Is Your Gut Making You Sick?

And the one test you need to get cheat on little Pope, the ultimate gut makeover, sticking cameras and your booty. This is really eye opening. All right, here we are, We're back business. We sure are guts show and a perfect time for Jaden to come back, you know, co host with us. I'm back, y'all. I'm back back in effect to talk about what some good stuff I had

to come back. Jaden is back at the table to talk about a problem that we all share, the three of us actually, that we hope we can resolve once and for all. Like seventy million other Americans, we've had digestive issues for years. Yeah, this has been a real problem. Yeah, what do you think your number one gut problem is floating and kind of a nondescriptive discomfort. It's not pain. See that's me kind of nauseous, just not feeling good.

I would say my number one gut issue is no appetite and discomfort when I eat, so I just rather not eat. I'm very food sensitive, you really are. If I put one thing in there that's not supposed to be there, I am tote down. My biggest gut problem would be like just not being hungry when I need to be, or being stressed. Pain pain to I do have pain. I eat so much sugar that I have a candy to build up that happens in my stomach. Is that from the pancakes. It's not necessarily from the pancakes,

but it's from this series, is Jaden. This is just to let the audience know Jaden has been eating pancakes for breakfast every day since he was a child. He doesn't this a day, just doing that for literally the past, like just my entire freaking life for twenty three years. I feel like it's just built up for a long time. Do you feel better from the last time we did

the Family Health Show? Yeah, I definitely do. I was able to work with the doctors and really, um get my vitamins and different supplements and protein shakes, and that's half of my diet. It's like a password that I have to find to my body. And I'm like ten pounds heavier now at this point, and I feel like I'm keeping on my weight. I'm able to put on more muscle, and you forda on boking up your body. Oh yeah. Since then, that's definitely been a big thing.

And that was a long way from where I was when I was at Coachella, where I just was just like just phones. I thought it was so tight. I thought I was so dyet. I was like this, I'm swagging on this, like I need to take off my shirt right now, Like, well, you were just trying to figure it out, yea. So on our quest to figure out our gut issues game and I went to the hospital for some important procedures. My first colonoscopy is not

your first. Where is mine. I'm hungry as hell, I'm cranky, yes, thirsty, I'm dehydrated exactly, tired, freaking tired and all of that, all of the above. I gotta get camera up my tail. I'm actually passed you from my colton oscarpy because I should have gotten one when I turned sick. I don't know why I didn't. So you're eight years late, gamp. I just won't be clear. You're eight years late. All right. Well it was busy. You're busy for eight years, all right.

It was it was tough yesterday, open one, clear liquids all today. So I'm tired, I'm hungry, um, and now I got to drink this prep So did Dolly, Miss Molly. Wait. I just couldn't get it. I was like, I looked at it. It wasn't when the count and I was just looking at it. I was like, girl, I'll tell you what they talked about cleans. They need to sell that stuff. When I tell you, I got nothing left. Yeah, My stool was just clear water. Just it was coming out the water and it was clear. Yeah, And it

was running out like like a fountain. And I had a bunch of zooms. I was like at a punch of room yesterday. Thank you, chet. Okay, here we go. Hi, how are you? My name is Kimberly. I'm gonna be your nurse getting you're ready for your procedure today. Thank you. I'm gonna give you some privacy. You have to go down to your birthday suit. Okay, just birthday suit. I think good Lesson was in a hospital this one night cake birth to little Geez. Alright, I love your mama,

I love your game. I'll see you. Okay, when you're done, we're gonna go over here. Number five. Okay, I'm gonna take your temperature. Any chance you could be pregnant? Hell no, I heard it's not your first rodeo you had. Okayet a little pope read you want to keep? Yeah? Are you having any pain right now? M So, you're gonna do a colonoscopy spy for X. You're sleep during the entire procedure, and then they'll go ahead and put the scope and and just kind of check to see what's

going on. It's necessary. They'll take biopsies at that time. All right, see you on the other side. It's really easy to as so lax kind to say, Adrian, you're in recovery, but I feel great. I know I'm still high. I get that, you know what I mean. Just kind of monitor your bottle signs while you're waking up from

the anesthesia, Okay, sticking cameras and your booty. You know, that's a little that's a little cumbersome, you know, for a moment, I have a bit of a panic when I when I first started, I was just like, I got scared. And I think for African American communities who have life, we have so much distrust in the medical process. You lecture about the African American community while you were and that was really smooth. But I just want people

to know that it was a very easeful process. I feel good and I feel extra good because I'm on the other side. Are you anything okay, okay, so mixtening kids me. Everything went will good. Good for was that we were able to take the biopsies we were planning on doing colin wise, there was nothing alarming, which is always a great time. But um, the prep was not that great. So yes, this is m probably left over for something healthy that you had. It looks like a

bean to me. But but but that's for us. Is not enough to say, you know, you don't have small polyps um. Usually we do recommend repeating within a year or so, and questions and the concerns. No, good, thank you so much. I had beans in mc cowen. That's hilarious. So how do you feel I was clearer than her? Right, because she didn't take your second does. Regarding our colonoscopist, everything went well, okay, so get good news. You did have three polyps, two of them for very small. All

one of them was still considered small. But the type of polyp that we keep a closer eye on. This is how it looks like. So you see we removed it. We put a small clip on just so that the area closes nicely and heels. Usually we bring patients back three years later, so we kind of keep a closer eye. The second thing I want to talk to you about is there's there was some sort of discoloration that sometimes we see when people take um laxatives or complete every night,

every single night, like four years, every four years. Now, yes, is that not good. It's a stimulant laxative, so a lot of times you're calling becomes dependent on it, so then when you don't take it, you get constipated. So usually we don't recommend long term use. I'm surprised this. This is like an herbal right, A lot of things that are herbal sometimes are not good for us. Mm hmm, okay, questions,

no question, have a great afternoon them. Thank you. The copy Okay, here snitch, you're from the street, snitch and old peep. That second dose just in cases of being up in there. That's not again thinking all dopes. Oh my goodness. I was relieved though that they didn't find anything. No, that that's amazing. Yeah, that's amazing. So Dr full of May is a gastro antirologist at U c l A. She's here to help us get our guts all the

way together. Wow, it's really nice to be here. So I'm so happy that you did the cloosman, and I actually just want to thank you for doing it in front of people too, because I think it's something that there's such a stigma talking about having a procedure through your back end for ractness, talking about anything that has to do with poop or correctum, especially in the black community. We're seeing a lot of people die, unfortunately from colorectal cancer.

But this is one of those cancers that we say everybody is at risk. We know it's the number two cause of cancer related deaths in America, so we really want everyone to consider themselves at risk for colorectal cancer. Previously, we were screening everyone at fifty and that was the golden age. When you turn fifty you get a colonoscope. But in May of two thousand twenty one, the United States Preventive Service Task Force made a recommendation that everyone

starts screading for colorectal cancer at age forty five. And the reason why we did that is because we're starting to see colorectal cancer at younger and younger agents. Alright, so tell us what exactly the gut is. Yeah. I think people hear the word gut and they think of their stomach, right, But the reality is that the digestive system is a large series of organs that starts at the mouth and it goes all the way down to

our anus. So when you eat, food travels through the esophagus, through the stomach, through the small bowel, and then into the colon, which is the part that we examine for the polyps, like the procedures that you had. Okay, and so all of that is considered the gut. Yes, it is. What are the top warning signs to know that your gut is not healthy? I heard you guys talking about earlier.

You eat something, you're sick, you just keep going. So the question becomes, when should you become alarmed if you're having blood in the stool, nausea, vomiting on a regular basis, weight loss, severe constipation, lump, hard stool, if you're having loose wiry stools, if they're waking you up at night, that's something that we also should be evaluating. We have an image of different kinds of stool, so we're gonna ask which kind are you? I like talking about this.

We have the seven types they are on this diagnostic chart. People try to describe their stools to us, and it's hard to really understand what they're saying. Some people describe diarrhea very differently. We want a will to be type three or type four. When you get into type one or two, it's too constipated, and we need to find ways to soften those tools prevent hemorrhoids, pain, other symptoms. And then when we get on the other end of the spectrum, when it's too watery beyond type five, that

warrants medical attention. Got it like type three, type four? Okay, I think I think I'm probably type three type four as well, So i'm type three and sometimes four. When I was taking my softener, since you know, I had the call on Ascoby. He asked me to stop taking the softener and I and I have and now it's a problem. It's a problem. But we don't want you to just stop, so we gotta get you on something else. Well,

