More Scoop on Poop!

I am not being anal about this, it is actually very important to know what comes out of your body because tells you a lot about your overall health.  You don’t have to study each and every BM, but take a glance once in awhile.  Think of it as an emissions test for your body.

Floaters and Sinkers

Experts do not all agree, but the general consensus is a that a healthy poop will sink.  When a digestive tract is operating properly and the diet is well-balanced, stools will sink in the bowl. That is because the body has eliminated the waste in your system properly and your stools do not contain any gases and the fats from your diet have been processed properly. Now, without raising any alarm bells, your diet will change from day to day and your stools may occasionally float and that is not a problem. It happens to everyone. When your poop floats all of the time and never sinks, then there could in fact be a medical problem.

 You might be thinking that you have no symptoms other than floating poop so there is no need for concern. WRONG!  Many diseases in the early stages have little or no symptom association. The only way to be absolutely certain that nothing is wrong is to seek a medical consultation. Few people associate floating stools with one of the worst cancers-cancer of the pancreas. The pancreas is responsible for processing waste materials and fat in an efficient manner. When the pancreas cannot do its job properly, more and more fat is allowed into the waste causing the stool to be lighter and thereby causing it to float. When caught very early, for instance as soon as your stools have been floating for more than 10 or 14 days, the cancer treatment is much more effective and your cure probability is much higher. Of course, if you ignore it due to embarrassment of having to tell a doctor that your poop is floating, then your survival rate begins to diminish until there is no chance of beating this horrible disease.

Hey Stinky!  
It really is true that you are what you eat, much like you are what you poop! 
If you eat junk food, then junk is what will come out the other end and your poop will be stinky! It takes about 15 hours for food to completely pass through system. So, if you think about that and the temperature at which our internal organs are kept (a toasty 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit for most people), then some foods will definitely start to stink after so long. If we eat foods that start to stink in a short time, then what comes out will surely stink as well!

How to Make It Smell Better...

Changing your diet to fresh foods, eliminating processed foods that are loaded with chemicals and reducing sugar intake will prevent those bathroom bombs. If you eat healthy, your poop will smell healthy- not rotten!

What about my dog/cat?  Can I do something about that smell?
Much like humans, the quality of food you feed your pet will be reflected in the litter box or in the yard.  If your pet has a serious stink problem, you might want to consider changing the brand of food.  Check with your vet for recommendations.  Just for fun…

How come, no matter how much I chew it corn comes out in whole kernels?

When we chew corn, the outer layer slips off and we actually chew the inside of the kernel.  This yellow outside layer is cellulose and is indigestible.  It slips through the system untouched and comes out looking like a whole kernel when it is in fact, just the outer skin.

But seriously…

Be good to yourself and have your concerns properly checked out by a medical professional.
Your health is your first responsibility in being the best you can possibly be so take control and observe those subtle little changes without getting overly concerned.