Why can I see whole food in my bowel movements?

Dear Reader, 

Poop comes in all shapes and sizes, and your bowel movements can tell you about your body and eating habits. However, rapid digestion or seeing whole foods in your stool might be a sign of a digestive system issue. It could also mean that you’re not absorbing all the nutrients you need. Speaking with a health care provider or gastrointestinal specialist could help figure out what’s wrong, but for now, read on to find out more about poop! 

There are many types of bowel movements. Similarly, how those different bowl movements relate to your health can vary. Some broad groupings of poop shapes, colors, and smells might help you to narrow down some potential factors for what it is you’re experiencing. Stools are often categorized as: 

• More sausage or snakelike. Bowel movements with a solid but smooth form are considered healthy. 
• Hard, lumpy, broken into several small pieces. Especially if they’re difficult and painful to pass, could indicate constipation or dehydration. 
• Runny or watery. Stools with no shape or ragged edges could be a sign of diarrhea or another digestive condition. 
• An unusual color. Most poop is brown, but sometimes food can change its color, although it shouldn’t last for much longer than a day. 
• Unusually smelly. Poop usually smells bad, but if it has an unusually foul odor, there may be something underlying that needs to be addressed. 

Some potential causes for rapid digestion are food intolerance or food sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, malabsorption, or dumping syndrome, among others. These conditions have overlapping symptoms and involve the digestive system. Symptoms might include bloating, abdominal pain after eating, or difficulty pooping. These usually occur because your body can’t digest something or is irritated by something you ate. However, more serious side effects like weight loss, malnutrition, and anemia are also possible. These symptoms could indicate that your body isn’t receiving all the nutrients that it needs. 

Regarding your bowel movements, there are some questions you might want to chew on before deciding your course of action: 

• How much food are you seeing? 
• Are you experiencing other symptoms like fatigue or weight loss? 
• How varied is your diet? 
  • If you’re eating the same thing every day, is it possible that what you see in your bowel movements is the waste product from previous days? 
• Are you chewing your food thoroughly when eating? 
  • Some foods, like corn kernels, are harder to break down and could show up in your poop. Chewing food more might help the digestive process before the food hits your intestines. 

The answers to these questions might help you figure out if your poop just looks super consistent, or if there’s another problem going on. 

The best way to find out what's causing your speedy stools is to visit a health care provider. During your visit, try to give the provider a detailed account of your eating patterns and resulting runs. Don't worry about the gross-out factor; health care professionals can stomach it before making recommendations to you. 

Hope your system slows down soon!