What It Can Tell You About Your Health

Healthy poop typically sinks to the bottom of the toilet bowl. You may have floating poop temporarily if you have an illness. But regular floaters can indicate a health condition.

When was the last time you took a look at what you left behind in the toilet bowl?

While there are certainly more appealing (and better-smelling) things to look at, checking out what’s coming out the other end can actually tell you a lot about your diet, activity level, and health in general.

It can be especially important to know whether your poop sinks or floats. But since you’re probably (hopefully?) not looking at anyone else’s poop on the regular, it can be hard to know whether yours is “normal.”

Let’s cover the basics of what normal, healthy poop looks like, what to do when it doesn’t look normal, and when to see a doctor.

Poop typically consists of:

• indigestible fat
• food residue
• bacteria
• a large percentage of water

Hearing a hearty “plop!” when you’re sitting on the toilet is actually a sign that your poop is dense and, therefore, healthy.

If you’re eating a fiber-full diet and your digestive system is firing on all cylinders, your poop should be heavy enough to land at the bottom of the toilet bowl.

What to do if your poop floats

Even though healthy poop sinks, occasionally your poop will float like a life preserver.

If you’re leaving the occasional floater behind, it’s probably not a cause for concern. Eating a new food or food that gives you a lot of gas can make your poop less dense, resulting in floating stools. After a day or so, this typically goes away on its own.

Floating poop can sometimes be a symptom of a gastrointestinal infection or a stomach bug. These, too, tend to be temporary and will go away on their own.

But if your poop frequently floats and feels greasy, it could mean that you’re experiencing malabsorption.

Another symptom of malabsorption is weight loss. See your doctor if this is a regular symptom for you, especially if it’s accompanied by floating poops.

Floating poop can also be a symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS has other symptoms, too, such as:

• cramping
• bloating after meals
• constipation
• frequent diarrhea

If you frequently have floating poop in addition to these other symptoms, talk with your doctor.

Healthy stool is brown. This is because bile from your digestive organs tints the color of your poop.

Your poop can vary in color according to what you’ve eaten recently. If your poop looks super dark or even black, it’s probably because you’ve been eating a lot of blueberries or a food that uses dark food dyes, like black licorice.

Unhealthy shades

If your poop isn’t on the range of colors between yellow and dark brown, it can indicate an underlying health concern.

Light color

Poop that’s a lighter shade of brown or gray, or clay-colored, can indicate that your bile ducts aren’t functioning at their full capacity. This can be a sign of:

• hepatitis
• bile duct blockage
• gallstones
• swelling in the liver or pancreas

If your poop becomes lighter in color than usual and doesn’t return to its dark brown color, pay attention to other symptoms you be having. Contact your doctor if you aren’t feeling well.

Red

Poop that’s red, or stools that come out bloody, can be a sign that you have a blockage at your rectum. It can also indicate hemorrhoids or gastrointestinal bleeding.

In some cases, red poop can be a warning sign of colorectal polyps or intestinal cancer.

If you’re seeing blood in your stool or frequently have red poop, contact your doctor and let them know, regardless of other symptoms. They’ll be able to tell if you need to have your stool tested to determine what’s causing your red poop.

Poop can take many shapes and still be healthy.

Your feces will typically appear in formed logs with a clay-like consistency. Narrow, snake-shaped poop is also considered normal. Your poop can be large, small, short, or long: All these shapes fall on the spectrum of normal.

Unhealthy shapes

There are some things about your poop’s consistency and shape that can point to an underlying health condition. Most things about your poop’s shape and size are related to your diet.

Poop that looks lumpy or comes out in small softball- or caterpillar-like shapes can mean that you’re constipated. Increase your water intake if you notice your poop coming out pebbly or dry, even if you’re not straining when you go.

Poop that looks jagged or fuzzy might mean it’s time to load up your plate with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

A low amount of fiber in your diet can result in poop that’s extremely soft. If your poop lacks (for lack of a better word) definition, change up the amount of fiber you’re getting at each meal.

Even healthy poop doesn’t smell the best. There’s a reason, after all, why the word “excrement” is synonymous with “gross.”

Unpleasant-smelling poop is the result of bacteria and food decay. Poop has a very distinct smell that you’re probably familiar with, and everyone’s poop smells unique to them. Poop that smells earthy or musty is typical and normal.

Unhealthy smells

Poop that smells greasy, foul, or especially putrid can be a sign from your body that there’s something else going on.

Taking antibiotics changes the microbiota in your gut. This can result in foul-smelling stool. It’s often temporary and will resolve on its own, but a course of probiotic supplements can’t hurt to help things along.

