Avocado & Floating Stools

[jasonD2]

Lately whenever i eat avocados i get floating stools the next day..i am completely gluten free now so why is this happening? this didnt happen 6 months ago when i ate avocados so why now? i have been taking care of myself and done everything i needed to do to heal my gut...could this just be a normal reaction or does it mean some kind of malabsorption or gallbladder problem? doesnt happen with other foods

[jststric]

I have started having issues with avacados too! How weird is that? I'm wondering if it's not justthe fiber content? Or perhaps just eating too much avacado at once? Would love to know, tho, as I love them and I've certainly given up enough foods!

[burdee]

Lately whenever i eat avocados i get floating stools the next day..i am completely gluten free now so why is this happening? this didnt happen 6 months ago when i ate avocados so why now? i have been taking care of myself and done everything i needed to do to heal my gut...could this just be a normal reaction or does it mean some kind of malabsorption or gallbladder problem? doesnt happen with other foods

Yes, malabsorption. Floating stools can mean fats (like avocado) aren't digested due to low levels of pancreatic enzymes. Have you been digesting other fats without getting floating stools? Taking enzymes like pancreatin, papain or bromelain at the end of a meal can help digest fats. However low levels of stomach acid (which stimulate the pancreas to release enzymes) can also cause malabsorption and floating stools. Gallbladder problems are also related to insufficient stomach acid. Have you ever had your stomach acid production tested?

SUE

[Roda]

Do you eat any other foods that may have a high fat content? Avocados bother me as well, but I am not digesting fats at all these days and have been having issues since Jan. It really does not matter what I eat, good fats or bad fats, I'm miserable. Not to be gross, but is the stool bulky, foul smelling or have visible fat floating? These can all be signs of fat malabsorption. It is also possible that since they have alot of fat, and if you eat alot of them at one sitting, it is just that especially if the rest of the time you consume less fat. I believe anyone who over does it on anything can have temporary changes. Just cut back and see how you do before getting upset prematurely. If there is something else you can eat that has alot of fat (say bacon, sausage, whole milk, icecream etc, you get the picture) try eating that and see if you get the same response.

[jasonD2]

Lately just the avocados doing it - had half a medium size avocado yesterday and had some issues this morning. dont seem to have the same effect w/ other foods, not that i eat a lot of fat.

Stools are thin and i dont notice floating fat...sometimes they appear slippery when they float on the surface but thats it

[burdee]

Lately just the avocados doing it - had half a medium size avocado yesterday and had some issues this morning. dont seem to have the same effect w/ other foods, not that i eat a lot of fat.

Stools are thin and i dont notice floating fat...sometimes they appear slippery when they float on the surface but thats it

If you don't eat 'a lot of fat', but had that reaction after eating half an avocado (which is a moderate serving of fat), you have malabsorption problems. That may be due to lack of pancreatic enzymes or low stomach acid. You could either try eating other moderate servings of fat containing foods to see if you get the same result. Also you could try taking enzymes after meals containing fats. If consuming a teaspoon of vinegar mixed with an ounce of water improves your digestion of fats and/or protein, you could try taking an HCl capsule after the first 2 bites of a meal containing fats and protein to improve digestion.

[jasonD2]

I eat salmon, dark meat chicken, pumpkin seeds and a lot of olive oil and dont get that reaction...not sure if its a malabsorption problem or something specific to the avocado or the type of fat in avocado

[ToriMartin]

I went Gluten & Dairy Free a few weeks ago. I've had probs for 12 years, always allergic to Wheat Gluten & Starch but never thought I had Celiac or Gluten Intolerance. Anyhow, for as long as I can remember I've had floating stools.... You say it's fat not being absorbed but why then have I put so much weight on? I should back up... I piled on weight with my first child & kept it on. Found a Dr who put me on Armour (Hypothyroid). I lost weight & kept it off. Had my 3rd child last September. I had gained 25 pounds through the pregnancy, lost 10 after he was born. Well, 2 months later they switched my thyroid meds & I gained 30 pounds over the next 4-5 months. It's awful! Dr's are Idiots! Anyhow, I could starve myself & wouldn't lose weight. I went Gluten free, Dairy Free & Sugar free for 5 days. Introduced Dairy & my IBS hit. Went off it. Few days later had gluten, IBS hit again. I feel like I had a "breakthrough!" but still misrable. Anyhow, I had an Avacado the other day & got terrible sinus pressure, headache & felt awful. The next day I had one again. Sinus pressure & mild headache. So, I figure it doesn't agree with me... I didn't get the IBS though...

I'm soooo lost.

[Skylark]

Lately just the avocados doing it - had half a medium size avocado yesterday and had some issues this morning. dont seem to have the same effect w/ other foods, not that i eat a lot of fat.

Stools are thin and i dont notice floating fat...sometimes they appear slippery when they float on the surface but thats it

If it makes you sick, don't eat it.

Avocados are fairly allergenic so you might have a mild allergy to them.

[missceliac2010]

Know what's funny...I never knew that "floating stools" were not normal! Mine have "floated" most of my life, and until going gluten-free, I didn't know any better! This diet has taught me so much about nutrition! Anyhew...sorry to hear about the reaction to avocado. We Celiacs are tough! My only suggestion is to have your gall bladder looked at. I'm pretty sure it's involved in the ingestion of fatty foods, so if it's npt functioning up to par, that might be the culprit. Or maybe I'm confusing the GB with another organ? LOL! Mine wasn't working properly, but it didn't show up with traditional ways of detecting GB problems. I had to have a hyda-scan (sp?). 3 hours after finding out my GB was junk, I was having it taken out. Felt great after! (I had been in the hospital for 5 days with unexplained severe abdominal pain and uncontrollable vomiting.)

Good luck!