Poop floats why

To get to the bottom yes, pun intended of this toilet bowl mystery, Health spoke to a gastroenterologist to get all the deets on floating poop—including when to when to relax and when to see a doctor, ASAP. Poop can float for a few reasons—the most benign being that it simply has extra gas in it.

That's because sometimes the foods that make us fart think beans, cauliflower, and sugar-free candies can cause such a buildup of gas that some of it gets lodged in our poop, Rabia De Latour, MD , a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health, tells Health.

When that happens, your poop floats simply because air is less dense than water. This is pretty normal, and only happens every once in a while. Another reason for floating poop, however, is a bit more worrisome. Think of it like a separated salad dressing—the oil fat floats to the top.

De Latour says. Instead, floating poop and the excess fat that causes it are an indicator of several different health problems—all of which have the same symptom in common: malabsorption. De Latour. Approach to the patient with diarrhea and malabsorption. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. Updated by: Michael M. Editorial team. Stools — floating. Floating stools alone are not a sign of an illness or other health problem. Floating stools may also happen if you have a gastrointestinal infection.

When to Contact a Medical Professional. What to Expect at Your Office Visit. Your provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical history and symptoms, such as: When did you first notice the floating stools?

Does it happen all the time or from time to time? What is your basic diet? Does a change in your diet change your stools? Do you have other symptoms? Are the stools foul smelling? Some issues are NBD and are probably just the result of what you had for breakfast. But other issues can be the sign of something more serious.

So what the heck does it mean when your poop floats? Sonpal says your diet is the number one reason you might notice poop that stays afloat in the bowl. Insoluble fibers, like bran, or foods that can cause gas, like artificial sweeteners or starch, are tough for the body to digest and can affect the quality of your poop, he says. These types of foods can cause your poop to contain excess gas, and it's that extra air that will make it lighter, causing it to float. Lactose intolerance or gluten sensitivity are also fairly normal causes of poop that floats.

That's because the majority of time in these cases, floating stool is caused by an inocuous diet choice like eating bran that won't negatively affect your health. If you know you have either lactose intolerance or gluten sensitivity, once you go back to eating foods that you know won't bother you, your poop should return to normal pretty quickly.