If you menstruate, your poop may have a distinct and powerful odor during your period (which is totally normal).

You may also experience foul-smelling stool in addition to diarrhea if you take more than the recommended dose of a multivitamin or supplement. This, too, will resolve on its own in a day or two.

Seeing a doctor

If your poop is especially smelly and accompanied by other symptoms, you may need to contact your doctor.

Bacterial infections like E. coli, food and dairy allergies, and gastrointestinal parasites can cause your stool to smell abnormally offensive. Malabsorption can also cause a strong stench.

If your poop smells worse than usual, pay attention to other symptoms that you may be having. See your doctor if you have especially smelly stools and:

• frequent cramping
• constipation
• diarrhea
• weight loss
• bloody stool

Some people poop a couple times a day. Others only poop every other day. Regularity is important, but there’s a wide range of what’s “normal” when it comes to poop frequency.

You may poop more often or less frequently depending on how much fiber is in your diet, how much meat you eat, how much physical activity you tend to get, and other factors.

Fixing constipation

If you feel constipated, first try to increase your water intake. Being dehydrated means that you might not have enough water traveling through your intestine to form solid, healthy poop.

If that doesn’t work, increase your fiber intake. Keep in mind that eating a lot of fiber can actually slow your digestion, at least at first.

Constipation home remedies are another option if you’re not pooping regularly. Consider taking a magnesium supplement or a natural laxative to get things moving. Getting some exercise, like going for a run or practicing yoga, can also help.

If you experience constipation on a regular basis, or if your stools are hard and dry, let your doctor know.

Healthy poop will typically sink to the bottom of the toilet, look dark brown, and smell a bit musty but not especially foul.

Poop gives you important clues into what’s going on inside your body. Any stool that’s not within the realm of what’s normal for you is a reason to pay close attention.

Stool that floats, is a different color than usual, and smells especially foul could indicate that you need to have a conversation with your doctor.

What It Can Tell You About Your Health

Healthy poop typically sinks to the bottom of the toilet bowl. You may have floating poop temporarily if you have an illness. But regular floaters can indicate a health condition.

When was the last time you took a look at what you left behind in the toilet bowl?

While there are certainly more appealing (and better-smelling) things to look at, checking out what’s coming out the other end can actually tell you a lot about your diet, activity level, and health in general.

It can be especially important to know whether your poop sinks or floats. But since you’re probably (hopefully?) not looking at anyone else’s poop on the regular, it can be hard to know whether yours is “normal.”

Let’s cover the basics of what normal, healthy poop looks like, what to do when it doesn’t look normal, and when to see a doctor.

Poop typically consists of:

• indigestible fat
• food residue
• bacteria
• a large percentage of water

Hearing a hearty “plop!” when you’re sitting on the toilet is actually a sign that your poop is dense and, therefore, healthy.

If you’re eating a fiber-full diet and your digestive system is firing on all cylinders, your poop should be heavy enough to land at the bottom of the toilet bowl.

What to do if your poop floats

Even though healthy poop sinks, occasionally your poop will float like a life preserver.

If you’re leaving the occasional floater behind, it’s probably not a cause for concern. Eating a new food or food that gives you a lot of gas can make your poop less dense, resulting in floating stools. After a day or so, this typically goes away on its own.

Floating poop can sometimes be a symptom of a gastrointestinal infection or a stomach bug. These, too, tend to be temporary and will go away on their own.

But if your poop frequently floats and feels greasy, it could mean that you’re experiencing malabsorption.

Another symptom of malabsorption is weight loss. See your doctor if this is a regular symptom for you, especially if it’s accompanied by floating poops.

Floating poop can also be a symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS has other symptoms, too, such as:

• cramping
• bloating after meals
• constipation
• frequent diarrhea

If you frequently have floating poop in addition to these other symptoms, talk with your doctor.

Healthy stool is brown. This is because bile from your digestive organs tints the color of your poop.

Your poop can vary in color according to what you’ve eaten recently. If your poop looks super dark or even black, it’s probably because you’ve been eating a lot of blueberries or a food that uses dark food dyes, like black licorice.

Unhealthy shades

If your poop isn’t on the range of colors between yellow and dark brown, it can indicate an underlying health concern.

Light color

Poop that’s a lighter shade of brown or gray, or clay-colored, can indicate that your bile ducts aren’t functioning at their full capacity. This can be a sign of:

• hepatitis
• bile duct blockage
• gallstones
• swelling in the liver or pancreas

If your poop becomes lighter in color than usual and doesn’t return to its dark brown color, pay attention to other symptoms you be having. Contact your doctor if you aren’t feeling well.

