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I've Been Pooping All Wrong

2026-04-07 · collab / interview · John, Trisha Pasricha · 9:44 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: guest or collab, community lore

John tells Hank that Dr. Trisha Pasricha's book You've Been Pooping All Wrong changed his life (more fiber, the gut-brain link, less shame about poop), then interviews her: gut microbes shape the neurochemical weather of mood and OCD without directly causing thoughts, and fiber is the number one thing for gut health.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — How Dr. Pasricha's book changed John's life: fiber, the gut-brain axis and destigmatizing poop

  • ★★★ John says the book You've Been Pooping All Wrong permanently changed his life and stresses that this is not an ad. — 00:00:00
  • ★ John says he always says books can be mirrors reflecting your own experience or windows into other people's experiences. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Months ago John saw Dr. Trisha Pasricha give a talk; she offered her book, and though he meant to read five pages, he read it all and then again. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John says that, like 95% of Americans, he does not get enough fiber. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John admits Hank has urged fiber supplementation for years, but Dr. Pasricha's case is more compelling to him than his little brother's. (playful) — 00:00:58 · Hank Green
  • ★★ John now gets more fiber, which has dramatically improved his pooping. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John explains that Dr. Pasricha is a neurogastroenterologist who studies the relationship between the brain and the gut. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John, recalling Turtles All the Way Down, says he is troubled that about half his body's cells are bacteria and other organisms whose chemicals change how he thinks. — 00:01:27 · Turtles All the Way Down
  • ★★★ John says the book's third gift is destigmatizing pooping, which for him has always been a deep well of shame. — 00:01:56
  • ★ John notes Hank has always had to destigmatize pooping somewhat because he has ulcerative colitis. — 00:01:56 · Hank Green
  • ★ John says that in 19 and a half years on Vlogbrothers he has discussed almost everything but rarely pooping. — 00:01:56 · Vlogbrothers

00:02:26 — Interview: is John's OCD caused by his gut bacteria? Gut-brain research, mouse studies and human evidence

  • ★★★ John says poop's stigma makes sense but leads to delayed care and real health problems: like much health stigma, a social problem becomes a biomedical one. — 00:02:26

    “it is a social problem that becomes a biomedical problem”

  • ★★ After reading the book, John asked Dr. Pasricha onto his YouTube channel to talk about poop, and she agreed. — 00:02:26

  • ★★★ John's big question: whether his OCD is partly caused by his gut bacteria, a problem of his gut as much as of his head. (unsure) — 00:02:26
  • ★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says she has studied how the gut and the brain communicate for about 20 years. — 00:02:55
  • ★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says the brain's influence on the gut has been known for over 100 years; only in recent decades has the gut's influence on the brain emerged. — 00:02:55

  • ★★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says gut microbes are not puppeteers thinking for us, but with the GI tract they create the neurochemical weather in which thoughts and moods form, influencing OCD. — 00:04:09

    “neurochemical weather in which our thoughts are formed”

  • ★★ John finds it a relief that his bacteria are not having thoughts for him, though his microbiome and gut do inform his brain. — 00:04:09

  • ★★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha calls the gut its own brain: it has 500 million neurons and produces most of the body's serotonin and dopamine. — 00:04:56
  • ★★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha describes mouse studies: mice whose microbiome is wiped and replaced with fecal microbes from people with OCD begin to mimic OCD-like behaviors. — 00:05:45
  • ★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says mechanisms that look clear-cut in mouse studies often don't pan out in humans, whose lives are far more complicated. — 00:06:23
  • ★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says people with OCD consistently show increased intestinal permeability, though it is unknown whether that is cause or effect. — 00:06:48
  • ★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says people with OCD tend to eat less fiber, not necessarily a cause, and less fiber means fewer anti-inflammatory short-chain fatty acids from gut microbes. — 00:06:48

00:07:25 — Interview: why fiber is the number one thing for gut health; sign-off

  • ★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says the fix is not a probiotic, whatever people hear, but diet could play a role. (hedged) — 00:07:25
  • ★★ John says Hank has whined about Metamucil for about 20 years; only after the book did John start taking a fiber supplement. (playful) — 00:07:25 · Hank Green
  • ★★★ Trisha Pasricha: Asked by John, Dr. Pasricha says fiber is the number one thing for gut health: the most boring advice a doctor can give, when people want to hear about a supplement or product. — 00:07:55
  • ★★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says about 95% of Americans are not meeting their fiber goals. — 00:08:43
  • ★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha says fiber improves poop's shape and consistency overnight and, long term, supports the gut lining and feeds microbes that make anti-inflammatory compounds. — 00:08:43
  • ★★★ Trisha Pasricha: Dr. Pasricha's one piece of advice for anyone: assume you are in the 95% not getting enough fiber, and eat more fiber, for gut and brain health. — 00:09:12

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: Dietary fiber · Gut-brain axis · human microbiome · obsessive-compulsive disorder · social stigma · Trisha Pasricha · You've Been Pooping All Wrong

Also: Works: Turtles All the Way Down

Concepts: dietary supplement · dopamine · Enteric nervous system · mouse · Probiotic · Serotonin · ulcerative colitis (concept)

Products: Metamucil

Also centred on obsessive-compulsive disorder: On Mental Illness (and the end of Pizzamas) · What OCD Is Like (for Me) · The Rax Guy · This Video Is Actually Three Videos · Not Doing That Great

Also centred on social stigma: 'end the stigma' · My Physicalmental Illness · TAKE IT UP A NOTCH · Talking Tuberculosis, GeneXpert, J&J, and more with MY HEROES · Why Can't I Take My Meds?

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