Episode 134: Let's Sh*t Talk: Fiber and Colon Cancer
Listen to the episode
Watch on YouTube
Episode Description
In this episode of The Up-Beet Dietitians podcast, Emily and Hannah discuss the potential correlation between fiber and colon cancer. With the increase in media discussion about the prevalence of colon cancer in young adults, the girls wanted to chat about it. So naturally, the girls chat about different types of fiber, poop, and how to know if you’re eating enough fiber at all. This episode is a different type of shit talking they’ll be participating in!
Mentioned resources
Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube to listen.
-
0:08
Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Upbeat Dietitians podcast.
Hello, guys.
Let's talk some shit, shall we?
Yay.
Today we're talking all about fiber and colon cancer, the GI tract.
0:25
It's going to be a lot of lot of poop talk, so as we've mentioned, we find that riveting.
But if you don't like poop talk, either get on board or find the new episode to listen to, because it's all going to be about poop today.
And colon cancer.
0:42
And colon cancer, which if you're not pooping, well get a colonoscopy so you know for sure you don't have colon cancer.
We'll get there from the top.
Our housekeeping stuff.
Go to YouTube where you can see our faces and other little little tidbits we throw in every episode.
0:59
Also, if you want to hear our bonus contents, make sure you subscribe to the Beat Deets for 299 a month.
What a steal for lots of laughs from your favorite upbeat dietitians.
And then also give us five stars and tell us how great we are in the comments so we can keep this party going.
1:18
Yeah, so we can keep doing this.
Yeah.
And talking about poop.
We were just saying before we hit start that it's not going to be as juicy of an episode, but I think it could be.
1:34
We could.
We could make it juicy.
Let's get into it because we'll have plenty of that to come.
So little did you know, it is not only the year of the.
1:52
Are you Googling right now?
I knew you were going to do this.
So I have to say Snake, I feel like it's no, it's a dragon, I think.
I was thinking rabbit, but that could have been a previous year.
Yeah, it's.
You're a dragon.
Little did you Little did you know?
Oh, yeah.
2:08
It was, I think Rabbit recently.
I don't know the order.
It feels familiar, yeah.
But it's the You're the Dragon, and it's also the Year of Fiber, as it should be.
Fibre.
Declared Yeah, Fiber is a component of carbs.
2:24
Spoiler alert Fiber and I.
Don't know if that's a spoiler, that is some pretty well known information, although carbs though, not everyone does that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, carbs.
People hate carbs.
And but people like regular bowel movements, I assume.
2:42
So I assume they're pro fiber.
But anyway, we're going to be talking about things fiber.
So First things first.
We'll be talking about like dietary fiber.
Specifically, this is an ingestible carbohydrate found in plant foods.
2:58
Most of them are broken down into glucose, which is like the main energy source our body uses for everything.
It's the preferred energy source.
But fiber?
What did I say most carbs?
Did I say most carbs get broken down?
You said most fiber breaks down into glucose.
3:15
That was incorrect.
Most I'm talking too quickly that my brain is catching up.
Most carbs are broken into glucose, which is still the preferred source of energy for our body.
3:31
But fiber cannot be broken down, and it passes through the body undigested, which helps with regular bowel movements and peeping.
Think of it as like a broom.
It's like just sweeping all the shit and it's like I like your broom sound better.
3:49
I should include a broom image on the YouTube when I added this.
By next both of us.
Oh my gosh, our own little wait.
I'll make them, like, match our vibes.
Oh, we should do a bonus question.
What kind of broom would you be?
Or would you be like a Dyson vacuum?
4:04
A shark vacuum?
What your preferred vacuum says about you.
Oh.
Yeah.
And that's like fiber.
Because fiber is cleaning everything up.
Today was going to be what's the best bean, but we might change that and do what your vacuum says about you.
4:21
This is what you get when you pay 3 bucks a month to hear us.
We talk about vacuums and beans.
OK, TBD on today's bones question.
That could be a contender.
Most Americans are not eating enough fiber.
It is an underutilized nutrient if you ask me.
4:39
I don't have any like studies to back this clean up, but from what I tend to read on like the headlines, they say that most Americans are consuming like 10 to 15 grams of fiber.
I feel like that's pretty, pretty accurate for a large majority, but in reality we need a lot more than that, like double.
4:56
So women or those assigned female at birth should aim for about 25 grams of fiber per day, and men or those assigned male at birth should aim for about 38 grams.
Big caveat here though is if you are in that like 10:00-ish gram a day territory, don't jump to like 35 grams tomorrow because your sweeper will not be sweeping.
5:17
It's going to the opposite.
You're going to get all, you're going to get clogged up.
It might be a plunge, A plunger, a.
Pleasure.
Is not your body.
Also along with that, get plenty of fluids too, because once again, lots of fiber and nothing to help moisten things and get it going.
5:39
It's kind of like a broom without the little what are those bristles?
The bristles, it's just a little pull, like pushing things through, but you need the bristles to like make it nice and smooth and regular.
Like collect everything.
5:56
Also miss stuff.
I am just thinking at the top of my head.
I'm like getting really good at these analogies.
These fiber I like this.
These fiber, I like thinking of these.
I've never said bristles before when talking about the fluid with fiber.
6:13
You guys are getting me on my game today.
Fiber Talk is my favorite, OK?
There are some people, though, who should not be trying to get as much fiber as possible because they're not going to feel good at all.
And that includes those who have diverticulitis, gastroparesis, Crohn's disease, or a new colonoscopy or ileostomy.
6:35
And these groups of people typically still need, like, some fiber and like the amount can increase depending on if you're in a flare up or not, like if you have Crohn's, for example.
So those numbers I rambled off a minute ago definitely don't apply to those populations.
6:53
Definitely eat the amount of fiber you've been told to follow by like your doctor or dietitian or whoever if you have, if you have that.
Access, yes.
And then there are two different types of fiber.
You've probably heard of them.
Maybe there's insoluble, insoluble, and the biggest difference is kind of how they act in the sweeping process if you continue this analogy.
7:19
So insoluble does not dissolve in fluids.
It's kind of what you think of when it's like absorbing a lot of the fluid and like creating that bulk that you think of, Like you want to make sure your poops are not runny and straight liquid.
7:36
Like that's not great.
At.
All.
Too juicy?
But some, and essentially kind of helps.
Bulk up your stool and your poop and examples of insoluble fluid, fluid insoluble.
7:53
Fiber.
Most fluids are are soluble, I'm pretty sure.
Yeah, yes.
Examples in soluble fiber are beans, nuts, wheat, bran, whole wheat flour, vegetables like cauliflower, green beans, potato, carrots, and like berries.
8:09
Stuff like that.
And then soluble fiber dissolves in water and other bodily fluids and it forms that like gel like material.
That helps kind of everything.
Glide the fluid together 'cause like if you have too much bulk, it's not gonna come out.
8:25
It's rough.
You're gonna have too much soluble fiber, it's gonna go out too quickly and then that can lead to other issues.
And soluble fiber examples are like apples, barley, beans, carrots, citrus fruits, oats, peas, psyllium, stuff like that.
And it's not just limited to these, like there are a bunch of other examples.
8:45
And the nice thing also is there's a lot of crossover where a lot of produce like fruits and vegetables and like grains and whole grains like have both insoluble and soluble fiber.
So you're getting both at once, which is nice often times.
9:03
Yeah, so unless you have a reason, like if you have either Constipation or diarrhea and you need to like be specific about which one you're eating.
If you're eating generally like fiber rich foods, you're like exiting both and that will keep things from getting too bulky or too smooth.
But you guys may have heard the what's it called when like the first letter matches the sound synonym antonym.
9:27
Like the whole soluble, slow insoluble go.
What would you call that?
Oh, I'm embarrassed.
I love grammar and I don't know what this I was gonna.
Say I don't, so I don't know.
You've got the chemistry, I've got the grammar, although we're failing on both fronts today anyway.
9:44
But you know what You're talking about mnemonic.
Oh, pneumonic.
Is it a pneumonic?
Pneumonic pneumonic device is it?
Now we're just like saying things that we're just.
Saying I'm looking this up, any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in human memory?
10:05
OK, I could call this a pneumonic device then.
Pneumonic.
Oh boy.
I'm also eating nuts right now, so that's not helping.
