The Poop Talk

It is often said, “What comes out the other end is as important for your health as what goes in….”

One of the most common comments we hear from OFM athletes after they have had some time successfully employing the OFM program is how much simpler and easier bowel movements become. You poop less and much easier when you get it right. Another benefit for males is not having to urinate several times during the night due to an inflamed prostate and for females the “special” time of the month is a lot less “special,” due to reduced inflammation.

On a technical/clinical level, this means a Type 4 stool from the Bristol Stool Scale. On a potty humor level this translates to “dropping a snake”.

The constipation issues often associated with transitioning to a Low-Carb, Ketogenic diet (constipation and diverticulitis) actually have to do with either not enough sodium and magnesium in the diet or too much calcium relative to magnesium.

Another cause can be a distended colon from the carbs and fiber. When you shift to low carb from super high carbs, like bread, cereal and pasta (particularly if the person is using supplemental fiber for “movement”), the colon can potentially be so distended that it does not have the ability to contract small enough to push out the feces. Thus, constipation and diverticulitis. If an athlete has had to use a lot of supplemental fiber on a high carb diet, then I recommend they transition over a period of months by first eliminating the supplemental fiber and concentrated carbs, then slowly reducing the amount of vegetables and fruits, without having a big change at once. This allows the colon to shrink back to a more normal size.

Sometimes, athletes switching over will have diarrhea. This may be due to an excess volume of fat in the diet or could be due to impaired gall bladder/bile function. If you have had gall bladder issues or gall bladder removal, diarrhea happens. If your gall bladder was removed, then supplementing with a bile salts is necessary for proper absorption of fats and the nutrition in them.

We sincerely hope none of this scares the crap out of you…..