Dying of Embarrassment · A podcast by Throne Science
“Dehydration sells. Overhydration doesn’t sell.”
We’re told to drink more water and never wait until we’re thirsty. Dr. Hew-Butler explains how too much water can turn dangerous, and why your body’s own signals beat any rule.
From the episode
What Dr. Hew-Butler wants you to know.
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You can drink too much water.
Your kidneys can clear only about a liter an hour. Drink far more than that and the extra water dilutes the sodium in your blood and moves into your cells, including your brain.
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Too much and too little can look the same.
Headache, nausea, dizziness, and cramps can come from dehydration or overhydration. Even hydration experts in the medical tent can’t tell them apart without a blood test.
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More isn’t automatically better.
The marathoners she treated hadn’t been thirsty. They drank because they’d been told never to get dehydrated, some of them 80 to 100 cups during a single race.
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Salt packets aren’t a free pass.
Loading up on salt and water mostly makes you hold on to water, and most sports drinks carry far less sodium than your blood, so they act almost like water.
“In our culture and in our psyche, there’s this idea that if a little is good, then more is better. We don’t hear a lot about the downsides of drinking too much.”
Learn your normal, not a rule.
Dr. Hew-Butler’s point is that one-size-fits-all rules, like drinking as much as you can, can backfire. Throne doesn’t hand you a water quota. It reads your urine concentration every time you pee, so you can see how your hydration actually runs day to day. Throne can’t diagnose hyponatremia; that takes a blood test.
Watch or listen to the full episode
People are literally dying of embarrassment.
Too often, the gap between noticing something off and asking someone about it comes down to one thing: embarrassment.
So we started talking about it.
Dying of Embarrassment is Throne Science’s podcast about the health conversations most of us avoid, from gut health to hydration to doctor’s-office dread. Experts, real stories, and the questions you’d never ask out loud.
Why we built Throne
Talking about it is step one. Knowing is step two.
I started Dying of Embarrassment for the same reason I started Throne Science. I’ve come to believe embarrassment is a clinical risk factor. People wait to bring up the things that matter most, and when they finally do, all they have is a fuzzy memory.
And our memories are terrible. Ask someone how often they go, how much they drink, or when things changed, and you’ll get a guess.
Throne clips onto your toilet and keeps that record for you. You get a report card after every flush, for your gut health and your hydration, so you can see your own patterns instead of guessing, and bring real numbers to your doctor instead of an awkward estimate.
Scott HickleCo-founder & CEO of Throne Science, host of Dying of Embarrassment
Meet ThroneWhat Throne measures.
A report card after every flush. Throne’s AI is trained by practicing physicians, and every visit adds to your history.
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Hydration
- Urine concentration
- Hydration score
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Gut health patterns
- Stool color
- Estimated volume
- Stool form / Bristol scale
- Frequency
- Regularity / time of day
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Bathroom habits
- Time on toilet
- Time to first evacuation
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Urinary flow*
- Estimated flow-rate curve
- Peak flow / Qmax
- Average flow / Qavg
*For stand-to-pee sessions only.
What people are learning about themselves.
Shelby“I am deeply invested in my health, hydration, and how my body responds to what I eat, but like most people I was often just guessing when it came to what was actually going on with my gut. Throne completely changed that for me.”
Ian“I’ve had long-term mild GI issues and started working with a nutritionist who had me try a low-FODMAP diet. I came across Throne and thought it would be a good tool to help quantitatively track whether it’s working. And the good news is that it seems to be!”
David“It’s been genuinely useful. The session timelines have already corrected what I thought was happening now that I finally have real stool data.”
Derek“Set up was super easy, the app is well designed, and now I have numbers for my gut health and hydration that I can actually influence by what I eat and drink.”
Joel“I was super excited to get over 80% gut health! I think quantifying things does help to encourage good behavior.”
Susan“In a nutshell, the Throne is working great! We are getting so much useful info and been able to make modifications to his bowel regimen that seem to be paying off.”
Questions, asked out loud.
More questionsWho makes Dying of Embarrassment?
Throne Science produces the show, and its co-founder and CEO, Scott Hickle, hosts it. Guests share their own research and experience. Watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
What is Throne?
Throne is a health tracking sensor for your toilet, connected to a digital Journal and Gut Health Coach in the Throne app. It tracks your gut health and hydration, your Journal adds context, and your Coach helps you understand the patterns.
How does Throne track hydration?
Throne estimates your urine concentration each time you pee and turns it into a hydration score, so you can see how you’re doing today and over time.
Is there a camera?
Yes. It points directly into the bowl, and Throne only records when it recognizes your phone or you press your button. See what it sees
Who can see my data?
Your health information stays yours. Throne will never share your health information without your permission. You can export your data and request deletion at any time.
Will it fit my toilet?
Throne is designed for most standard residential white toilets with a rim thickness up to 2.25 inches.
What does membership include?
Unlimited tracking across multiple Throne devices, your Journal, and Gut Health Coach for $6/month per member. The first two members to pair with a device each get their first 3 months free. An active membership is required to use the Throne app.
Is Throne HSA/FSA eligible?
Yes. Pay with eligible HSA/FSA funds through Truemed at checkout and save up to 30%.
What if Throne isn’t right for me?
Try Throne for 30 days. If it isn’t right for you, return it within 30 days of delivery for a full refund.
Know what your body is telling you.
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