Pneumonic devices like acronyms, chunking and rhymes help the brain naturally store data.
10:24
OK, well my new mind advice for this and many others is soluble, slow insoluble go.
So what that means is the soluble fiber slows things down.
So if you're having diarrhea, you've got the juicy poops.
10:40
Soluble fiber will help slow things down.
Wait, yes.
And then if you have insoluble, or excuse me, if you have Constipation and you need things to get pushed through a lot more, a little bit better, insoluble fiber helps things go.
Why does it sound backwards from what you just described?
10:58
That does sound backwards compared to what I just described, and now I'm questioning what I know I'm.
So convinced, soluble.
No 'cause I your pneumonic device, like I've heard that.
Before soluble, slow and soluble go OH.
11:15
My gosh, do we not know anything?
I'm embarrassed.
I was just talking about how it's on my game and fibers like my favorite topic and then this happens.
No, you're you're OK.
Well, you were saying soluble slows digestion, right?
So if you have diarrhea, soluble fiber is what you want to yeah, you're.
Right.
11:31
Clearly I don't understand.
No, you're right though too.
We both have it right.
I think the way we describe, like the bulk, was just confusing because soluble.
Doesn't like.
You still need.
To it.
Yeah, it would just go through you.
No, wait.
11:50
I'm questioning everything I know.
What even is fiber?
Oh my gosh.
Hold up.
I have a blog post about fiber.
Let me consult a previous version of myself.
Yeah, OK, soluble fiber.
12:06
Oh my God.
Soluble fiber helps relieve mild to moderate diarrhea by soaking up water in the digestive tract, making your stool firmer.
And.
Slower to pass?
OK.
Yes, that makes sense that.
OK, yes, This is why we have those pneumonic devices, because otherwise you talk yourself out of it and get all confused.
12:27
Yeah.
OK, I promise we are qualified to be discussing this.
Definitely makes sense what we were saying.
It just was not connecting.
Yeah.
And honestly, once again, the biggest thing is unless you have like Constipation or diarrhea, if you're just trying to get more regular, just eating enough fiber in general, like fiber rich foods, we're gonna have a little bit of both usually, so don't sweat it too much.
12:52
But if you are having diarrhea, soluble will slow it down, give Constipation.
Insoluble will move things along in conjunction with also fluids for both of these.
Let's move on.
Let's.
13:07
Move on now that we've really made ourselves look really dumb.
I keep eating as soon as I'm going to.
Talk, I got this one.
I got this one.
OK, along with our our good poops, there are some other benefits of fiber too.
So of course keeping things regular is a big one.
13:25
You may have heard of fiber being recommended for those who have high cholesterol and that is because soluble fiber can help to lower the LDL cholesterol which is the quote UN quote bad cholesterol.
So those who have high cholesterol and are making dietary changes often will prioritize eating more of that fiber along with choosing like the healthy fats getting more movement, potentially medicating too.
13:51
But fiber is a big one for heart health in general.
And then finally, we want to discuss colon cancer today because according to some different resources, which will include some links below, but colon cancer numbers are rising in young people.
14:07
So a few different like stats that I found, which again will include links below to the things I'm about to say so I'm not just pulling it out of my out of my colon.
Oh God, the stats.
OK.
So colon cancer is rising in young people.
14:26
And the reason we're bringing this up is because eating more fiber can be helpful to decrease the risk of colon cancer.
Now, of course, there's tons of other things that play a role on all types of cancer, including genetics is a really big one.
But fiber can be helpful.
And they're not quite sure exactly what the causes of these increased rates are.
14:46
But some do speculate it could be related to a lot of us not eating enough fiber.
And once again, it's it's, there's a lot of things that play a role in cancer risk.
I think it's worth getting more fiber in if it's something that you tolerate.
Well, one article that we will link below says that 20% of the diagnosed cases of colon cancer in 2019 were in patients under 55, which is pretty unheard of for cancer like this is one of the few cancers that is so high in younger people.
15:16
And a different report from 2024.
So colon cancer used to be the 4th leading cause of cancer death in both men and women under the age of 50.
But recently it has upped from that to being the first cause of cancer death in men and the second in women under 50, the 1st in women being breast cancer.
15:37
So that's a big a big change, a big change.
Yeah, it's like tough to tell specifically what is causing it, but like the fiber intake, like overall, at least I feel like in the American diet isn't super great.
15:53
And there's like a lot of reasons, I think, that go into that.
Fiber was a big one.
I was looking at a few other things too.
And of course like alcohol consumption plays a big role in all types of cancer, also highly processed meats, we know that that can be a really big risk of of cancer too, which again with that one, it's it's so hard to know like exactly what amount of bacon you're allowed to eat before you get colon cancer.
16:16
Like it's just not that simple.
But that tends to be a a big one exercise fiber, I mean the things you usually hear for cancer risk, the biggest one being different here would be the fiber trying to get plenty of that in.
And yeah, I agree.
I I think a big part of that could be like this risk increasing is because we don't eat a lot of that.
16:36
So some symptoms of colon cancer and you should not diagnose yourself.
But this, like I did a couple months ago when this first started coming up and I read the symptoms like, Oh my God.
I had colon cancer.
Some symptoms can include changes in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, slash blood and stool, ongoing discomfort in your abdominal area like cramps, gas or pain, bowel movements, not feeling complete weakness, fatigue, and unintentional weight loss.
17:09
If you experience any of these or you're experiencing changes in bowel habits, it's like seek a medical professional.
Do not self diagnose.
Nothing good comes out of that And then like get a colonoscopy.
How is it when you're 50?
17:28
I think it depends.
I want to say I think men are 55.
Oh, we should know this.
This should be something that you guys can hear from us. 45 if you're at average risk for colorectal cancer.
Yeah.
And if you don't have any polyps that are found, you'll get it in 10-10 more years.
17:48
Well, like you could do it now.
Like if you're concerned, definitely that's not something you want to wait years and years and years for it to just continue potentially like nothing getting done.
For it, yeah, it's it's normal to have like your bowel habits change a little bit here and there.
18:05
Like no one has perfect poops all the time.
Like even someone like me who's pretty proud of my Mal habits.
I'm very blessed to not have like IBS or anything.
We all have our days where our poops are terrible, but if it is like out of the blue getting worse and not getting better, pretty shortly after see a doctor.
18:29
Please, let's bring it back to Fiber, 'cause that is the main star of today.
So we've been talking about like different types of fiber, making sure you eat enough fiber, but then you're like, how do I even know if I'm eating enough fiber?
18:45
Like what can you tell?
So first and foremost, constipation's like one of the biggest ones, like not regular bowel movements when you're like straining or struggling to have a bowel movement.
This can also be related to like lack like limited fluid intake.
19:01
Some a lot of medications cause Constipation, lack of exercise, IBSIBD, other things.
Idiopathic like you can just have Constipation and have no clue what it's coming from, which is I'm sure very annoying.
19:16
Yeah, yes.
But it could be a sign potentially.
Another sign is feeling really hungry after eating.
Fiber is one of those biggest things that like, slows down our digestion.
That leads us to feeling a little bit more satiated.
19:34
So if you're like eating and you feel hungry incredibly closely after finishing that previous meal or snack, and there might not have been enough fiber in it, or you might need to eat a little bit more so you feel a little bit more satiated over a long period of time.
And then like what Hannah was talking about way back when about the cholesterol levels, like how some fiber can help lower LDL.
20:00
High cholesterol levels could also potentially be a symptom of not eating enough fiber.
Yeah.
With that one especially I want to say that like you can eat all the fiber in the world instead of high cholesterol levels.
Like it's it's highly genetic actually, but potentially could be elevated if you're not getting enough fiber and eating more fiber could have, could potentially help lower it if it is elevated, yes.
20:25
OK.
Finally, today we've got some tangible tips.
So if you're like, OK, I am ready to celebrate the year of fiber, how do we kick this party off?
We've got some tips to help you get more fiber in.
Let's just like ping pong it.
20:41
OK, I'll say the first one and then we've just got a little less.
Well, actually, Emily, I'm going to start with what you're doing right now, eating more nuts and seeds.
Add them to everything.
Your yogurt, your cereal, your oatmeal.
Just I always have like chia seeds, flaxseed and hemp seeds and I just throw them in everything.
20:59
Yeah, super easy to add and they like, add a nice little texture component.
Yeah.
