Are Bottoming Pills Worth It?
When talking about getting ready for a fun night of receiving anal sex, I can’t help but think of the phrase, “I don’t get ready; I stay ready.” Managing this expectation is nothing short of fantasy. To cap it off, most people don’t eat enough fiber to “stay ready.” And so, dietary supplement companies have branded specific fiber pills marketed for people who aim to bottom with little preparation or effort. But are they worth it?
Do an internet search for “bottoming pills,” and all of the big brands pop up. With just a little investigation, the primary ingredient in all of these brands is soluble fiber followed by various additives. But wait, there are different kinds of fiber? The answer is yes, there are officially two types—soluble and insoluble. Think of soluble fiber like a sponge in your gut: its main job is to absorb fluid to thicken stool and regulate the speed of your bowel movements.
The speed at which the food moves through your gut is important here because if food moves too slowly, too much fluid is absorbed, and you have constipation. If the food moves through your gut too quickly, you experience diarrhea.
While soluble fibers help to regulate this speed, insoluble fiber helps to keep things moving. Think of insoluble fiber as a broom—It is pushing things out. Insoluble fiber (also known as prebiotic fiber) helps to keep the inside lining of your intestines clean. It goes without saying that a mixture of both is essential to optimal gut health and growth of natural gut probiotic bacteria.
While these supplements offer soluble fiber, a person can’t just take them and expect immediate results. With most people consuming about one-third of the recommended fiber intake daily (about 10 grams compared to the recommended 30 grams), the gut will not respond well when these supplements are taken as directed.
When food moves that much slower without any gradual introduction of fiber, you will experience bloating, discomfort, and even constipation. One way to balance this impact is by drinking plenty of water—about 10 to 16 cups per day. The traditional recommendation of eight cups, in my clinical experience, is insufficient to keep the gut free of excess stool and debris.
In places like Colorado, where the air is dry and the elevation doesn’t help, up to a gallon of water is optimal. The other way to balance the gut is to gradually increase fiber over a period of time, which can most easily be done by eating foods that contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. With that said, bottoming pills are more expensive and more likely to cause difficult-to-manage side effects than just eating the right foods.
Foods that contain soluble fiber (“sponge fiber”) include beans, potatoes without skin, carrots, avocado, applesauce, bananas, apricots, and white grains (such as jasmine rice). Foods that offer insoluble fiber (“broom fiber”) include the skin of a potato, broccoli, leafy greens (such as kale, cabbage, collard greens, and spinach), nuts, oats, quinoa, and whole wheat grains (such as brown rice).
A variety of these foods should be included in copious amounts in the diet, along with a ton of water, to produce “stay ready” results. When these foods are an insignificant percentage of the cost compared to fiber pills or supplements (and taste delicious), there really is no question if bottom pills are worth it. Your gut will thank you.
