Skip to main content
The Diary of a CEO

Most Replayed Moment: Are You Really Gluten Intolerant? It Could Be This Instead!

19 min episode · 2 min read
·
Steven Bartlett,Will Cole

Episode

19 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Health & Wellness, Fundraising & VC, Crypto & Web3

AI-Generated Summary

Key Takeaways

  • Constipation Redefined: Constipation is not defined by frequency alone — 60% of stool weight is microbial bacteria. People who poop three to four times daily may still only be eliminating 20–25% of waste per movement, causing trapped gas and chronic bloating.
  • Fructan vs. Gluten Intolerance: A gastroenterology study found that people self-reporting gluten sensitivity had fewer symptoms eating gluten bars than placebo bars, but reacted strongly to fructan bars. The condition is fructan intolerance, not gluten intolerance — a widespread misdiagnosis affecting millions.
  • Glyphosate and US Wheat: American wheat is commonly sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup) to accelerate drying. Glyphosate depletes beneficial gut bacteria while allowing inflammatory bacteria to thrive. Buying organic wheat or eating sourdough — which fermentation reduces fructan content — can reduce digestive symptoms.
  • Antibiotics Double IBD Risk: A single course of antibiotics reduces gut microbial diversity, disrupts the gut barrier by 50%, and doubles the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease within the following year. This risk applies to both adults and children equally.

What It Covers

A gut health expert explains the real causes of bloating, gas, and constipation, revealing that most people misidentify gluten as the culprit when fructans, glyphosate exposure, and constipation are the primary drivers.

Key Questions Answered

  • Constipation Redefined: Constipation is not defined by frequency alone — 60% of stool weight is microbial bacteria. People who poop three to four times daily may still only be eliminating 20–25% of waste per movement, causing trapped gas and chronic bloating.
  • Fructan vs. Gluten Intolerance: A gastroenterology study found that people self-reporting gluten sensitivity had fewer symptoms eating gluten bars than placebo bars, but reacted strongly to fructan bars. The condition is fructan intolerance, not gluten intolerance — a widespread misdiagnosis affecting millions.
  • Glyphosate and US Wheat: American wheat is commonly sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup) to accelerate drying. Glyphosate depletes beneficial gut bacteria while allowing inflammatory bacteria to thrive. Buying organic wheat or eating sourdough — which fermentation reduces fructan content — can reduce digestive symptoms.
  • Antibiotics Double IBD Risk: A single course of antibiotics reduces gut microbial diversity, disrupts the gut barrier by 50%, and doubles the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease within the following year. This risk applies to both adults and children equally.

Notable Moment

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease cases in the US rose by up to 55% between 1970 and 2010, yet both conditions remain rare in non-industrialized nations — pointing directly to modern dietary and agricultural practices as primary triggers.

Know someone who'd find this useful?

Episode Transcript

When she said I don't dance now, I make money moves, that was a mission statement for a whole new generation. Respect, but that's not the Mount Rushmore. Listen, cash moves everything around me. When that line dropped, it changed the whole hustle. The greatest tracks are never finished. They're just debated forever. Introducing the Sprite Living tracklist, 50 tracks that shape the culture from six decades of hip hop. Scan the QR code on a Sprite or Sprite Zero Sugar to see the full breakdown. Obey your thirst. Sprite. On this point about bloating, discomfort, irregular digestion, if I have one of those things, does that theoretically mean that something is not right? Everyone gets bullied once in a while. So I think I think it would be unfair to make it sound like you should never have any adverse symptoms at all. But if it's prolonged? But if it's prolonged. If it's a chronic health issue, if you're the type of person who you wake up in the morning and you say, I hope today is gonna be a good day. I hope I don't have to deal with that specific issue. You are you have a problem. Like, we already know, and then we have to work on that to address that issue. And how we go about that, I think, needs to be on some level personalized. But the tools that are at our disposal remain the same. So it's just a matter of, like, let's put it on the table. Here are your choices. You pick which ones are most applicable to you. Where are the opportunities for you? And I I can't tell you that without knowing more about you. What about this issue of people getting gassy, like farting a lot? Yeah. Is that typically associated with one particular gut issue? Or is that again, could that be a plethora of issues? So it could be a it could be a plethora of issues. This is this is a common problem. If I have to like start with what is my number one thing it's constipation for sure. A 100%. There are so many people who are listening right now that are constipated and they don't even know it because they poop every day and they think that how often they poop is the definition, and that's not true. So constipation is what happens when you're not adequately emptying your bowels, And that could be a frequency problem, but it could also be that it's a partial poop. Oh, okay. Because I thought constipation was if you just haven't been you can't go you go to the toilet and nothing comes out. Look. Don't get me wrong. If you if you don't poop for a week, I know you're constipated. I don't need to ask any more questions. If you go a week but if it's there are people who they poop every other day. That's their normal. They feel fine. They don't …

Get the full transcript (3,668 words) + summary by email — free

One-time email with the complete transcript and AI summary of this episode. No account needed.

One email, no spam. We’ll also show you what SignalCast does.

Browse all The Diary of a CEO transcripts →

You just read a 3-minute summary of a 16-minute episode.

Get The Diary of a CEO summarized like this every Monday — plus up to 2 more podcasts, free.

Pick Your Podcasts — Free

Keep Reading

More from The Diary of a CEO

We summarize every new episode. Want them in your inbox?

Similar Episodes

Related episodes from other podcasts

Explore Related Topics

This podcast is featured in Best Startup Podcasts (2026) — ranked and reviewed with AI summaries.

Read this week's Health & Longevity Podcast Insights — cross-podcast analysis updated weekly.

You're clearly into The Diary of a CEO.

Every Monday, we deliver AI summaries of the latest episodes from The Diary of a CEO and 192+ other podcasts. Free for one show.

Start My Monday Digest

No credit card · Unsubscribe anytime