I eat so much green vegetables and stuff. I don't know why I but your body has gotten used to having that extra. There are many other options for you. Well, why not make sure that you're getting a large amount of fiber, that you're getting plenty of fluids during the day. And then on top of that, there are also medic patients that we can use for constipation. Got it, so, Nancy Joffie, because U c l A's lead dietitian and is going to help us feel better through food. Nancy

brought along some critical food to help with constipation. This is awesome. Welcome to the table. I'm imagining, that's proud. It is. Pruns have so much benefit for constipations. When patients eat somewhere between eight and twelve prunes a day, they get to have a really good bowel movement. And look, don't look like that game. I'm you supposed to eat

for your body's well being. It can cost some loading in gas, so That's why instead I wanted to bring kiwi's because kiwis are very g I friendly, no bloating, no gas, and they've done several studies and shown that if people eat two kiwi's a day, they can actually resolve their chronic constipation. So kiween has an amazing amount of fiber and it's not going to no less so than the prunes for sure. Is there a type of kiwi that's not as bitter or there is? So there's

the golden kiwi. So that's the one that has the golden color on the inside. It could be made into a juice. Though it could be made into it. You don't have to just eat raw kiwis it Yeah, like no, because my whole thing with the health and bad movement is people think that things that are healthy are not good and it's and it's not that they're not good, is that we don't know how to absolutely prepare them.

I think what Jaden saying is so important because I feel that sometimes patients will hear cut this out or change your diet, and they don't know how to prepare the foods, and then it's just a failure from the start. I've have patients who didn't know they loved Brussels sprouts, or didn't know they love kale until it was prepared a certain way and all of a sudden, now it

tastes amazing and they're ready to eat it. Brussels sprouts are the perfect example, you know what I mean, where it's like when they're cooked right and they got they got their ride and they're crispy. It's like, man, Brussels sprouts is up there with bacon when it's cooked right. Let's talk about that for a second, just you know, because a lot of people like fried stuff. We talk about fried food and processed meats as special occasion food. So we're talking about deli meats and lunch and meats

and salami and sausages and hot your charcuterie plates. All of those things have actually we found convincing evidence that they can lead to colorectal cancer, so they're toxic for the colon. With that being said, you're going to a game and you want to have a hot dog, great, you want to have that Tracuderi plate on occasion? Do it? Well? Guess that throws out the bacon occasionally exactly exactly and the same goes for fried foods giving the body a

ton of fat at one time. We have a really hard time breaking that down and it can actually lead to ass bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal paint. Got it. We hear a lot about prebiotics probiotics, What are they and what do they do? So the reality is that there are billions of bacteria that live in our right and a lot of people are shocked to hear that there

are bacteria that are living in your gut. And we break that down into good bacteria and bad bacteria, and they together make up what we call the microbiome or the microflora, and you're you're pretty much born with it. It's actually established by your mother in most cases, and it's very hard. You guys are probably which we're learning how to manipulate the gut microflora to do things like reduce cancer risks, to make g I symptoms go away.

And that's why I think probiotics and probiotics have been thrown in the mix because we know they play a role, but right now we're still in a learning phase. So when we talk about probiotics, we're talking about foods that actually contain good bacteria. Pre biotics are fuel for the

good bacteria, so basically prebiotics feed the probiotics. Okay, they've actually shown in research studies you need as little as a quarter of a cup of day of some of these foods and that is enough to start causing some benefit in the gut. We've got all of our berries green bananas because they have more starch, whereas when they turn yellow they have more sugar. It can cause gas and bloating when they're yellow. When they're green, generally they

do pretty good. Even olive oil can be wonderful for helping the guy. It's also good for the right not to mention anti cancer. And then oats. We've actually shown in research that oats helped to grow a specific type of bacteria in the gut, good for reducing colorectal cancer risks. So we've got yogurt, which there's tons of studies on yogurt. It actually helps to grow back to you that are good for mental health, so it can actually improve our mood,

which is pretty cool. Sour kraud is one of those that unfortunately it's pretty high end sodium, so we have to be careful with it. And then age cheeses so not all cheeses fit this definition, but aged cheeses, things like cheddar and gouda and Swiss are all aged at least six weeks. That aging process allows for these bacteria cultures to ferment and eat all of the sugars out, so they're actually naturally lactose free as well. So even people who have lactose intolerance can enjoy age cheeses. So

I can eat cheddar. I can each aged cheddar cheese, Yes you can. I am. I love cheese. If you even want to check, when you look at a nutrition facts label, look to that sugar content. It should have a big zero. If there's no lactose, and lactos is a sugar, you know that it's a lactostry product. You've got tricks in the grocery store. Okay, I can have

ches okay. And the research has shown that if you make consistent diet changes, so you have to be doing these foods nearly every single day, that's when you can play a role in what your got microbiome looks like. So you've got to do these things consistently, which is why I'm finding foods you like that your gut likes that you don't get symptoms with that you want to have on a daily basis. That's when you can make some lasting change and trying to get it natural ways

the rather few supplements. When you can weirdly have pain before I start eating, my stomach like just like when I wake up, my stomach always hurts. My stomach, my back hurts. And also in some very rare occasions, my

pre biotics make me really feel like throwing up. And so this is where we want to look at like a food and symptom log So this can be really helpful, is to not only log what you're eating, but the time you ate it and the time when the symptom happened, what those symptoms were, and then also giving me your emotional state, because for instance, if you have symptoms within thirty minutes of eating, it is not the food. It takes longer than that for the food to leave your stomach.

