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Is floating bowel movements better or worse?
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Feces are denser than water and therefore tend to sink. However, stools can float if they contain too much fiber, fat or gas. This often depends on your diet. But floating stools can also be the result of a health problem such as an infection or irritable bowel. And the composition of your intestinal bacteria may also have something to do with it.
Also read: What does the color of your stool say about your health?
Floating stools due to diet
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Stool is composed of water, bacteria, undigested food particles, dead cells and fiber. The ratio of these factors can vary depending on what you ate, your hydration and your gut health.
Floating stools usually involve air. A high-fiber diet and gas can cause stools to float. A diet high in fiber leads to increased bacterial fermentation during digestion. This produces more air that gets trapped in the stool, making it lighter and floating.
Some foods will also be more difficult for your body to digest. Foods such as beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower can cause extra gas formation. But sugars and sugar substitutes (aspartame, sorbitol, xylitol, sucralose) also have that effect.
Also read: Does coal cause flatulence or cramps?
Bloating due to intestinal bacteria
But why does the feces of some people structurally contain more gas, and therefore more buoyancy, than the feces of others? Recent American research may provide an answer to that question. The researchers studied the microbiome – the intestinal flora – of various laboratory mice and sterilized the intestines of a number of the test animals. This allowed them to isolate different bacterial species in the mouse intestines and study the influence of the adapted microbiome on digestion and overall health.
The results showed that some people’s feces float due to the bacterial composition in the intestines. Some bacteria produce more gas than others. For example, the bacterial species ‘Bacteroides ovatus’ is said to cause more flatulence. The researchers suspect that the findings from the mouse tests also apply to humans, but further research needs to confirm this.
Also read: The brain-gut axis (gut-brain axis): determines mood and behavior
Signal of health problem
If a person’s stool never sinks, it may be an indication of an underlying health problem, such as malabsorption or a gastrointestinal infection.
Some infections can cause gas. That gas gets stuck in the feces, reducing its density. This can lead to stools that float. An example of this is giardiasis, a parasitic infection. An increased amount of fat in your stool can also cause it to float. This is a sign that your body is not processing nutrients properly. If so, your floating bowel movements are due to malabsorption, your body’s inability to properly process certain nutrients. For example, a condition that affects fat absorption is Crohn’s disease.
Also read: Mucus in the stool can indicate a health problem
When to go to the doctor?
Floating stools are usually not a cause for concern, as they are often due to gas trapped in the stool and a high-fiber diet. But it is better to contact a doctor in the following situations:
- You continue to suffer from floating stools and it also looks very greasy
- You suffer from chronic constipation or diarrhea
- Your stools are very light or pale
- Your urine is very dark
- You start to lose weight unintentionally
- You have an underlying medical condition and are developing changes in your bowel habits
Also read: Blood in the stool: possible causes
Sources:
Last updated: January 2024
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2024-01-18 23:02:50
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