And fiber.
Another thing you could do is like starting your day off.
If you're like a cereal person, you can do like find like a high fiber cereal.
I'm personally a big fan of Raisin Bran also because it's really great for iron or my anemia.
21:21
Anemic girlies or boys.
You can be anemic too, but having like a nice fiber cereal could be really easy and not something you could think too hard about.
21:38
And if there if you think that like a high fiber cereal gonna taste like cardboard and there's not one that you really love, you could always like even do half and half.
Like do half, I don't know, whatever Bran cereal and then half cinnamon toast crunch.
21:55
That way you can still enjoy it but maybe like add that bulk still without compromising too much flavor.
Or we have a whole list of other ways to get fiber in too.
If you're like, no I'm not giving up my low fiber cereal.
That's cool too.
I I love myself some like not high fiber cereal.
22:11
But our next one could be adding fruits and veggies to smoothies.
I mean smoothies altogether could be a great way to get lots of fiber in from obviously fruits and veggies like we just said.
But also throwing in those chia seeds and flax seeds too could be a great way to eat those up.
Also some nut butters or like peanut butter powder even add a little bit of fiber that way also.
22:31
And you'll get your fluid in with your fiber.
Too.
Yes.
So you're helping yourself out both ways.
I know The really easy thing you could do is like sauteing vegetables on the like breakfast train.
You could like saute veggies, like make a little skillet with eggs or like rice or like ham whenever you like, but also just sauteed vegetables can get added to a lot of things.
22:55
Oh yeah.
And Oh my God, I just inhaled.
The fibers fighting back.
Keep going, keep going, OK?
23:11
Muting myself.
Mute yourself.
OK, I got this from here.
Add veggies to stuff.
Add nuts, seeds and fruit to stuff.
Like we just said, you could add veggies or beans to soups or salads too.
I love beans are beans are in my top five foods.
23:28
I think I love beans.
I was going to say my favorite bean, but I want to say that for everyone's question.
I love beans.
So if you do too, add them to everything.
If you get canned beans, they're like literally ready to eat.
All you got to do is like drain and rinse them.
23:44
You could just like eat them or throw them and stuff our like go to staple dinner if we either need to go to the grocery store or we're exhausted.
Is bean and corn quesadillas just so easy and so high in fiber?
24:00
I don't know.
Are we on the?
List, are you recovered?
OK, I'll wrap it up.
We got like two more.
You could also add berries, nuts and seeds to your salads.
Berries are really high in fiber.
Surprisingly like a Raspberry will give you all the good poops.
And then finally here just straight up snacking on fruits and veggies as we always say or at least I know I always say this.
24:22
If it gets you to eat more veggies have a dip like use your hummus.
I made this like Buffalo chicken dip the other day and I had raw bell pepper dipped in it with like some tortilla chips too.
Something about like the fresh raw like crunchy bell pepper and like that really rich.
24:43
Are you good?
I kid you not.
It's like the water is not pushing the nuts down my throat.
We are trying to sell fiber gear you can't be doing.
This dying.
25:00
It's like this is.
This is.
The nuts on the insoluble fiber, this is.
The Dark Side of Fiber no One Talks About.
The water is the fluid trying to push it out, but it's not soluble fiber so it's not getting picked up and now I can't swallow.
25:26
Mine's just the flu.
It's not fiber.
Oh, no.
Well, good thing we're done.
I'm just trying to breathe, OK?
That's.
That's fiber.
Y'all that's It's got a dark side, but it's good for you.
25:43
Yeah, and also, like, you don't have to do, like, fresh fruits and vegetables.
For like.
Fiber.
I feel like that's what everyone thinks about.
Or they think of like salads with like all these veg.
Wait, we got to talk about the whole banana and a smoothie thing.
26:00
Have you seen this on TikTok?
All the the influencers saying that once you blend up your banana in a smoothie, you're like getting rid of all the fiber and the nutrients?
I don't know what people are on.
I'm like since when?
A little metal blade is not going to like, get rid of all the fiber and make it so your nutrients are like suddenly competing against each other or something.
26:25
That's not a thing, no, and like Emily was just getting to before I interrupted her.
If blending your fruits and veggies in a smoothie makes you enjoy them, do that You don't just like, eat raw fruits and veggies.
