Backseat Positivity
"Able to make serious topics lighthearted and fun - I even laughed at some points!"
Get your bi-weekly dose of positivity in this fun podcast with Dr Dawn Barlow, who helps you navigate all of the weird/best/worst parts of life!
Dawn takes you on the self-improvement journey you didn't realise you needed... Bought to you by a doctor who hasn't had life as sweet as many of her comrades. She knows firsthand just how rubbish life can be, yet has managed to turn her life around for the better!
From relationships to mental health to happiness, make sure you buckle up twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) the join her and her guests for candid self-improvement. Don't forget of the course, the "weird thoughts" segment, where Dawn and her guests share weird thoughts from their lives.
Dawn says:
Sometimes life reminds me of being in a washing machine. It's a bit spinny and turbulent for a while, but then it stops and gives you a little break before spinning you into oblivion once more. It feels like the washing machine wants to wash something bad out of all of us... positivity.
Some might EVEN say that positivity is shouting from the backseat and no-one wants to listen to it... [backseat positivity] More than once a week, but less than 4 times a week, you can shove me in your auditory canals and listen to me chat about L.I.F.E., self-improvement, mental health and anything else that my little monkey-mind paws can grasp onto.
Sometimes other humans actually dare to join me.
It's candid, it's fun. Woo!
Backseat Positivity
Unlocking the Secrets to Digestive Bliss: Conquering Constipation and Optimizing Gut Health
Ever found yourself in a standoff with your own digestive tract, convinced that the universe had a personal vendetta against your bowels? Well, you're not alone! Our latest episode is a no-holds-barred exploration of constipation, complete with my own tales from the trenches of tricky digestion. We're breaking the silence on this taboo topic, wielding the mighty Bristol Stool Chart as our guide to achieving the perfect poo. From the impact of global diets to understanding your body's 'normal,' we navigate the often-misunderstood journey of what happens after you swallow.
Then, we shift gears and get down to the nitty-gritty of combatting constipation through the power of diet. I spill the beans (high in fiber, naturally) on which foods have helped streamline my digestive process—hello prunes, chia seeds, and the life-changing magic of bran flakes. It's not just about what you eat; it's about weaving these gut-friendly foods into your daily routine for long-term change. Plus, you'll get the inside scoop on how certain medications can throw a wrench in your digestive harmony, and we'll serve up some pro-tips to keep you regular.
But wait, there's more! We round out our scatological saga with a spirited discussion on the underestimated allies of digestion—hydration and exercise. Discover why your water bottle might just be your gut's new best friend and how a brisk walk can do more than just boost your mood. I'll even share my personal bathroom acrobatics for optimal elimination (Spoiler: It's all about the angle!). So, lace up those sneakers, fill up that water bottle, and get ready to transform your bathroom experiences—one flush at a time. Join us for a journey through the bowels of bowel health, where we promise more than a few giggles and a ton of actionable advice!
Please consider helping me out, I'd seriously super appreciate it! <3
https://www.patreon.com/diariesofadoctor
I promise this is going to be the last time you see me today. I promise, I promise, wait there. No, that's like wishing luck, isn't it? Or something? I just crossed my fingers and then realized that that's when you're like lying, but that's not why I meant I promise, I promise.
Speaker 1:This is my fourth podcast episode of the day. I'm trying to get ahead of the game, guys. I have done a few poopsies, a few oopsies in the past where I've like missed schedule and do you know what? It feels so much nicer not to have time pressure on it. The issue is when you're like, oh my god, I've got to get the podcast out today is I end up then just like freaking out about what I'm going to talk about, whereas right now I'm just like I'm chill, I'm easy, it's happening, I'm doing it in advance and I'm calm about it. So today I thought I'd give you my five. It actually turned into six, okay, six tips, I'm sorry, six tips of how I overcome constipation.
Speaker 1:It's like a chronic on and off problem in my life. I guess if you looked at my bowels, you might say that I have IBS, but I don't. I would never like label it as that. I would never diagnose myself with that. So I'm just sort of going through life with bowels that are a bit irregular, erratic, and sometimes constipated, sometimes loose, and who knows what's going to come out next. So I'm going to talk you through di? No, not diarrhea, sorry, constipation.
