The holidays are a time to relax, enjoy your favorite foods, and exchange gifts. (Can we interest you in a Sniffies jock, by the way? The perfect gift for the whole family.) But, it’s an unfortunate truth that the holiday season can really mess with your stomach—and that really messes with your bottoming.
Sure, maybe you’re planning on taking a couple weeks off around the holidays, but we know you; you’ll be peeking at the Sniffies map and planning how you’ll sneak out later in no time. And we get it! Maybe you head home for the holidays and your high school bully messages you on Sniffies trying to meet up—sometimes it’s just impossible to say no. That’s why you’ve gotta stay ready.
We caught up with registered dietitian Kevin C Klatt, Ph.D to talk fiber routines, fiber-rich holiday meal swaps, and how to make sure you’re as prepared as possible for when that magical moment arrives.
Why are the holidays a particularly difficult time to maintain a diet that’s bottom-friendly?
It's partly about what you're eating. It's part about the disruption to your normal eating routine, and when you're eating. You might have just flown across the country. We know travel is a major stressor that impacts your GI tract. People's sleep is often disrupted too.
At meal times, it's fatty meats. You've got cream-heavy mashed potatoes, green bean casseroles—it's a lot of fat that sits in your stomach. Fat slows down GI tract function, so those things are going to throw off your day-to-day diet in general. Add a stressful dinner that you're trying to prepare for into the mix—that’ll start to mess things up.
Is there a specific bottom-friendly diet you recommend?
A bottom-friendly diet is just going to be the one that makes you feel confident, not stressed out about bottoming, and that allows you to have healthy, normal, regular bowel movements that are easy to pass.
There isn’t one diet that will do that for everyone. Everybody knows their GI tract is different, but there are some general principles that we can follow. A diet that is higher in fiber, and full of diverse whole plant foods will likely be better for bottoming with confidence. Everyone's heard it before: focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, avocado, and some legumes, if they don't upset your stomach.
So the best bottom is a healthy bottom?
The best bottom is a healthy bottom—and a healthy bottom is typically has a healthy heart and a healthy brain.
What would you say to your friend who told you they were going to not eat for hours before bottoming?
I have heard this from friends, and I say that. That's not how that works. Not eating for eight hours beforehand or something, doesn't necessarily guarantee that there's nothing that could potentially come out the other end.
What are some foods someone hoping to bottom over the holidays should focus on?
A key part of this is going in with a relatively high fiber diet and then making some higher fiber swaps. If you're not eating a very high fiber diet already, don’t go into the holidays and try to load up all of a sudden.
If you've got a good routine, you're eating a good amount of fiber, and then you're like, “oh my gosh, I have this deep-fried turkey and a bunch of these sides. What can I do?” There are fiber swaps you can make. Try a whole grain stuffing over a white bread stuffing. Go for a mashed sweet potato that doesn't have as much butter added. Try bringing or making dishes that are more fiber-rich—that's really where the fiber is going to be. It's not so much in the mains. Try roasted root vegetables, roasted squash and brussel sprouts, and do your roasted or sauteed green beans, instead of the green bean casserole.
Apart from sides, go for a leaner main course. Focus on the turkey breast over some of the darker meat that tends to be a bit fattier, and sit heavier in the stomach. Or if people are willing, try out a salmon instead.
Say you’re not so good about taking regular fiber—how long should you give yourself to start taking fiber so that by the time you’re home for the holidays?
I always tell people to start slow—even with psyllium husk—with adding in fiber. Typically, the recommendation is to start with 2-3 grams of supplemental fiber per day, so just a serving, and then work your way up. 10 grams is a moderate goal. You have a few weeks. Start slow, build up, as you feel comfortable, and then go into the holidays like, “Okay, I'm not going to be eating a ton of fiber, but I have a bit of psyllium in my back pocket.”
If you could tell the bottoms of the world one thing what would it be?
Get a routine. It’s fine to deviate from it as needed because life comes into play, but stay consistent, avoid crash diets, and avoid crash supplement routines.
