Can we talk poop for a minute?

[gabbyraja]

"Normal stools" - I've always understood that floaty poop was bad. I believe it had to do with malabsorbtion of nutrients or a high fat content diet... I think. Being that a diet largely consisting of animal products will be fattier than the average American "low fat" diet, would it stand to reason that a TF poop may float? Am I missing something? What is "normal poop" when you're not listening to mainstream thinking?

[janinemh]

TF poop still shouldn't float.  Floating poo is an indication that the fat is not being digested properly---which usually means that the gallbladder is not doing it job for some reason.

[mombh]

I have been wondering about that too......

I guess it makes sense. wwyd to help support the gallbladder?

[gabbyraja]

I found this in another thread I've been trying to wade through...

Originally Posted by romans_mum

so floating poop is a good thing?

Well, that's the ideal, since it means that the bacterial balance is primarily aerobic, and your pre and probiotic content is ideal, but there will be times when it won't be like that, like when you have a binge on black chocolate and licorice at the same time

...

For instance... if you have stools with increased fat in them, they will be very yellow, longish and thin and you will feel terrible, because your liver and gall bladder will be feeling the pressure. Now having been in this position, I can say that in my experience, fat laden poos do not float. They are sticky, stringy and sink fast.

What I know is this. After I did a raft of gall bladder flushes ( the ones people say are a load of rubbish) not only did my liver enzymes return to normal, but my fat laden poos also returned to normal once I got the stones out of my liver and my gall bladder, and enable the bile to move properly. So long as I have plenty of fruit and veges, etc what I produce is soft, sometimes floats, sometimes doesn't, and I don't really worry about it. I feel most comfortable when they float more than sink, but that's me.

I've read a lot about it, and decided what works best for me, but I'm queer and we all know that.

[janinemh]

When I was in school, my nutritional therapy instructor (also a colon hydro-therapist) said that poop should not float but neither should it sink like a stone.  It should gently float down in the water.  As the quote in the pp noted, if your poop is pale and greasy, this is the primary indication that the liver-gallbladder is not functioning properly.  Beets, beet juice and supplements made out of beets are great to support the gallbladder.  Gallbladder flushes help some folks too.  I plan to have a massage therapist who does visceral manipulation manually flush mine out for me.  She says it takes about 15 minutes.  I've contemplated the gallbladder flush diet but I'm a bit burned out on special diets right now. I"ve already done a lot of other support so I think the VM will just give me a little extra push that I need. 

Thought I'd add---I have sinkers not floaters.  My main gallbladder symptom is constipation that improves with GB support.

[tanyalynn]

Floating can also be a sign of bad bacterial balance--too much air/gassy bubbles.  Took me a while to figure out that's what was going on with my kids, it wasn't a fat digestion/absorption issue for them.  Yay kimchee (and digestive enzymes for us, but still). 

I like this page for its problem-solving discussion...

http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtstools.htm