What does the color of your poop tell you?

Let’s be real, nobody wants to talk about poop. It’s just not a topic that is socially acceptable or even remotely pleasant. However, as much as we all want to avoid discussing what happens in the bathroom, it’s essential for us to pay attention to our bowel movements because it can tell us a lot about our health.

One thing people don’t realize is that the color of your poop can give you insight into how your body is functioning and whether there might be an underlying issue at play. So without further ado (and hopefully without too many cringes), let’s explore the world of colorful stool and what it all means.

The Different Colors

Poop comes in all shapes and sizes – well, mostly just one shape – but when we’re talking colors, there are quite a few options on the table. Here’s what you need to know:

1) Brown

This one should come as no surprise; brown is easily the most common color for stools. Whether light or dark shades, this hue stems from bile, which is produced by your liver and helps break down fat during digestion.

2) Black

If your stool appears black (and shiny), this could indicate that blood has been digested somewhere in your digestive tract – usually towards the top where acid exposure has turned red blood cells black. This could also be due to medications like Pepto-Bismol or an iron supplement.

3) Red

If it looks like someone dropped some cherry Kool-Aid into your toilet bowl instead of pooing (hopefully visibly mixed through), this could mean you have fresh bloody stool…which is never something anyone wants…

4) Yellow/Green

While yellow/green shades aren’t completely unusual (especially after consuming green vegetables [unless you suffer from Gilbert’s syndrome]), anything too bright in hue could be an indication that food is moving too quickly through your digestive system.

5) Gray/White

Finally, if you notice pale stool or oddly clay-colored ones, this could suggest a lack of bile. In more serious cases, it might mean there’s something blocking the bile ducts altogether – which should prompt seeking medical attention ASAP!

Things to Consider

Now that we know what each color generally represents let’s examine some potential circumstances surrounding poop that offers additional considerations:

Frequency/Movement

First and foremost: how often do you go? If you’re only passing stools every few days or experiencing constipation no matter how much fiber/water/butt paste product (is butt cream something people buy?)…your poo may come out looking kinda like little nuggets instead of forming full sized logs (yummmmmyyyyy) from excess time accumulating within your intestines.

On the opposite side of things: frequent movement can cause yellow/green as mentioned previously or even diarrhea where everything just passes so quickly without giving enough time for nutrients/bile coloring to absorb into the fecal matter. (Please aim for Goldilocks type bowel movements!)

For best results: aim for having one-to-three well-formed BMs per day.

Diet/Lifestyle Influences

What we consume can greatly impact both color and other qualities related to our stool! Food dyes, caffeine/nicotine/sugar consumption habits, alcohol intake (heavily) resulted in altering positions while dropping-the-deuce….all these will play a role on outcomes from bathroom breaks.

Just think about what happened after last night’s questionable dirty street meat; nobody had to tell us how things were going by morning [shiver].

When Should You Be Worried?

Remember folks – different hues can indicate underlying issues…which illustrated earlier but those are more common case scenarios involving serious medical issues. Just in case,you should get checked out by your physician if any of the following occurs:

  • Stools are frequently black
  • Red Poop
  • Pale/Clay-Colored stool
  • Losing more than a teensy bit of blood regularly while pooping (such as mucus-y pieces or hemorrhoids)
  • Continual diarrhea and/or constipation

Recap

So there you have it: a humorous take on poop color significance, which unfortunately is something we all face, but no one likes talking about!

At the end of the day, bowel movements may seem gross to discuss (and often be gross when they’re coming out!), but overall paying attention to what our excrements are saying and taking care of business appropriately could very well save your life!

Random Posts