Author: Namratha Gopal | Illustrator: Parvathi Nayanar
Stool or poop usually comes in a range of colors. Different poop color usually mean different things and it mostly depends on what you eat, on enzymes that alter the pigments of your poop. It also depends on the amount of bile which is a yellow-green fluid that digests fats in your stool. Most of the time, the minor changes in the color of your stool are due to diet as we don’t eat the same thing at every meal, every day. But sometimes and in the rare cases stool color does indicate a potentially serious intestine condition. Consult your doctor once your poop is hue than normal and is seen consistent. With that said, let’s discuss on the different colors of the stool and what they actually mean. Let’s begin without much delay –
Normal poop color
The normal stool color is light to dark brown. The color of the poop is the result of what we eat and how much bile is in your stool. It actually starts as a yellowish green color and as the pigments give its color to bile. It travels through your digestive system, go through the chemical changes and finally turns brown. This light to brown color of the poop is normal and is considered as healthy.
ABNORMAL POOP COLOUR-
Green poop color
Stool can have a slightly greenish hue and even more vivid green and it is also considered as normal most of the times. What it actually means is that the food move through the large intestine too quickly possibly due to diarrhea. As a result of this bile doesn’t have time to break down completely and causes green color poop. The following foods and supplements can cause your poop to be green:
- Iron supplements
- Green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach
- Ice pops
- Green food coloring such as in drink mixes like mockitos etc.
Yellow poop color – greasy, sticky and foul smelling
In the ‘not too often’ cases yellow poop is considered as normal in most of them and is too common for babies as well and especially who breastfeed. But if you see a yellow stool with bad smell and greasy then it means that it is due to the excess fat in the stool such as due to a malabsorption disorder like celiac disease. The possible dietary causes can also be the result for yellow poop like protein, gluten such as in breads and cereals. See your doctor if you see yellow poop consistently.
White, pale or clay-colored poop color
The pale colored poop is most of the time due to medicines for diarrhea like bismuth subsalicylate (kaopectate, pepto-bismol). And so can be due to barium, a chalky liquid you drink before you get X-rays of the upper part of the digestive tract. And the pale-colored poop can also be due to the lack of bile in the stool. Liver diseases such as hepatits can keep bile from getting to it. As a result it can cause blockage in the ducts that carry bile and can happen due to gallstones, tumor and biliary artresia. See your doctor if you see white, pale or clay-colored poop often.
Black stool color
This is the common stool color in case of babies for some days after they are born but is a serious cause of concern in case of adults and elders as it can mean due to the consumption of very dark-colored or you took a medicine or supplement that causes black poop. This is a serious problem as it means the bleeding in the upper part of your digestive tract. Foods such as black licorice, blueberries and iron supplements and the medicines like bismuth subsalicylate (kaopectate, pepto-bismol) can also cause very dark stools.
Red/Bright red stool color
Don’t be freaked out right away if you see red or bright red colored poop and think if you have had red colored foods lately. Foods like beets, cranberries, red colored drinks, tomato soup and gelatin dessert can cause red colored poops. If you think it might not be the cause of diet then the red color you see is the blood. If it is the bright red then it means the bleeding in the lower intestinal tract such as the large intestine or rectum often from hemorrhoids.
Disclaimer
The content in this article is for generic information only and it’s nowhere a substitute of medical opinion. See your doctor right away if you see any of the poop hue other than normal consistently and if you think if it’s not due to food.