Speaker 1:Firstly, I'd like to pay a homage to my favorite chart of all times, which is the Bristol Steel Chart. I live in Bristol, I'm from Gloucestershire where Bristol is in, so you know I'm pretty, it's pretty close to home and I use it on the regs. I'm not going to lie, I know it off by heart. That is probably the saddest part about it is basically it's a way, it's a seven stage scoring system for scoring your poos, type one being like lumpy, hard rabbit droppings and it goes. Two, then it goes like, you know, lumpy sausage thing, and then normal is like four, and then I would say four or five. Like they say three or four, I say four or five. Four is like smooth, like sausage kind of thing, but then five is like kind of getting a bit mushier. Six is liquid with mush in. Seven is completely liquid. Now three is like lumpy sausage.
Speaker 1:Now I would say well, yes, that's okay, but like we want to prevent diverticulitis and hemorrhoids, you know, and who has the lowest rates of diverticulitis and hemorrhoids? I know, definitely hemorrhoids actually I can't quote the diverticulitis but diverticulitis is basically where you get like outpouchings of the bowel because of wear and tear and it often is linked to constipation and age. But basically we have high rates of hemorrhoids because we have such firm poos and places like India, you know, places that eat a lot of curries and stuff like that they have a lot looser poos, so they have lower rates of hemorrhoids. So there we go. I think personally we should be going a four to five. But that's just me. I like a good four, I'm not going to lie, I love a good four. But a five can be a bit messy. A three can also be a slightly painful, you know, depends what's in there. Sometimes I get this like intense scraping sensation down my bowel and it's definitely my poo. You know, constipation is painful, let me tell you. It's like a rock scraping down the inside of your abdomen and people are like oh my God, I've got tummy pain. And then I see them in the emergency department and it turns out they haven't pooed for a week and you're like well, constipation is more painful than you realize. So let's get them bowels sorted out. So how often do you poo? Now, I would say once a day, so more frequently is like two times a day. Right, I would say this is like average two times a day, one times a day or once every two days and that is like probably okay, but like normal is actually like a bigger range than that. Probably you know, like two or three times a day to like once every three days or something. It very much depends on, like what your norm is. If it changes and it's abnormal for you, then that's something to go and get looked at. But you know, if it's if yeah, there's something to go get looked at vaguely broadly. But you know, if you've always been a once every three day, maybe that's okay for you and it's not causing any problems. Maybe that's okay for you.
Speaker 1:I'm personally a once every day and then sometimes twice a day, but also sometimes once every two days, like it's variable. I don't think I've pooed today. I can't. I don't even know. Did I poo yesterday? I don't remember. I'm pretty sure I did. But I asked a lot of people about their poos and most people know, to be fair, like they're like, yeah, I went 11am. Like most people are clockwork, mostly men are like clockwork. I don't understand it. I'm like, what am I doing wrong? Why? You know, boyfriends in the past, especially, have like been able to get up and they go straight for a poo and that is their like routine. And I'm like if I did that, nothing would come out, like I can't even force it, so it's not coming out. So yeah, frequency of poo is very variable and it's just whatever's normal for you.
Speaker 1:Really, I think if you're getting you know what is constipation, I suppose it's where it's hard. You know it's a type one or two and it's painful and it's uncomfortable to go for a poo or you might get tummy pain or you might get pain down the bottom end. You could also get blood, like sometimes in the bowl from hemorrhoids or sometimes like from wiping from hemorrhoids Again, useful to go and get it checked out if it's a new thing for you. But personally I've had, you know, blood in on my, on the paper, and it's, you know I'm just like his hemorrhoids or like scraping, you know, like fishes or whatever. And another symptom would be like feeling unempty, feeling like you could. You're not completely empty. I do get that sometimes, especially since being on my gov. Now, since being on my gov, I have become much more constipated. I rarely get diarrhea. Before I would usually have a coffee and then just like shit myself. So it's been quite a big change, I think, because your digestion is slowed down and also it like the slower your digestion is, basically the more water is absorbed because it's longer in your bow, so it means that it gets firmer and firmer and firmer basically.
