WHAT BOOMERS AND GEN X CAN LEARN FROM GEN Z AND MILLENNIALS WHEN IT COMES TO GUT HEALTH AND TOILET HABITS

New York Post

 

What boomers and Gen X can learn from Gen Z and millennials about their gut health and toilet habits

By Rachel Sacks

Published Oct. 29, 2025, 9:02 a.m. ET

 

When it comes to health, it’s good to trust your gut.

 

And some generations trust their guts enough to share all the details.

 

According to one medical expert, baby boomers and Gen X can learn a lot from younger people about stomach health — especially in regards to awkward topics, like problems on the porcelain throne.

 

Dr. Wendi LeBrett (@socalgastrodoc), a gastroenterologist and founding partner and medical advisor of Norms, told The Post that a lot of her older patients would do well to take cues from their kids or grandkids when they visit the doctor.

 

“I find younger patients (Gen Z and Millennials) are more comfortable sharing their gut health issues and seeking care for them — which is a good thing!” she said. “My younger patients also are more engaged in learning about their gut health.”

 

And LeBrett’s not the only one noticing this potty talk trend.

 

According to a survey of more than 2,000 participants conducted by Health.com, Gen Z and millennials are the generations bringing up gut health issues with their doctors.

 

Millennials, in particular, are overwhelmingly candid about their problems, with 55% discussing bathroom topics with their doctors.

 

But LeBrett has also seen hesitancy from all patients, but especially older people.

 

“There is still a stigma about talking about gut health issues such as poop and hemorrhoids for patients of all ages,” she said. “But definitely I notice less embarrassment or shyness among my younger patients.”

 

This stigma surrounding talking about what happens in the bathroom could lead to serious gastrointestinal problems in older generations, according to LeBrett.

 

“Unfortunately, I have a lot of Gen X and Boomer patients who suffer from GI issues for many years but have never felt comfortable discussing with their doctor or have felt ignored by their doctor,” she said.

 

She’s doing what she can to push through that discomfort, tackling awkward topics on her own social media accounts and Norms’ YouTube page.

 

The Health survey also found that those between the ages of 29 and 44 were more likely to take supplements and change their diets to address gut issues.

 

Again, millennials are the top buyers of supplements designed to boost their digestion, with 23% leading probiotic sales.

 

There’s certainly been a growing interest in gut health supplements like probiotics and prebiotics, with the digestive health products market seeing an 8% increase.

 

While millennials and Gen Zers are leading the charge on discussing toilet habits, LeBrett hopes more patients feel confident talking about what happens in the powder room.

 

“As a medical community we are getting better [at] providing more integrative care for gastrointestinal issues such as IBS and related conditions,” she said. “My hope is that patients feel more comfortable seeking care for this.”

THE EVOLUTION OF MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS

This article was really interesting. It included so many products and facts I did not previously know about. I wonder what it would have been like if the extraction method had taken hold.

Also, abortion is never safe. Additionally, only women get periods and, as a matter of fact, people are only either male or female: there is no such thing as a trans man or a nonbinary person. 

LIFE OF THE LAW: THE DIAPER WARS

Companies always try to make us think they've now got the next best thing as part of their product, and this seems especially noticeable when it comes to disposable diapers. This podcast looks at the patent wars of the eighties and nineties between Procter & Gamble and Kimberly Clark over Pampers and Huggies. It would have been nice had the episode explained why the court ruled the way it did, but it's still an interesting listen.

Indeed, nothing provokes the earnestness or the, I think, fascination of diapers. We all wore them and they force us to confront an aspect of being human most of us (though, granted, society's attitudes have changed a lot in the last couple decades) don't want to talk about. There's a reason they didn't do "The Instant Camera Wars" or "The Sewing Machine Wars." 

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER BROKE A TELEVISION TABOO BY SHOWING A TOILET 68 YEARS AGO

PEOPLE

 

Leave It to Beaver Broke a Major Television Rule by Showing This Household Item for the First Time, 68 Years Ago

By Angela Andaloro  Published on October 15, 2025 11:11AM EDT

 

Leave It to Beaver's first episode sparked concerns with network executives.

 

What was supposed to be the pilot episode of the beloved sitcom, which aired from 1957 to 1963, was shelved for a week after CBS pushed back against one of the plotlines. The episode, titled "Captain Jack," shows Wally and Beaver try to order themselves an alligator, only to be sent an eight-inch baby alligator.

 

In seeking out information on how to care for the reptile, they learned he needed to be in water, but were keeping him a secret from their parents, Ward and June. The boys decided to keep him in the toilet tank, where he could be safe, but undetected.

 

Showing bathrooms on TV was frowned upon in that era, Jerry Mathers explained in a 2010 interview with the Television Academy. Mathers played the titular son, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver.

 

"At that time, you not only couldn't show a toilet, you couldn't even show a bathroom on television," Mathers told Fox News in 2014.

 

"It was prohibited. And so they fought with the sensors, and that was our very first show, and they said, 'Well, they could show it in the back of the toilet, the tank, so that was some way that Leave It to Beaver actually set some precedent for the television industry."

 

Hugh Beaumont played father Ward Cleaver and Barbara Billingsley played mother June Cleaver. Tony Dow rounded out the foursome as older brother Wally Cleaver.

 

Recalling his time with his TV parents, Mathers told PEOPLE that the set was a very positive and friendly atmosphere.

 

“Hugh Beaumont was basically a very nice man, but he was also a minister,” he said of his on-screen father, who died in 1982 at 73. “So he kept everybody pretty much on the straight and narrow.”

 

That meant that while the set was still “a good time” and “a lot of fun,” the crew on the show was people who “weren't out drinking every night and coming in drunk," according to Mathers.

 

Mathers’ relationship with Billingsley, who died in 2010 at 94, continued to grow after the series. “She did a lot of charity work,” he remembers. “Every once in a while, she'd call me up and say that maybe she was not feeling so well that day, could I help her? And I'd go around different places that I'd never been before and help out with whatever organization she worked with.”

 

Mathers was just 8 years old when he joined the series, which continues to run to this day in syndication.

 

“It was fun all the time. I could have had to go to school and stuff like that, but it was just a lot of fun and a lot of nice people, so there wasn't really any bad part to it,” Mathers added.