Hey {{first_name}}

Let me describe a strange little mystery.

Think back to the last time your digestion changed.

Maybe your stools became softer.

Maybe they became harder.

Maybe you suddenly started going twice a day.

Maybe you stopped going every morning.

Maybe everything looked completely normal — except the colour was different.

And here's the interesting part:

Did you actually change what you were eating?

Sometimes the answer is yes.

But sometimes...

Nothing obvious changed.

Same breakfast.

Same coffee.

Same vegetables.

Same amount of water.

And yet your bathroom habits suddenly look different.

That's where I want to investigate today.

Because stool isn't just waste.

It's the final report produced by a surprisingly complicated system.

And if the report changes...

Something upstream may have changed first.

Let's follow the evidence. 🔎

Detective question:

Reply with your letter. I'm collecting clues for the next investigation.

01 — The Bristol Stool Form Scale

Researchers and clinicians commonly use the Bristol Stool Form Scale to classify stool consistency from hard separate pellets through to watery diarrhoea.

Why does that matter?

Because "I went to the bathroom" doesn't tell us very much.

Consistency gives us another clue about what's happening during transit through the colon.

03 — Bile Acids & The Gut

Bile acids aren't simply digestive detergents.

After helping with fat digestion and absorption, many bile acids are reabsorbed in the intestine and returned to the liver.

This recycling process is called the enterohepatic circulation.

Some bile acids reach the colon, where they interact with gut microbes and can influence intestinal activity.

Which means your liver, bile, gut and microbiome aren't separate stories.

They're part of the same system.

DON'T START THE INVESTIGATION THERE.

Here's where wellness advice often goes wrong.

You notice bloating.

So you blame the food.

You notice constipation.

So you buy fibre.

You notice loose stools.

So you remove another food.

You notice a colour change.

So you Google it at 2am and convince yourself you have seventeen diseases.

We've all been there.

But digestion doesn't work as a collection of isolated organs.

It's a chain.

And when something changes at the end of the chain, the cause may be several steps upstream.

So let's reconstruct the case.

Your digestive tract is constantly moving its contents forward.

Too quickly?

There may not be enough time for the colon to absorb water.

Result: looser stools.

Too slowly?

The colon has more time to remove water.

Result: harder stools.

Simple, right?

Not quite.

Transit time can be influenced by physical activity, hydration, stress, medications, diet composition and the nervous system.

So when your stool suddenly changes, asking:

"What did I eat?"

is only one question.

A better investigation asks:

"What changed about my entire routine?"

Now we get to one of digestion's more underrated players.

Bile is produced by the liver and stored and concentrated in the gallbladder.

Its role isn't simply "digest fat."

Bile acids help your body digest and absorb dietary fats and fat-soluble vitamins.

But after doing their job, many bile acids aren't simply thrown away.

They're reabsorbed in the intestine and returned to the liver.

Again.

And again.

And again.

That's the enterohepatic circulation.

But some bile acids escape this recycling system and reach the colon.

There, they can interact with the microbiome and intestinal signalling.

In some conditions, excessive bile acids reaching the colon can contribute to watery stools and urgency.

At the same time, problems with bile delivery can interfere with normal fat digestion.

Same system.

Different problem.

Location matters. Amount matters. Timing matters.

Here's another misconception worth retiring:

Your gut isn't simply a jar of "good bacteria."

It's an ecosystem.

Different organisms consume different substrates.

They produce different metabolites.

Those metabolites can interact with the intestinal lining, immune system and nervous system.

And the environment changes constantly.

Your diet changes.

Your sleep changes.

Your stress changes.

Your medications change.

Your transit time changes.

The ecosystem responds.

Which means a bowel movement isn't simply telling you:

"You ate too much fibre."

It may be the visible result of dozens of variables interacting.

That's why changing one variable at a time can be useful.

You've basically destroyed your own experiment.

You won't know what caused the change.

A good investigator doesn't change twelve variables and then pretend the conclusion is obvious.

Here's one of my favourite clues.

You wake up.

You drink water.

You have coffee.

You eat breakfast.

And suddenly:

Bathroom.

What happened?

Probably not magic.

Your digestive system has circadian rhythms.

The colon tends to become more active around waking, and eating can trigger the gastrocolic reflex.

Coffee can also stimulate bowel activity in some people.

Then you add movement.

Then hydration.

And suddenly your digestive tract has received several signals saying:

"We're awake. Let's move things along."

That morning bowel movement isn't necessarily evidence that your body is "detoxing overnight."

It's much more interesting than that.

It's physiology.

When people experience digestive symptoms, they usually ask:

"What food caused this?"

Sometimes that's exactly the right question.

But not always.

Try these instead:

Did my sleep change?

Did my activity level change?

Did my stress change?

Did I start or stop a medication or supplement?

Did my meal timing change?

Did my caffeine intake change?

Did I suddenly increase fibre?

Am I drinking less?

Am I ignoring the urge to go?

Has this been happening for three days or three months?

Now we're investigating.

I don't want to turn every stool change into a wellness mystery.

Sometimes a bowel change is completely normal.

Diet changes.

Travel.

Stress.

A temporary infection.

Different hydration.

Different activity.

All can change your bathroom habits.

But persistent or significant changes deserve attention.

Especially:

That's where the detective work should leave the internet and move toward an actual clinician.

Because sometimes the clue isn't interesting.

Sometimes it's important.

And those are different things.

Here's what I think we've misunderstood about digestion.

We keep looking for the one thing.

The one food.

The one supplement.

The one probiotic.

The one "bad" ingredient.

But digestion isn't a single event.

It's a coordinated process involving:

A change at the end can be the consequence of something that happened much earlier.

So the next time your digestion changes, don't immediately reach for a list of forbidden foods.

Pause.

Look for the clues.

What changed?

When did it change?

How quickly did it change?

What else changed at the same time?

That's a much better starting point.

Because your gut isn't necessarily malfunctioning.

It may simply be reporting.

And your job is to learn how to read the report.

For the next 7 days, don't try to "fix" your digestion.

Investigate it.

When do you usually have a bowel movement?

Morning?

After meals?

Randomly?

Use the Bristol Stool Form Scale rather than simply writing "normal."

Don't obsess over calories.

Just record major changes.

More fibre?

More fat?

More dairy?

More artificial sweeteners?

More processed food?

Sleep.

Stress.

Exercise.

Travel.

Hydration.

Anything new?

Anything stopped?

Anything taken at a different dose?

Then look for patterns.

Not one weird Tuesday.

Patterns.

That's where the useful information usually lives.

Your stool changed.

Before blaming the food, investigate the system.

Transit time.

Hydration.

Fibre.

Stress.

Sleep.

Movement.

Medications.

Bile acids.

Gut bacteria.

Your bowel movement is the final report.

The interesting part happened upstream. 🔎

So here's your assignment this week:

Don't try to become your own gastroenterologist.

Just become a better observer.

Notice the pattern.

Record the timing.

Pay attention to what changed before the symptom appeared.

Because the body rarely gives us a complete explanation in one obvious place.

It leaves clues.

And sometimes the most useful health information isn't hiding in a blood test or a supplement bottle.

It's hiding in something you probably flush away without thinking twice.

Talk soon,

Wilson 🌿

P.S. If you've been experiencing a persistent change in bowel habits especially with blood, black/tarry stool, unexplained weight loss, severe pain, fever, or ongoing diarrhoea/constipation don't try to solve that through a newsletter. Get it checked.