Sean Gibbons

So constipation tends to precede these things. Similar for chronic kidney disease, we see that constipation often precedes the disease condition, but no one really knew whether that was correlation or causation.

So constipation tends to precede these things. Similar for chronic kidney disease, we see that constipation often precedes the disease condition, but no one really knew whether that was correlation or causation.

is it just a side effect of the disease or is the constipation perhaps a driver of disease ideology and so that's why we focused on these healthy individuals because these folks were not sick this is before any disease has manifested itself and yet we're still seeing the sort of metabolites and risk factors associated with these diseases elevated in the bodies of these people who are experiencing aberrant bowel movement frequency

is it just a side effect of the disease or is the constipation perhaps a driver of disease ideology and so that's why we focused on these healthy individuals because these folks were not sick this is before any disease has manifested itself and yet we're still seeing the sort of metabolites and risk factors associated with these diseases elevated in the bodies of these people who are experiencing aberrant bowel movement frequency

It's a way of kind of measuring frequency by eye. So it's a scale between one and seven, where on one end you have watery stools, diarrhea, and on the other end you have dry, hard pellet kind of stools, which is on the constipated end. And in the middle, you have the nice, smooth kind of sausage texture to the stool, which is where you want to be, essentially.

It's a way of kind of measuring frequency by eye. So it's a scale between one and seven, where on one end you have watery stools, diarrhea, and on the other end you have dry, hard pellet kind of stools, which is on the constipated end. And in the middle, you have the nice, smooth kind of sausage texture to the stool, which is where you want to be, essentially.

It's a way to kind of measure water content and transit time just by visually inspecting your stool.

It's a way to kind of measure water content and transit time just by visually inspecting your stool.

Yeah, it's very important, and it's a bidirectional communication between our bodies and our microbes. So first of all, the amount of dietary fiber we consume affects transit time. It keeps the water content of stool high, it adds more bulk, and it promotes the production of short chain fatty acids.

Yeah, it's very important, and it's a bidirectional communication between our bodies and our microbes. So first of all, the amount of dietary fiber we consume affects transit time. It keeps the water content of stool high, it adds more bulk, and it promotes the production of short chain fatty acids.

So microbes in our gut prefer to ferment dietary fibers into these organic acids, which are healthful for us. And these acids actually promote the smooth muscle contraction of our bowel and promote faster transit through the gut. But if stool remains around for too long in the gut, microbes start to exhaust those fibers and they switch to the next best thing, which is protein fermentation.

So microbes in our gut prefer to ferment dietary fibers into these organic acids, which are healthful for us. And these acids actually promote the smooth muscle contraction of our bowel and promote faster transit through the gut. But if stool remains around for too long in the gut, microbes start to exhaust those fibers and they switch to the next best thing, which is protein fermentation.

and protein fermentation gives rise to these molecules i talked about earlier that were associated with constipation like phenyl acetate or endoxyl or p creosol and so we know that microbes when they switch to this fermentation process they're producing these molecules and you know in our in our study we find that these molecules are elevated in the blood when you are constipated and that's where they're coming from

and protein fermentation gives rise to these molecules i talked about earlier that were associated with constipation like phenyl acetate or endoxyl or p creosol and so we know that microbes when they switch to this fermentation process they're producing these molecules and you know in our in our study we find that these molecules are elevated in the blood when you are constipated and that's where they're coming from

I guess finally, I'd say that microbes are capable of producing human neurotransmitters, and these neurotransmitters can interact with our gut nervous system. The gut is one of the most densely innervated organs of the body, and these interactions with these neurotransmitters can also affect motility and contraction in the gut.

I guess finally, I'd say that microbes are capable of producing human neurotransmitters, and these neurotransmitters can interact with our gut nervous system. The gut is one of the most densely innervated organs of the body, and these interactions with these neurotransmitters can also affect motility and contraction in the gut.

There's a lot of work, I think, that needs to be done still in this area, but it is known that travel, long distance travel on airplanes, for example, can give rise to transient constipation. So that's a well-known factor. There's also traveler's diarrhea. People can often catch a bug when they're traveling somewhere, and that can induce differences in their transit time.

There's a lot of work, I think, that needs to be done still in this area, but it is known that travel, long distance travel on airplanes, for example, can give rise to transient constipation. So that's a well-known factor. There's also traveler's diarrhea. People can often catch a bug when they're traveling somewhere, and that can induce differences in their transit time.

And then shift workers, people who have disrupted sleep patterns or abnormal sleep patterns, The schedule of their dietary intake, their eating, can be somewhat different from the normal mealtimes that most of us experience. And this can affect these processes we're talking about, organic acid production, protein fermentation, constipation, diarrhea.

And then shift workers, people who have disrupted sleep patterns or abnormal sleep patterns, The schedule of their dietary intake, their eating, can be somewhat different from the normal mealtimes that most of us experience. And this can affect these processes we're talking about, organic acid production, protein fermentation, constipation, diarrhea.