Don't have to hate what you're eating.
26:40
And it's OK if like it's OK if you enjoy what you're eating too.
Like it doesn't make it less quote UN quote healthy.
It might actually improve like the way your body uses the nutrients, if you're actually enjoying how you're eating it and not feeling stressed about it the whole time.
26:59
We talk about how bad stress is all the time.
So it's.
Stress with food is not a good combo.
Not a good combo for good bowel movements.
Don't you want to have good poops?
There is not much better than a good poop.
No.
27:16
I'm going to just like, air out Ross's dirty laundry.
That man poops so much.
I'm jealous.
Yeah, you don't have the best poops.
I me and my digest subtract do not get a lot.
27:32
No, it's like, I don't know.
I feel like I know a lot of men who are like this, but like, he eats something and then boom, he's pooping it out 20 minutes later.
I'm like, are you absorbing any of it?
Like.
That goes straight through you.
But like, he doesn't talk about like, having diarrhea a lot or anything.
27:50
Like it seems like he's having pretty good poops most of time.
Yeah.
We're very vocal about it.
We let each other know for having bad poops.
We are.
We are not shy about that in the Thompson, home to a fault sometimes.
Bobby has to hear all my IBS issues so he and then he has his juice with his gluten.
28:08
So we're like the Bad Digestive household and you guys are like the like good, like this is the ideal about like this is what you want to aspire for.
And then me and Bobby are like, this is what you don't want.
28:26
It's true.
Ross and I are very proud of our our good poops.
If that got taken away from me, I'd be upset badly.
You suck.
I don't know how you do it.
It truly affects the trajectory of my day.
Yeah.
Not great.
28:42
Not great.
To let that have so much power over me, But here we are.
But anyway.
Eat your fiber.
Kind of fun way to eat some fiber?
Challenge yourself to eat some fun fiber and then get a colonoscopy.
29:01
Just for funsies, especially for over 45.
Yeah.
I know you have some people listening who are in colonoscopy age.
Don't get that done.
You don't.
You don't want to find out about something too late.
All right, guys, this has been poop chat.
29:19
I love this for us.
Me too, even though we sounded like idiots for a good 15 minutes of it.
But that's OK.
We we got in our heads, so.
This is what happens.
This is comparisonitis or whatever they call it or not comparisonitis imposter syndrome.
29:37
Oh yes, yes, yes, yes.
Luckily we had old you to rely on that artist.
Your blog post this.
Is why we write blogs.
This is a podcast we don't need to refer to, but we're going to throw back to our episode way in the beginning, talking about the benefits of blogging for dietitians.
29:56
Oh my.
Gosh, do not link that below.
That's so pointless for our current audience.
But that is why I enjoy blogging, because I like it's a deep dive into things like this.
So if I ever need to remember, that's my own blog, yeah.
I like how you told me not to link it and I was full on ready, don't like.
30:14
That don't like that we love Andy the Rd. with a passion.
We love him, but the episode is no longer relevant to our current audience.
Not bearing on brand anymore.
No, we've adjusted.
Be like Andy the Rd. though.
30:30
Go.
Listen.
Yeah, just go follow him for fun.
Yeah, go listen to the Beat Deeds, where we're going to either talk about the best being or what your cleaning vacuum appliance says about you, still to be determined.
And then subscribe to the YouTube.
30:47
Give us five stars like all of our videos so we can continue to do this.
Yeah.
Thanks guys.
We will spiral and have bad poops because of this stress.
Wow.
If we're putting our poops in your hand, that is a big responsibility.
31:07
I mean, mine's already bad.
So mine aren't.
So you better do the right things.
If I don't get stress poops, yeah, we're.
Coming for Hannah so she doesn't get stress poops.
That's enough.
All right.
Bye guys.
Bye.
The Beet Deets Bonus Segment
Listen to our ad-free premium content for a low monthly cost!
This week Emily and Hannah discuss their favorite bean on the continued trend of all things beans! You guys this is the year of the dragon!! And beans!!! The girls discuss their favorite ways to cook and eat beans. Hannah mentions her magical bean cabinet while Emily talks about how the texture of some beans freak her out (are we surprised). Tune in for more fun!