Speaker 1:Other reasons you could have constipation are medications, which I hadn't really considered until I was like, looking up this episode like a little outline and I was like, oh yeah, stuff like anticholinergics, stuff that like basically, you know, like things for overactive bladder, or you know things like obviously Buscopan will, could slow down your bow because the whole purpose is that it stops your you know you from having loads of tummy contractions. Obviously, the problem is with medications. Oh, things like opioids, codeine, morphine, et cetera. The thing is with medications is you're not just going to be able to like often, just stop them. So you know there are other ways. You know if you can, you know, come off, things like you know if you're doing taking opioids and stuff and you're not supposed to or your on higher doses and you can reduce them, then that's always worth doing. You know it's always good to come up, be on the lowest dose of medication. That is like effective for you, I would always say, anyway.
Speaker 1:So what are the foods or the tips that I have? The first one is types of food. I've kind of broadly put it into just like food types. Now I looked online and I don't usually take these ones myself, but I'm going to mention them because they were mentioned. Prunes is like a really common one. Now you can actually have prune juice and basically you can drink it or you can eat the prunes themselves. I've never eaten a prune, I don't think, and it's not something I particularly want to do. But they've got a lot of fibre in because they're basically plums but dehydrated and soda. Things like apples, kiwis and figs and apparently citrus fruits can help with constipation, but that's not something I've ever tried.
Speaker 1:Personally, the things that I go for are my family favourite is chia seeds I would say any kind of seed, to be honest, is like pretty good. They end up forming like bulky poos which pass much more easily. They pull more water into them as a result and flax seeds. Now you can get that basically from most stores and it's in the health foods aisle chia seeds and flax seeds. The good thing about chia seeds is you can put it in like they kind of don't really taste of anything and what you can do is you can put them in overnight oats and you see them quite commonly they look a little bit like frog spawn when they've been soaked, because they've got this dot in the middle and they form like this jelly layer on the outside and you can have them not soaked.
Speaker 1:But if you really want to get your bowels moving, you know, have it with lots of water, have it already pre-soaked, and then you don't need to think oh my god, I need to drink loads of water so that when they go in my bow they aren't going to suck all the water out basically of my body or having like a mixture. So sometimes I'll have chia seeds in my protein shakes and they really help. You know, they really get things going. I mean, I fucking love seeds. They're so good, you know they. They just, you know, make me feel better about myself.
Speaker 1:So why not Bran flakes? Oh my god, I love bran flakes. I actually went to the shop the other day and I totally forgot to buy another box and I was quite sad about it. They can often or some brands do have a lot of sugar in, so just be aware of that. Unfortunately they do it to make them taste good but you know, then makes it kind of shit for you but that's shit for you. But bran flakes are super good. They've got so much fiber in. I mean, it could even make you go the other way If you're not used to them. Don't go too crazy.
Speaker 1:You can also just get other kinds of cereals with like bran in them, but not like full, full blown bran flake. Full blown bran flake is kind of a dance level, advanced level shit right there. You might not want to go straight in for full blown bran flake. That's really hard to say. Full blown bran flake, full broom, full blown bran flake. Try and say that five times as quick as you can. But I do love some bran flakes, you know. I think what I'm loving at the moment is I'm really loving plain food. So for me, just like, having a bowl of bran flakes with a few bits of like you know fruit on top is just a vibe like. It's totally a vibe for me and they're just. You know they're mildly sweet. You've got some nice oat milk, so I am kind of missing my bran flakes.
Speaker 1:The next thing that you're all obviously gonna already know, like I don't even need to tell you, is water. Now, with all of these things that I've mentioned above, it's useful, in fact pertinent, to have lots of water, because if you don't, what can end up happening is it sucks all the water. Either it sucks all the water out of your body just from, like osmosis, and you end up getting dehydrated, or you end up not Drinking enough and then there's not enough water to go in and then you end up getting more. Sometimes I've found that I've gotten more constipated, and Because they end up getting really bulky and there's not enough like water in them. So, yeah, basically, make sure you have lots of water. You know if you are constipated. Three you know when I say lots of water.
