make it happen if we really want to make it happen. I'm proud of you.
Thank you well.
Enjoy sitting on your settee and it's been such a pleasure talking to you today. Thank you for being on the pod.
Thank you. Just have the same I as many of my generation. Huge fan of nine O two one oh. My collegemates and I were just glued to the screen every week, so big band to talk.
We grew up together. Yeah, thank you, Thank you so much. Have a great day.
Heare you too.
Bye bye