Does your poop float?

There are a number of explanations for poops that float, some benign, some not. If you talk to your doctor or explore online discussions about this, you will encounter talk of malabsorption (i.e., inadequate digestive breakdown of various components of diet), pancreatic insufficiency (e.g., inadequate production of pancreatic digestive enzymes due to prior pancreatitis), lactose or fructose intolerance, or excessive consumption of sugars and/or carbohydrates that increase gas content of stools. But an extremely common and important cause is rarely mentioned: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO. Recall that SIBO is an unhealthy condition in which bowel microorganisms have ascended up from the colon where they are normally confined and colonize the ileum, jejunum, duodenum, and stomach, a 30-foot infection. The organisms that characterize SIBO are mostly undesirable Enterobacteriaecea species such as E. coli and Campylobacter. Among the consequences of this are increased intestinal permeability and thereby appearance of new food intolerances, increased lipopolysaccharide entry into the bloodstream that potently triggers body-wide inflammation (e.g., fibromyalgia, autoimmune diseases), as well as intestinal symptoms such as bloating, excessive gas, and diarrhea. But another effect of SIBO organisms is interference with bile acids. Bile acids are produced by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, then released upon consumption of fats in the diet under direction of the ...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: News & Updates autoimmune bowel flora dysbiosis fibromyalgia grain-free malabsorption psoriasis sibo small intestinal bacterial undoctored Source Type: blogs