Speaker 1:Two litres is normal. Okay, we're talking maybe up to three litres. That's probably a good amount, as long as you know, on a normal UK, british day, we're not talking about in the fucking Sahara desert or something a different story, we're talking about normal day to day life. Two to three litres is a good amount. Now I think most people would struggle even to get two in. So you know, I Personally can absolutely guzzle it. So it's not a problem for me, but for some people it might be, and you might be aiming closer to two and you know, as long as you're just increasing it, I think that's okay and just keep trying to do a bit and a bit more each time. For me, actually, I might mention this is a last resort.
Speaker 1:Next Exercise, guys gravity is gonna work in your favour. If you even just go for a walk, go for a walk, walk your dogs and the kind of boom, boom, boom pushes everything down. That's how your body works with gravity. Literally that's how your kidneys, like you know, they push all the fluid down. And you know, drinking water although you can do all of these things upside down, it helps your body. So if you're moving around, it gets your gut moving. Gravity basically like shuffles the poo down. You know, let's say you had like okay, here we go. So I've got randomly in my toilet roll here for when I blow my nose on set, if I smash the bottom of it it will probably come out. I don't know if it will, but let's try as an experiment. I Mean it's, it's come down, let's. You know it was, it wasn't that far down before. So you know, I'm not saying bash yourself like a ketchup bottle, but what I was trying to show you there was Gravity is gonna pull things down, okay, and it's gonna push your Poo's down. Your poos are gonna slide through your bowels a bit more. So you know, the more vigorous the exercise, the better in in terms of that. So if you go for a run, that's usually better, you know, in terms of banging it down then, like maybe doing some Yoga or something, but all of it is still gonna stimulate blood flow and stimulate, you know, and movement and stuff like that is still gonna help. So Anything is good.
Speaker 1:Caffeine oh now, this is the thing that used to set off my bowel issues before was I would have a coffee and then Probably half an hour later I would know about it. Yeah, I would be going to the toilet and it wouldn't be a problem. I just have a massive poo and it would be like urgent, it would be like I'm coming out now and you can't stop me, so I would have to like I would have to be there. You know it wasn't as it wasn't a choice. It was like no, I've made this choice for you. So that was Now.
Speaker 1:I'm not really drinking as much caffeine. The thing is I've changed from coffee with lots of caffeine in it to Matcha, which is like a slower release, so I don't tend to get the sort of rush of I need a shit really quickly, which has been really helpful. And whenever I go back to coffee, however it comes, you know, straight back it's like bam, bam and you know it wants to come out. So if you want to clear yourself out, have some caffeine. You, I was gonna say you won't regret it, but you might. I can't make any promises.
Speaker 1:The other thing is I'm not recommending this, to be fair, but it is a known laxative. Is alcohol? It's called the Alka Plops for a reason. You get diarrhea or you know your bowels move quicker because your body's trying to get rid of the toxin right. So it's getting rid of the byproducts of alcohol from your bowels, which is why you're poo the next day. Fucking stinks, to be quite honest. So you know alcohol. I'm just telling you it is a laxative. I'm not telling you to go drink it.
Speaker 1:Next is toilet positions. Oh, sometimes, when I'm really constipated, what I do is I don't push harder. I either lean forwards, elbows on knees, and just see what happens, or I know this one's gonna be crazy okay or I grab my knees as if I'm doing like a somersault and I pull them upwards. Now it's quite hard to do here, but I pull them upwards, try and get them off the floor. It's a little bit wild and if anybody walked in it would be quite a sight, but thankfully no one's ever witnessed me doing it. But it is good, because that is the position we should be pooing in is like squatting down.
Speaker 1:If you can get one of those toilet potty things I don't know what they're called, but basically a step that you put around the toilet and it means that you're in a more squatted position perfect. If you stuff with constipation, that's gonna be perfect for you. It's not a common enough problem for me nowadays that I feel like I need to get. What are they called? Let's have a look constipation toilet seat. I know that's not what it's called. Squatty potty, that's what it's called and you can get some really nice ones. You can get like a nice little wooden one.
