What does the poop colour we evacuate mean?
The normal saddle for humans must be in the form of a sausage 4 cm thick and 15 to 20 cm long. Its color, light brown or dark brown, is essentially determined by its content of bile pigments, incidentally by certain foods (spinach, cocoa, blueberries, carrots, beets, etc.
In the lacto-vegetarian diet, the stool is lighter; in the darker meat diet. The first part of a normal saddle is bumpy, the rest is smooth; it is coated with a little transparent mucus. The smell is weak, determined by the presence of scatol and indol, chemical bodies produced by bacteria from the amino acid tryptophan, escaped assimilation. A strong or sour odor is abnormal. In humans, as in horses, dogs, cats, etc., the normal saddle does not dirty the anus in the process. You should never use more than one sheet of toilet paper for wiping and it should be kept clean or at most collect traces of mucus. ”
During typical defecation, about 75% of the stool volume is made up of water. The other 25% is a mixture of different substances, including dead and living bacteria, food debris, undigested food particles usually from fibrous foods like seeds, nuts, corn, beans, as well as substances contributed by the intestines and the liver such as mucus and bile (a dark green to yellowish brown fluid). Several factors can influence the content of stools including diet, medication, supplements, and the presence of a disease, infection, or gastrointestinal disorder.
Poop colours by type
Brown poop colours
Healthy stools are usually brown due to the presence of bile and bilirubin, a product resulting from the breakdown of dead red cells in the intestines.
Green poop colour
stools are usually the result of eating large amounts of green food, such as leafy green vegetables or food containing green coloring. Iron and spirulina supplements can also give a green color to stools. However, green stools can also mean that colonic transit is too fast. Bile usually becomes darker as it moves through the colon, but remains green if it moves too quickly.
Indeed, there are certain foods that influence the color of your stool. If you are pooping green, it may be because you have eaten foods that color your stools. There are in particular all green vegetables and vegetable juices . Spinach in particular but also cabbage, spirulina and certain algae. But there are also green food colors that can change the color of your stool. In this case there is obviously nothing to worry about.
However, if your stool is green and you have not eaten any food that can give it this color, it may mean something else. Indeed, green stools can reveal a bacterial infection or food poisoning. That said, there is nothing to worry about and consult with if only in addition to the green color of your stool, you have symptoms like abdominal pain and fever. Otherwise, no major worry to have.
stools are normal in newborns during the first days. However, there are anomalies that should alert us:
If the stools are frequent, in addition to being green : it may be a sign of a reaction to a food or medication absorbed by the baby or the mother (if she is breastfeeding).
If they are liquid and frothy in addition to being green : it may be an excess of lactose absorbed by the baby. If he is breastfed, it is an imbalance between the milk at the start of the feed and that at the end.
Yellow and foul-smelling poop colour
They are the result of a malabsorption of fats linked to a dysfunction of the pancreas by insufficient pancreatic salts. This may be a sign of gluten intolerance or more serious illness. See your doctor quickly.
Black poop colour
If your stool is black, it is important to consult your doctor as it may be a sign of internal bleeding from an upper part due to a tumor or ulcer of the digestive tract, especially if the stool has a foul odor and they look like tar. There are however several benign causes of black stools, including the ingestion of bismuth subsalicylate found for example in Pepto-Bismol® (which can also make your tongue black), iron supplements, black licorice , blueberries or other dark foods.
his may be a sign of internal bleeding; if in addition they have a foul odor and the appearance of tar, it is advisable to consult your doctor.
There are also orange or blue stools which are a sign of a large amount of orange (carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, etc.) or blue (blueberries, grape drink, etc.) foods.
Yellow / Pale Brown / Gray poop colour
Bright yellow diarrhea may signal the presence of a condition known as giardiasis. Yellow or pale stools can result from decreased production of bile salts since normal brown stools take on their color by breaking down bile. Pale (yellow or gray) stools may indicate a problem with the liver or gallbladder, so consult your doctor if they are frequent. If at the same time the urine has a dark color, this is a serious case.
Red or burgundy red poop colour
Bleeding in the lower part of the digestive tract can cause bright red stools. Bleeding can result from inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, fissures, polyps, or colorectal cancer. An appearance of blood after stool is often linked to the existence of internal or external hemorrhoids that bleed after their evacuation. Red stools, however, may have nothing to do with bleeding since eating large amounts of food containing red coloring such as packaged cakes or breakfast cereals, tomato sauces and soups, and beets can also make your stools red.
Orange poop colour
If you consume an excess of beta-carotene from supplements or vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, some leafy greens and certain herbs, your stools may appear orange.
Blue poop colour
Consuming a large amount of blue food (eg blueberries) or drinks containing blue coloring (eg carbonated grape drink) can give this color to your stool.
Silver poop colour
It is perfectly possible to have silver saddles. It is a worrying sign about the state of your intestine. When your faeces have the color of an old oxidized silver candlestick, it is urgent to consult.