Red

Poop that’s red, or stools that come out bloody, can be a sign that you have a blockage at your rectum. It can also indicate hemorrhoids or gastrointestinal bleeding.

In some cases, red poop can be a warning sign of colorectal polyps or intestinal cancer.

If you’re seeing blood in your stool or frequently have red poop, contact your doctor and let them know, regardless of other symptoms. They’ll be able to tell if you need to have your stool tested to determine what’s causing your red poop.

Poop can take many shapes and still be healthy.

Your feces will typically appear in formed logs with a clay-like consistency. Narrow, snake-shaped poop is also considered normal. Your poop can be large, small, short, or long: All these shapes fall on the spectrum of normal.

Unhealthy shapes

There are some things about your poop’s consistency and shape that can point to an underlying health condition. Most things about your poop’s shape and size are related to your diet.

Poop that looks lumpy or comes out in small softball- or caterpillar-like shapes can mean that you’re constipated. Increase your water intake if you notice your poop coming out pebbly or dry, even if you’re not straining when you go.

Poop that looks jagged or fuzzy might mean it’s time to load up your plate with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

A low amount of fiber in your diet can result in poop that’s extremely soft. If your poop lacks (for lack of a better word) definition, change up the amount of fiber you’re getting at each meal.

Even healthy poop doesn’t smell the best. There’s a reason, after all, why the word “excrement” is synonymous with “gross.”

Unpleasant-smelling poop is the result of bacteria and food decay. Poop has a very distinct smell that you’re probably familiar with, and everyone’s poop smells unique to them. Poop that smells earthy or musty is typical and normal.

Unhealthy smells

Poop that smells greasy, foul, or especially putrid can be a sign from your body that there’s something else going on.

Taking antibiotics changes the microbiota in your gut. This can result in foul-smelling stool. It’s often temporary and will resolve on its own, but a course of probiotic supplements can’t hurt to help things along.

If you menstruate, your poop may have a distinct and powerful odor during your period (which is totally normal).

You may also experience foul-smelling stool in addition to diarrhea if you take more than the recommended dose of a multivitamin or supplement. This, too, will resolve on its own in a day or two.

Seeing a doctor

If your poop is especially smelly and accompanied by other symptoms, you may need to contact your doctor.

Bacterial infections like E. coli, food and dairy allergies, and gastrointestinal parasites can cause your stool to smell abnormally offensive. Malabsorption can also cause a strong stench.

If your poop smells worse than usual, pay attention to other symptoms that you may be having. See your doctor if you have especially smelly stools and:

• frequent cramping
• constipation
• diarrhea
• weight loss
• bloody stool

Some people poop a couple times a day. Others only poop every other day. Regularity is important, but there’s a wide range of what’s “normal” when it comes to poop frequency.

You may poop more often or less frequently depending on how much fiber is in your diet, how much meat you eat, how much physical activity you tend to get, and other factors.

Fixing constipation

If you feel constipated, first try to increase your water intake. Being dehydrated means that you might not have enough water traveling through your intestine to form solid, healthy poop.

If that doesn’t work, increase your fiber intake. Keep in mind that eating a lot of fiber can actually slow your digestion, at least at first.

Constipation home remedies are another option if you’re not pooping regularly. Consider taking a magnesium supplement or a natural laxative to get things moving. Getting some exercise, like going for a run or practicing yoga, can also help.

If you experience constipation on a regular basis, or if your stools are hard and dry, let your doctor know.

Healthy poop will typically sink to the bottom of the toilet, look dark brown, and smell a bit musty but not especially foul.

Poop gives you important clues into what’s going on inside your body. Any stool that’s not within the realm of what’s normal for you is a reason to pay close attention.

Stool that floats, is a different color than usual, and smells especially foul could indicate that you need to have a conversation with your doctor.

Feces buoyancy linked to intestinal microbiota

American researchers figured out why some feces sink in water while others float on the surface. According to experiments on mice, the composition of the intestinal microbiota is solely responsible for this. The report on the work was published in the journal Scientific Reports .

Feces 10-15 percent of people float on the surface of the water, and this is not associated with any pathological condition. Among people with functional bowel disorders, this proportion rises to about one in four. Historically, it was believed that the buoyancy of feces is due to the high content of fat in it, but in 19In 1972, Michael Levitt, a gastroenterologist from the University of Minnesota, and his student William Duane, in experiments with the stool of 39 people (including six patients with steatorrhea), showed that even fatty feces sink when gas is removed. The researchers did not specify the origin of the gas component, and this question, which has the potential for clinical application, has remained open until now.

