Can we talk poop?

I don't know of another group that is more in tune to their bodies.
So I feel we can discuss this without being disgusted by the topic.
I've heard 2 different things lately and want to know which one is true.
1.Does poop float because it is high in fat; i.e. you've eaten too much fat.
2.Does poop float because the body has taken all the nutrients out.
One would be a bad thing and one would be a good thing.  What have you heard? What do you think?

Hum....

http://www.poopreport.com/Doctor/Content/float.html

Nice new picture of you by the way!

Thanks I like your new picture too.  I'm at work and the company has filtered www.poopreport.com  HA.  I'll check it out when I get home.  Thanks, Nancy

I took the liberty of copying and pasting the info...  Thanks, Kristy!  I've often wondered, and assumed it had to do with malabsorption of fat?  (Which, I suppose it still could, being as RNY patients aren't exactly "run-of-the-mill")

WHAT MAKES POOP FLOAT?

Surprisingly, not what you might think.

Conventional medical wisdom attributes Floaters to the amount of fat in your poop. While this IS true for certain diseases (cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, biliary atresia, abetalipoprotenimia and a few other weird sounding illnesses), it is NOT true for your run-of-the-mill healthy person.

Vegetarians would have you believe that the "perfect" stool (that is, one uncontaminated by the consumption of animal parts) is the Floater. Many vegetarians have spent their entire lives in the quest to produce perfection -- when in fact no particular diet can reliably produce Floaters. The vast majority of us bring forth Sinkers.

Sinkers really need a good P.R. person -- they have gotten a bad rap over the ages. Sure, Floaters are cute and all, but a good solid Sinker will never let you down.

BACK TO WHAT MAKES POOP FLOAT...

Actually, it is gas that does it. Increased levels of air and gas in the poop make it less dense, and cause it to float. Simple as that. Dietary changes can lead to an increase in the amount of gas produced by the bacteria that live in the gut, which is probably what the vegetarians are basing their whole "perfect stool" theory on. I don't know -- the whole time I was vegan I never consistently produced Floaters.

Then, after a couple of years, I grew disenchanted and yearned for a hamburger. And that was the end of Poonurse the Vegetarian.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Well, I'm a little unclear on that. It must matter greatly to a lot of people, or else they wouldn't take so much time to write to me about it. I guess it could matter if you are worried that you are sick or something.

If you have diarrheal-esque Floaters for more than two weeks, you may have a malabsorption problem -- a dysfunction of the GI tract that affects the body's ability to digest and absorb fat. Acute gastrointestinal infections can also result in increased gas content in the intestines, due to rapid movement of stool through the GI tract.

SO WHAT?

So I am forced to assume that Floaters are NOT the most desirable of all stools. Sinkers are by far more common. Don't spend your life chowing down on tofu burgers just because you think you are being cheated out of a Floater. Neither tofu burgers nor Floaters are worth the trouble. Sinkers are our destiny.

Thanks for asking Poonurse!

Thanks for posting the page from the website. Very enlightening.  I've read all I need to today about poop!

Rhetorical question:  If I float, does this mean I am full of sh$# or just gas?

RP

Only Rick would think that way!  Ha, love it.

You are both, but I bet you sink!

These days I do sink....I just haven't perfected the process of retaining the gas I emit for flotation purposes.  That being said, isn't it quite obvious that I am full of it?

RP

Im lauging so hard right now i feel slightly dizzy!  All I can envision is a giant Poo shaped like Shamu floating in the tank at SeaWorld and doing tricks to impress the vegetarians!