Sex, love, and…poop.

Feb 14, 2024, 1:45 AM•seed

February 2024 Sensitive Content. This month: 5 Unexpected Ways Love, Sex, and Poop Are Connected. Digital Magic—A Gift From Us to You. Can Probiotics Really “Boost” Immunity? “Sleepy Girl” Fiber. Why Does Your Poop Smell?

Baby Got Bac(teria) From the bedroom to the bathroom, microbes influence some of the most intimate parts of your life: how you feel, who you love, and what gets you going (in more ways than one 💩). This month, we get down and dirty to explore five ways that sex, love, and poop all intersect, thanks to microbes. Research is uncovering the myriad ways microbes impact your sexual behavior. Case in point: They can put you in the mood 🥵 by influencing neurotransmitters responsible for feelings of want, arousal, and sexual attraction.¹,²,³,⁴

Does Being in Love Help You Poop? Yes. ❤️ Oxytocin (a.k.a. the “love hormone”) can counteract the effects of stress on your gut, easing symptoms like bloating, discomfort, and changes in bowel movements.⁵ Here are five ideas to boost oxytocin and improve your #2s.

The Birds and the Bees...of Digestion. Like the topic of sex, digestion and its byproducts (burping, bloating, and poop) can be uncomfortable to talk about. But understanding what’s going on inside your gastrointestinal tract is critical to making informed decisions about your health.

The Surprising Downside to Oxytocin. Speaking of oxytocin… Certain bacteria in the gut can increase oxytocin levels in the bloodstream, with remarkable effects. But they aren’t always positive. For one, oxytocin doesn’t “let” you be selfless.

Your Guide to Pooping Positions. What’s your favorite position? Pooping, that is. Ours is seated on the toilet with a DPMD (Defecation Postural Modification Device). 🫦 Why? There’s an optimal angle for going #2, but you’ll need a little help from a toilet stool to hit the right spot.⁶

MAGIC—Our curated collection of limited-edition objects, clothing, and other musings you can only unlock through learning. Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue… We made digital Magic to share with you. 😘 (Your reward for opening, clicking, reading, and learning with us this month.) Microscopy by Tal Danino and Soonhee Moon. Unlock

NEWS FROM THE SEED-VERSE. The Everygirl. I Tried the Probiotic That's All Over Social Media for 6 Months “…Seed has truly changed the game for me. For the first time in my life, I’d consider my stomach normal—something I never thought I’d say. My stomach is truly the ultimate test, and if it helps me, I know it can help other people, too.”

The Doctor’s Farmacy. How to Select a Probiotic and the Future of the Microbiome with Raja Dhir. Dr. Mark Hyman and our co-founder and co-CEO Raja Dhir explore the microbiome’s transformative role in medicine, debunk probiotics myths, and discuss some of the latest research around DS-01®—from urolithin-A production to antibiotic interactions.

Hip & Healthy. DS-01® Named “Best Probiotic” Our DS-01® Daily Synbiotic won gold in this year’s Hip & Healthy Awards, distinguished for its benefits for gut and whole-body health, as well as our patented delivery system that supports the viability of our probiotics to the colon (where it matters most).

NERD CORNER—New discoveries and actionable  knowledge from the world of microbes. New on Cultured. Can Probiotics Really ‘Boost’ Immunity? Read

Sleepy Girl Fiber. 10 Fiber-Rich Foods For Sleep

Beyond the Seed-verse. ‘It’s Insane:’ New Viruslike Entities Found in Human Gut Microbes

SCICARE CORNER. Ask SciCare 🔬. Our team of experts ready to answer all your science, health, and product-related questions. Why does my poop smell? 💩 Poop smells are a completely natural part of the business. One primary culprit in the scent: Your microbiome.⁷ Your microbes help digest food and other inputs (i.e., medications), creating byproducts that influence your stool’s odor, such as indole. A number of bacteria produce indole when they break down undigested proteins in the colon, and most of what you smell from stool is actually attributed to this compound and its derivatives, including skatole. Common poop odors can also arise from compounds found in sulfur-rich foods such as meat, cheese, cruciferous veggies, and even wine. Given each person’s diet, body, and microbial makeup are unique, poop smells vary from person to person, and can fluctuate with each new bowel movement.

To learn more: Your Top Poop Questions, Answered. Read on Cultured

Have a question of your own? Email scicare@seed.com.

With You, for Life. Your microbes account for roughly 50% of your cell count.⁸ Nurture your other half with a scientifically validated probiotic. Save 25%† on your first month with code: 4LIFE25

DS-01® Daily Synbiotic FOR ADULTS 18+ Start DS-01® Today.

PDS-08® Pediatric Daily Synbiotic For kids 3+ Start PDS-08® Today.

We’re always evolving. Thoughts or ideas on how we can improve Circular? Share With Us

Seeking Superorganisms to join our ecosystem. View our open roles.

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Citations ¹ Dicks L. M. T. (2022). Gut Bacteria and Neurotransmitters. Microorganisms, 10(9), 1838. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10091838

² Hamamah, S., Aghazarian, A., Nazaryan, A., Hajnal, A., & Covasa, M. (2022). Role of Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Regulating Dopaminergic Signaling. Biomedicines, 10(2), 436. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10020436

³ Yano, J. M., Yu, K., Donaldson, G. P., Shastri, G. G., Ann, P., Ma, L., Nagler, C. R., Ismagilov, R. F., Mazmanian, S. K., & Hsiao, E. Y. (2015). Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis. Cell, 161(2), 264–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.02.047

⁴ Pfaus J. G. (2009). Pathways of sexual desire. The journal of sexual medicine, 6(6), 1506–1533. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01309.x

⁵ Jiang, Y., & Travagli, R. A. (2020). Hypothalamic-vagal oxytocinergic neurocircuitry modulates gastric emptying and motility following stress. The Journal of physiology, 598(21), 4941–4955. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP280023

⁶ Modi, R. M., Hinton, A., Pinkhas, D., Groce, R., Meyer, M. M., Balasubramanian, G., Levine, E., & Stanich, P. P. (2019). Implementation of a Defecation Posture Modification Device: Impact on Bowel Movement Patterns in Healthy Subjects. Journal of clinical gastroenterology, 53(3), 216–219. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCG.0000000000001143

⁷ Mogilnicka, I., Bogucki, P., & Ufnal, M. (2020). Microbiota and Malodor-Etiology and Management. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(8), 2886. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21082886

⁸ Sender R., Fuchs S., Milo R. (2016) Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body. PLoS Biol 14(8): e1002533. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002533

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