Speaker 1:Don't know how hygienic that is. I mean, it's just funny, isn't it, that we've basically risen the toilet seat up to the point where it's like we don't like we're gonna get hemorrhoids. I don't really get why we do that. Now the thing is, if we, if you look at the internal anatomy of your colon and your butt muscles, basically what happens is when your feet are at 90 and your hips are at 90, it's basically like the sphincter is like shut off, I guess it's so you don't shit yourself whenever you sit down. I don't know, no, it's obviously like just anatomical, but it does help you not shit yourself. And when you pull your knees up not up here, I like that would be pretty high up to your shoulders, but just pull them up a bit it like opens up the anal passage and it relaxes the muscles in around the anus and it basically allows you to poo more freely. So there we go, guys. That is that's my.
Speaker 1:I really want to get one, but I want one that's like collapsible. I wonder if you can get a collapsible one. Collapsible toilet no thanks, don't want that happening. Collapsible squatty potty oh they do. They have a folding one. I mean that might be an option, guys, not gonna lie. That might be an option. This one here is made from bamboo. It looks really nice. It's got 4.7 stars on Amazon. It's Amazon's choice for squatty potty for adults and it folds. Oh, I might get it. It's 37 pounds, though can you believe that it's quite a lot of money, isn't it? It actually tells you here which muscle it relaxes the pubo rectalis muscle. So if you want to go check out that muscle, have a little look. So, yeah, I mean, if you go to Asian countries, you will be squatting into a hole on the floor. So it's basically emulating that.
Speaker 1:I think probably one of the reasons we've got our toilets so high is so that old people can get off them, and I don't really know any more information than that, like why. That's something I need to know. Actually, why are UK toilets so high? Why do they make toilets so high? Yeah, it's basically em. It's basically so that I mean, yeah, it says it's better for tall people, seniors and anyone with knee or back pain, but I mean the but the main thing is, you know, it's like we have those riser recliners for old people, but if you don't use it, you lose it guys. So squat down. You know that's what I'm saying squat down my last.
Speaker 1:I don't want to call it a tip, but my last way I tackle constipation is last resort is I use laxatives. I have had to use them before when I've been abroad and my abdomen, oh my god, it's been like so swollen with poo. I'm like something needs to come out here now. I've used laxido in the past. It's also called movicol fibregel. It's basically like a gel, liquidy thing. It's basically fibre. Now, with that you have to drink quite a lot of water and by that point I've already passed the point of no return, I feel.
Speaker 1:So my, my go to laxative is actually senna, and senna is a natural component of one second senna. I can't remember what drug it is or what it's from. Oh, it just says it's from the senna fruit. Well, that was pretty easy, wasn't it? I don't.
Speaker 1:Basically, senna is a stimulant laxative, I believe and it works by making your bowel more active. So if you do have concerns about that, for whatever reason, don't take it. Basically, if you have things like bowel obstruction, I mean, you know, I'd hope that you'd be in hospital, not listening to my podcast, so unless you're doing both, and then that's pretty great. So I don't know why you should take it at night, though, like so it can give you more tummy pain, is what I'm one of the other things, because it stimulates muscle contraction in your bowels. I don't really know why does it have to be taken at night? I guess your bowels are more active at night because you're resting. That's kind of my only, my only thought. That's not like necessarily proven. I just I'm thinking, you know, rest and digest kind of vibes. So those are my ways I tackle constipation and I'm having a great time at the moment, but it's very fluctuating, so tomorrow it may not be so good and you know, the day after that it might be better, and vice versa, etc. So, oh, it's also probably not great at the moment because I am having this codeine linkedus and codeine makes you constipated, basically works the opposite to sana and slows your bow muscles down. Dun, dun, dun. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed that and have better bowels after that.
Speaker 1:If you did give it a like, give it a thumbs up or whatever, give it a five star rating on Spotify or everywhere. Really listen to podcasts and I upload every Monday and Thursdays. We discuss all things health, wellness, mental wellbeing, etc. And then sometimes just random shit that I'm like, let's talk about this and, yeah, tell your friends, family, leave a comment if you liked it, or what else do you want to hear about? I'm? I'm keen for, you know, suggestions, although I generally don't run out of things to talk about. So, anyway, thanks guys, and I will see you in the next one.
