11 replies to this topic

[Rose]

I am a "c" type and have seen undigested food in stool also, but attributed it to the fact that I usually eat too fast and don't chew my food well enough. I didn't know it was typical of IBS. I learn something new everyday on this board.Thanks,Rose

[mel]

About the corn - it seems to me that I was told that it is "insoluble fiber" which means that we can't digest it and that's why you see it in your stool. Maybe the same stands true of the other items you mentionned?

[Loretta]

This happens to me also. Not all the time but sometimes. I can eat one thing one day and it won't be there and then I can eat the same thing at another time and it won't be digested. I don't really know what causes this but just another thing to add to the list of unknowns.

[flux]

I wouldn't be surprised if it were typical of healthy population at large, especially vegetarians.

[SteveE]

I found the following blurb in a simulated patient/doctor dialogue in Burstall, Vallis & Turnbull's recent book about IBS (I.B.S. Relief: A Doctor, a Dietician and a Psychologist Provide a Team Approach to Managing Irritable Bowel Syndrome, 1998; page 136). Incidentally, I now recall, that this is the source that provided some very specific dietary recommendations which have helped me quite a bit."Patient: Doctor, I've noticed undigested food when I have gone to the bathroom, especially when I have diarrhea. I am not too suprised about seeing corn, but sometimes I see tomato skins, seeds, or other pieces of fruits and vegetables.Doctor: What you are describing is normal. Fibrous foods such as vegetables and fruits are not completely digested even though their nutrients are extracted by the intestines. Undigested food is just easier to spot in diarrheal stool. Corn can be seen even in normal solid stool because of its bright yellow color, but other undigested foods are in the stool as well. It is not normal to see meat fibers and fat in the stool. This indicates a problem with food digestion. At times you may notice that the normal mucous present in stool looks like fat globules. This can be confusing, but it is rare for the body to be having trouble absorbing fat and not lose weight. If you are losing weight, further testing can be done on the stool to confirm a problem with fat malabsorption."

[SteveE]

This is very typical with IBS. Back in August I read somewhere that getting plenty of whole wheat fiber helps with that. I can acknowledge that it definately has for me. Of course if you're gluten intolerant, that's probably not a great idea, but I was diagnosed as potentially gluten intolerant at one time and felt far worse without wheat products than with...so you be the judge for yourself, but I get about 7 grams of whole wheat fiber at breakfast, about 6 at lunch and 6 at supper which yields about 19 grams just from whole wheat product, so that doesn't include the other forms of fiber I get throughout the day (such as brown rice or whatever). Nutrition guidelines say 20-35 total grams which I tried and felt worse until I made the first 20 or so of those specifically from wheat.