The Case of the "Floating Stool"

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

What will I remember most about the start of 1997? No, I didn't paint the town red and end up with a throbbing hang-over. Rather, I won't forget the response to the first column of the year. The article dealing with 20 New Year's resolutions. But it was one specific resolution that provoked the reaction.

Resolution # 6 gave this sage advice, "Eat a balanced diet, which includes dairy products, and increase the amount of fiber in your diet. Few people consume sufficient fiber. If your stool doesn't float, you're not getting enough". The last sentence unleashed a torrent of calls and mail.

First to be heard from was an editor at Montreal's La Presse. He telephoned saying that doctors claimed I was wrong. He asked, "How sure are you of this fact?"

A reader from Vancouver wrote, "I always enjoy your articles, your sense of humour, and the conversation generated. This time the case of the floating stool caused considerable discussion, at a recent gathering, not to mention a few laughs."

A reader from St. Catharines, Ontario responded, "I eat salads and fibrous cereals daily. But my stool still sinks! My wife's rabbit balls float to the top consistently. Please respond immediately to this worrying affliction". And it was signed "sinking in St. Catharines"!

From Toronto, "My fiber intake is prodigious but I've never noticed if stools float properly. Now I'll take a good gander. Perhaps my output is more than adequate to float another basket down the Nile with Moses aboard!"

Others reported they had developed stiff necks trying to research this matter. And would I write more about the merits of the "floating stool"?

I'm happy to see readers have a sense of humour. We sure need it these days. Medicine is a serious subject. That's why I occasionally seek the humorous medical item because laughter is also a good tonic.

But on this occasion readers are one-up on me. In retrospect I should have realized that some people would find resolution # 6 amusing. Now I'm also laughing and that's also good for me!

But why is resolution # 6 so important today? And would it help the pocketbook of this country if everyone consumed 35 grams of fiber a day?

It's been said correctly that "the only thing we learn from history is we don't learn from history". British Surgeon Captain T.L. Cleave years ago told the world that fiber cured the constipation of his crew and helped to prevent many other diseases.

Cleave proved it by giving unprocessed bran to constipated sailors aboard the British battleship King George V.

Later, Denis P. Burkett, a British doctor, focused his attention on stools. He discovered while working in Africa that the stools of Africans were three times the size of those living in Europe. That often these large, soft bulky stools floated. And that their food also passed through the intestines 3 X faster.

Cleave stressed that man, by trying to outwit nature, had set himself up for a multitude of medical problems. The main culprit? The invention in 1870 of the roller mill! This allowed us to separate wheat grain and make refined white bread. The roughage discarded became feed for animals. They got the best deal!

But how can consuming 30 to 35 grams of fiber a day help to fight constipation, hemorrhoids, obesity, diverticulitis, appendicitis, large bowel malignancy, diabetes, high blood cholesterol and heart attack?

Common sense dictates that soft stools, passing quickly through the bowel, are beneficial for the intestines. Less strain with a bowel movement decreases the risk of hemorrhoids. Burkitt also found that appendicitis was rare in Africans who consumed a high fiber diet.

Softer stools and less straining also results in decreased pressure in the large bowel. This means there's less chance of causing diverticulosis (small hernias of the colon).

Speedier bowel movements fight cancer of the colon. If you're constipated, carcinogenic substances have more time to act on the intestinal lining.

There's also some evidence that people on high fiber diets have lower cholesterol levels.

What is rarely stressed is that a high fiber diet helps to fight the nation's # 1 disease, obesity. Fiber, apart from the vitamins and minerals it contains, has little caloric value. By filling the stomach it also decreases the hunger reflex.

The fight against obesity also decreases the risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart attack, three major killers.

My apologies to readers who developed sinking feelings and stiff necks. But if we all had floating stools our country wouldn't be spending so much money on needless medical costs.

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod