I am a 63 yr old African American woman. I have no major health issues (thank God). I try to eat two healthy, low fat, balanced meals and a snack or two daily. I seldom eat beef and pork. I do need to increase my fruit intake but I more than eat enough veggies. I take multi-vitamins but I do skip some days. I have had very soft, loose stools for several months now, so I began to take Metamucil fairly frequent. Good results. I had an unusual stool yesterday. I was surprised to see some thin, stringy pieces, 3-5 inches long, with what looked like flattened pods attached along the length. It alarmed me. Prompts my question: Could this be parasites, worms? If so, what kind?