Does your ... float or sink?

3 times a day?!? I don't think so. An extremely healthy person could go one time a day, or less. Everyone is different. This is a topic I've paid attention to, since I had a pretty bad constipation problem before getting on thyroid medication. A person is considered healthy as long as they're going a few times a week.

3 times a day would make me worry. It would seem I was eating too much, eating the wrong things, or maybe had Crohn's disease. I'd definitely go to the doctor. But only because that isn't normal for me. My digestive system has been the way it is since I was a baby.
 
Ok, I am going to get into the gross act here too. There is more to it than if they float or sink. Most experts agree that they should float. Other important parameters of your health and your GI health are the color, consistency, volume, frequency and shape.
 
Poop 101

How many pieces is also a consideration it seems. You decide if it's important or not. I googled poop. My answer about poop in general is, yes, it's going to float or sink. I would say many rather than most experts because there's disagreement about poop. Whether it floats or sinks, one is probably as good as the other if you eat well and have variety in your diet. Variety is the spice of life; even babies like a change. Poop may float because of undispersed gas, the fart that didn't happen, (I'm am being deliberately indelicate since that seems fitting ;)) or high fiber content and lots of fat in the diet can also make it float too. One doctor thought too floaty pooh could mean malabsorption of nutrients and too much fiber in your diet IS as bad for you as is too little. In fact, too much fiber can cause malabsorption so if you have floaters because of too much fiber, you may want to try to sink it. Your diet, be you a vegetarian or a carnivore, will affect the density of your waste and diets, whether plant-based or not, can be perfectly healthy and produce different types of doody. Color, consistancy and shape are good indicators of healthy pooh but volume and frequency are going to be more variable due to diet and genetics and age differences. There are values of normal but it is a range. Reading about poop right after breakfast is one of the most disgusting things I have ever done although it's just poop and everybody has to do it so I got through it. You'll give yourself an ulcer if you worry about poop too much! I will tell you I am regular but I forgot to check so I think I'll retain an aura of mystery regarding this subject!
My propensity for obsession with my diet leads me to believe it could be dangerous to focus on the elimination of it! :D

And by the by, "according to Eric Partridge in his excellent book of word origins (Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English), "poop" comes from the Middle English word poupen or popen, and it originally meant "fart." The word was based on the sound of a fart. According to Robert Chapman, author of American Slang, "poop" came into use with its current meaning around 1900."

It's been a gas! ;)
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
 
Donna,

This is a very good article.Thanks for sharing it. I recommend everyone to read it.
I'm glad that people in this forum can talk about this subject without a sense of embarrassment and can add a little humor to it.



Jenny
 
Great topic! Basically you're talking about colon and digestive tract health, and that's a hugely important issue. I don't think it's distasteful at all. This has been something I've been paying increasing attention to lately.

I'll just add too that when I'm eating a very clean, healthy diet with plenty of whole unprocessed foods, whole grains, sufficient fiber, fruits, water, etc., mine floats! When I'm not being as good about what I eat, it sinks. This is just my experience, though. I'm sure it probably differs for everyone since very body is different.

(I'm giggling a little as I write this because I'm thinking about the running skit on the David Letterman show called "Will it Float?" where they drop weird stuff into a tank of water to see if it floats or sinks. But I digress!)

There are actually a ton of books on this topic; one of the pivotal ones is called "Colon Health, Key to a Vibrant Life," by Dr. Norman Walker, who advocated an a clean way of eating that many (including myself) find somewhat extreme -- basically the very strictest form of veganism, raw foods only, lots of juicing, etc. But there is something to be learned from that, I think. He lived to be 118 -- though who knows, genetics may have played a role in that. ;)
 
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