What makes some bowel movements stinkier than others?

Question

I know that certain things will make the bowel movement more disgusting: things such as boiled eggs and sausage. But what is happening in particular with this food to make it stinkier than others? It seems to be a common thread that the food is high in protein.

I just can't believe the odor that some people can manage to put out: an odor strong enough to cover the entire floor of an office building.

Answer 1

Proteins and fats do not normally cause bad-smelling gas, but high-carbohydrate foods do.

It's certain elements of food that are not completely absorbed in the small bowel, which consequently ferment in the colon and give smell to our stools.
Fermentation basically produces hydrogen and carbon dioxide, which are fairly odorless, but then, other bacteria consume these gases, particularly hydrogen, and release methane (CH4) and sulphur-containing gases. These are the ones responsible for the stink.
Some of the things that tend to increase the production of these gases are:
- Fermentable dietary fiber.
- Starch.
- Complex carbohydrates (apparently the most important source of gas), in beans.
- Sugars: these include fructose, sorbitol, and others that we can't digest, such as the raffinose from mushrooms.

You can make a simple test: stools that float usually contain lots of methane. However, it's the sulphur-related substances that give the worst smells to our feces.

Answer 2

It's all about the bacteria, baby! Bacteria possess enzymes to degrade what we can't. They "eat" our poop. In doing so they make it stinky.

The longer poop stays in your bowel, the longer the gut bacteria have to act on it, stinkify it if you will, producing foul-smelling gas and whatnot.

So, some food items that have a short transit time in the bowel (fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans = high fiber diet). These will generally produce lots of poop, but these poops are not as stinky because the poop moves through more quickly and the bacteria don't establish themselves as well.

A diet lacking fiber (meat, eggs, dairy, refined grains etc) have a long bowel transit time and can sit in your bowel much longer, days in fact. All the while bacteria grow & produce noxious gas etc, because the bacteria are acting on the sufur compounds naturally present in meat and eggs. Then you need to get out the Lysol can, evacuate the building etc....

Answer 3

its either the person doesnt have a regular bowel movement thus creating a build up of smelly gases and substances or it is the food that he ate, or more accurately, the combination of foods that he consumed.

Answer 4

There's no such thing as "stinkier". It's "amount of nostril love juice".

Answer 5

sometimes our bodies do not absorb all that it should, and when there is a malabsorbtion problem it comes out through our stools, and that is the odor. but it is not just in our stools, for some it is a real problem and the odor comes out when they speak.