To understand it, staff at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, under the direction of Nagarajan Kannan, used conventional C57BL/6 (B6) and gnotobiotic (born and reared in aseptic conditions that do not have a microbiome) mice. Some of the latter have been colonized with microbiota in their intestines by a single intragastric injection of the drug, either in the faeces of normal mice or one of two healthy women, or by allowing contact with environmental bacteria. Fecal sterility of germ-free mice and successful colonization of the intestines of the rest were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction, scanning electron microscopy, and measurement of bacterial DNA concentration (a measure of microbiota density).

Flow cytometry showed that the number of undigested particles of food biomass is inversely related to the density of the intestinal microbiota. In thermogravimetry, the feces of germ-free mice differed from the rest of the samples in at least three temperature ranges; pycnometry revealed its significant superiority in relative density. The shape, size and color of the stool in all groups of animals did not differ.

To assess the buoyancy of faeces, the researchers used a simple LIFT test they had previously developed – levô in fimo (literally translated from Latin as “raising in dung”) test. It consists in placing stool fragments in water and a Trump fixer solution (10 percent formaldehyde and one percent glutaraldehyde) in phosphate buffer (TFS), followed by recording their position (at the bottom or surface) after a minute, hour and day. It turned out that all samples from germ-free mice sink in water and TFS in less than a minute, while about half of the bacteria-colonized samples remain on the surface of the water and all of them continue to swim in TFS after a day.

Also, the authors of the work performed simultaneously LIFT and microbiota density determination in gnotobiotic mice before intragastric colonization (all faeces were drowned, bacterial DNA was practically not determined) and after it weekly for 12 weeks. By the third week, with all methods of microbiota formation (transplantation from mice and humans, from a non-sterile environment), the DNA concentration in the whole stool began to stabilize at a level of more than 10 thousand nanograms per milligram, from that time all biosamples were floating.

Metagenomic analysis of the intestinal microbiota of conventional, artificially colonized gnotobiotic and their donor mice revealed 13 dominant species of gasogenic bacteria from 11 genera, and their composition in different animals was extremely heterogeneous. The most common was methane-producing Bacteroides ovatus , associated, as previously shown, with an increased risk of flatulence in humans.

Thus, the buoyancy of feces depends solely on the gases produced by the microbiota; Swallowed air and the chemical composition of the dense matter of the stool do not play a role in this, Kannan concluded.

In 2019, Tufts University researchers reported that fecal transplants from physically fit older adults significantly increased the grip strength of mice. At the same time, a Belgian-Dutch scientific group showed that the intestinal microbiota affects the quality of life and the risk of developing depression. In turn, the species composition of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract depends on at least 69 main factors, including such non-obvious ones as the opinion of one’s own body weight and plans to reduce it, preferences for chocolate varieties and taking antidepressants – the Dutch, Belgian, Russian and British scientists.

You can read about the various uses of excrement in wildlife in the blog “It’s the norm: about the instrumental use of feces.” Issues related to fecal transplantation are analyzed in detail by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Mikhail Gelfand.

On mice

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How can our feces help in early diagnosis?

We all poop, and even princesses don’t do it with violets. We’ll tell you what to pay attention to!

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Health

Health problems

What do these symptoms mean?

For some, the process of defecation is uncomfortable and unpleasant, associated with pain or shame. For others, it’s just part of the “cycle of life.” Babies inevitably go through the exciting process of getting to know the contents of their diapers.

In our culture, going to the toilet “big” is almost never discussed publicly. But there is no need to be ashamed of this process – we all sit on a faience throne from time to time. Shameful inattention can even be harmful – our feces can “tell” about what is happening in the body and how it can be helped.

What is feces made of?

Mainly from undigested food, proteins, bacteria, minerals and other substances passing through the intestines. Every person is unique when it comes to feces, but there are a few common signs in shape, size, and odor that may indicate an unhealthy or unhealthy gastrointestinal tract.

What should be a normal feces?

Healthy feces can be as varied and unique as the people who produced them. But there are several general criteria by which you can evaluate the results of your digestive creativity:

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Color

The natural color for faeces is brown. Bilirubin is responsible for it – a pigment compound formed during the breakdown of red blood cells in the body.

Shape

We’re not cube-pooping wombats, so our bowels assume the more traditional, familiar shapes of feces—a log or a sausage. However, as we will learn later, various other options are possible that indicate problems.

Size

Feces should not come out in small “goat” balls (we will also talk about this later). The “standard” length is 5-6 centimeters, which is due to the ease of passage of feces through the intestines.

Consistency

Here the normal range is quite wide – normal feces can be both harder and softer. Deviations in one direction or another may indicate problems with digestion or an imbalance of fiber in the diet.

Duration of the process

If a person sits in the toilet for a long time, we believe that he is most likely pooping (or perhaps trying to hide from mumbling children for at least ten minutes). But for a healthy body, the process of defecation takes no longer than a couple of minutes. Therefore, if you spend more time in the toilet, this is an occasion to think about it.

What is the shape of feces and what does it indicate?

1. Goat balls

Hard small lumps that come out with difficulty usually indicate constipation. The frequent appearance of such a consistency is a reason to reconsider your diet.

2. Fat Caterpillar

Feces may be sausage-shaped but hard and lumpy in texture. This is also a sign of constipation.

3. “Sausage”

Faeces not too hard, not too soft, with small cracks on the surface. Gold standard, well done! Continue in the same spirit.

4. “Snake”

Feces are soft, smooth and long, shaped like a snake. In general, this is a variant of the norm.

5. Jellyfish

Feces are small in size, like goat balls, but have a soft texture and a fairly distinct shape. Usually such feces indicate a lack of fiber in the diet, so it is worth sticking to vegetables and cereals.

6. “Vegetable puree”

Feces are “airy” and soft, with jagged edges. This type of stool is closer to diarrhea, so drink plenty of fluids.

7. “Blotography”

Feces are completely liquid, there are few or no solid particles at all. This is diarrhea, or, as the people say, diarrhea. Feces passed through the intestines too quickly and did not have time to form.

What can stool color indicate?

How important is color when it comes to poop? It turns out yes. It helps to understand what is happening inside the body.

The normal color of feces, as we have already said, are shades of brown. A small greenery is also not terrible and may not be a sign of a problem. Your attention should be drawn to the following colors of feces:

Black

Who among us has not observed black feces with mild horror after taking a blister of activated charcoal? Surely there are such people, but there are hardly too many of them in the Russian expanses. Other “safe” causes of black feces can be iron supplements, bismuth preparations, hematogen, and even licorice.

But if you haven’t used anything like this, immediately go to the doctor – the black color of the feces can be caused by digested blood, which means that somewhere in the upper gastrointestinal tract there is bleeding.

Green

Small greens, as we have already mentioned, are not terrible.

But if the stool is more green than brown, then you may have one of two reasons: either you eat too many greens, or the stool passes through the intestines too quickly. In the latter case, bilirubin simply does not have time to color the stool in the usual brown color.

Pale, whitish or clay-colored

A color that is too light may indicate a lack of bile. We need it for healthy digestion and is normally produced by the liver and gallbladder. If the stool is too light, you may have a clogged bile duct, so don’t put off going to the doctor.

Pale stools can also be a side effect of certain medications.

Red

Yes, it’s blood. Perhaps problems with hemorrhoids, possibly bleeding in the lower gastrointestinal tract (as we already know, the higher the source of bleeding, the more time the blood has to digest).

Well, or you ate beets. Or cranberries. Or tomatoes.

Yellow

Greasy, foul-smelling yellow feces may indicate too much fat that has not been digested. It may also be associated with malabsorption of nutrients (for example, celiac disease).

Is it true that feces do not sink, as in the well-known proverb?

Normally, feces should just sink. They begin to swim when the density decreases, which happens due to an increase in the amount of water or gases in the composition.

Another cause may be malabsorption, the malabsorption of nutrients in the small intestine. In this case, the “big swim” may be accompanied by mild constipation.

When can we talk about constipation?

It turns out that constipation is not only a situation of long “sessions in parliament”. From a medical point of view, you can talk about constipation if you have a bowel movement less than three times a week!

There can be many reasons: from a nervous breakdown to problems with the nerves in the pelvic area, from diabetes to pregnancy. We humans are gentle creatures, and a huge number of factors affect our digestion. Many animals “from nerves” also stop pooping first. Take the same cats – after moving or strong excitement, the poor animal may not go to the pot for 3-4 days.

But back to homo sapiens. If you suffer from constipation, try drinking more water and eating vegetables, fruits, and legumes. And don’t forget to move – at least walk. There is a good chance that the problem will be solved.

A not very physiological posture can make defecation difficult. Why this happens can be clearly seen in the extremely ironic commercial with the prince and the unicorn.