If it's reflux, that's different. You're having part and regurgitation or birthing, those can happen within about thirty to ninety minutes after eating. But if we're talking about lower gut, bloating, gas pressure, pain, even urgency to go have a baland movement. It's not the food you just ate that's meaning to that. Most likely that might be related to your mood at the time, or what's in your stomach or not in

your stomach can cause those symptoms. I have a lot of problem eating food when I'm on set, when I'm getting ready to perform, when I'm doing anything that is stressful. I find it ridiculously, actually find it repulsing to think about eating food. I know, like when I get upset about something I won't eat. Is there something for Is that a name for that? Do people talk to you guys about that. I don't know if you've heard about

the connection between the brain and the gun. This is the concept that their physical and chemical connections between our central nervous system or our brain and our gut. And there are millions of nerve endings in our stomach and our colon and our digestive system. There's two way communication at all times, so you know, you'll hear people say that I had a gut feeling or I was sad and my stomach hurt, And it's because of these connections that we had between our gut and our brain, and

they can sometimes regulate our mood. I definitely find that in my existence. And they say that the gut is like the second brain of the body. Yeah. Absolutely. I wish I hadn't know that earlier. And I think people should have more understanding too that if we're putting toxic foods in our body, it's going to help create toxic emotion, toxic moods. I've seen that in my own eating lifestyle, you know. And so once I got rid of the gluten, I'm starting to realize how happy I became, how emotionally

happy I became. I got rid of eggs, I got rid of chicken, I got rid of oatmeal every I would have every single morning, and I was trying to figure out why I was so low, so down, so depressed. I would, I mean, literally dragging my feet to get through life. Now I wake up in the morning ready to go happy. Let's get just done. Yeah. And what we really see in the US is that people are using food to um feed an emotion. Right, So we have people who are eating the bulk of their calories

after seven pm. It's usually mindless snacking, sitting on the couch, not paying attention. It's just adding more calories. We don't want to put a lot of fat in our stomach at night. Fat takes a long time to be processed by the body, so if you take something high and fat later at night, when you lie down, it's still in your stomach and that can actually lead to reflex symptoms. So one thing I always like to talk with my patients about is why are you eating? It's not a

why are you eating that? It's a am I hungry? Have I not eaten a while? What am I craving? Am I wanting something salty, sweet, crunchy or fatty? If I am, it's probably not hunger. It's usually fueling an emotion. Ask yourself, why Yeah? Am I hungry? Right? Just so it's just being mindful. Now that sends to happen to me around nine o'clock, not thirty. Um, I will start to feel like, Okay, I'm a little hungry if I get a tangerine because I love Cutie's, but I worry

about the sugar. Is that a good option with that hour of night? Yeah? It actually isn't okay option. I also try to mind with the people that sometimes you're actually just thirsty and dehydrated. So trying to drink more water first, and deciding if it's really thirst that you're trying to satiate or an actual hunger. I think that a lot of people don't realize that what you put

in your body matters. You know, it's going to affect your mood, your level of stress, your sleep, even um how much energy you have, so not to mention your weight, and you know your likelihood of getting severe medic medical problems in the future. What you're doing so important because you're empowering people with this information. Our goal is to make you feel live, are rated of your g I symptoms. Thank you so much. This was this is thank you

for having us. This is awesome. This was really awesome. Thank you. It's fantastic that you had the colonoscopy when you had it, because they chuck that pall up out. If you had waited another eight or ten years, it's possible a small percentage of them will transition into a cancer. Wow. That's good to know. If you're forty five or older, it's time go get your colonoscopy. No need to be afraid. Get your colonoscopy when it's time. It is easy peasy to join the Red Table talk family and become a

part of the conversation. Follow us at Facebook dot com slash red table Talk. Thanks for listening to this episode of Red Table Talk podcast produced by Facebook, Watch, Westbrook Audio, and I Heart Radio.