673. The Pee and Poop Episode: How Tracking Your Bowel Movements Can Save Your Life

What if one of the most useful health trackers you could own wasn't on your wrist, but on your toilet? In this episode, I'm joined by Scott Hickle, engineer and founder of Throne, a camera that clips onto your toilet and tracks your gut health, hydration, and bathroom habits every time you go. We get into what your poop and pee can reveal about your health and what the Bristol Stool Scale (a 1-to-7 chart of stool form) actually tells you. We also cover why your memory of your own bathroom habits is far worse than you think.

We also talk about how Throne's AI helps you connect gut changes to stress, travel, food, supplements, or new medications like GLP-1s. Scott walks through what can throw off the readings, from blue toilet cleaner to vitamin B and methylene blue. He explains why embarrassment can keep people from getting checked for things like colon cancer. He also shares a surprising link between under-hydration, vasopressin (the hormone that helps your body hold onto water), and your blood sugar response, which I connect back to thyroid function and weight.

What you'll learn:

What your stool form, color, and frequency can reveal about your gut health

How Throne tracks hydration, bathroom habits, and urinary flow automatically

Why your memory of your own bathroom habits is so unreliable

How to run your own experiments with diet, supplements, probiotics, and GLP-1s

What can throw off hydration readings, from vitamin B to methylene blue

Why Scott believes embarrassment is a real risk factor for delayed diagnosis - How under-hydration may affect your blood sugar, thyroid, and weight

What Scott says to look for in the toilet tomorrow, with or without a device If you've ever ignored what's happening in the toilet, this episode will show you why it's worth paying attention.

Tune in to learn what your poop and pee may be telling you about your health, and why it's worth paying attention to what's happening in the toilet.

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