What Your Poo Says About Your Health | Centre for GI Health (2024)

FAQs

What is the simple trick to empty your bowels every morning? ›

In the morning, drink warm water with lemon to stimulate bowel movement and hydrate the body. Consume fiber-rich foods such as whole grains and fruits to improve digestion and regularity. Probiotics can help to improve gut health and regulate bowel movements.

Light to dark brown may indicate an ideal and healthy stool. Pale or clay may indicate coeliac disease or pancreas issues. Orange may indicate blocked bile ducts or antacid usage. Yellow or green may indicate a fatty diet, parasite or stress.

The microbiome dismantles much of your food into nutrients that are absorbed through the walls of your intestines. After this, the residue should form stools that are medium to dark brown, hold together in sausage shapes in a single large or just a few smaller pieces, and they should sink in the toilet bowl.

Your poop can tell you if you're eating enough fiber and drinking enough water, or if your digestive system is processing food too slowly or too quickly. Also, lasting changes in your bowel habits or the appearance of your poop can be a sign of a medical condition that requires treatment.

Choose yellow or browning bananas to stimulate bowel movements. Unripe, green bananas have lots of tannins and resistant starch that bind your waste together and make it harder to pass. As they ripen, the tannins and starch become soluble sugars and fiber, which regulate healthy bowel movements.

‍ Light yellow or grey poop: This can be a sign of infection or inflammation, that your body is not absorbing nutrients properly, or a blocked bile duct. ‍ Black or red poop: This might happen if you eat black licorice, beets, colored drinks, or iron supplements.

Stool is denser than water and usually sinks, but it can float if it contains too much fiber, fat, or gas. This could stem from an infection, irritable bowel syndrome, and other health conditions. If an individual's stool floats often, it may be the result of their diet or a medical condition.

Inflammation can lead to ulcers (open sores) on the intestinal lining, which can cause bleeding from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. 6 The blood can get mixed into your poop, making your poop look different shades of red or even black.

What color is dehydrated poop? ›

He explains that when you're well-hydrated, stool is softer and may look more brown-yellow in color. (Dehydrated poop is drier and more difficult to pass and looks darker brown.)

Normally, bacteria in the intestine chemically change bile to a greenish-brown color. It takes time for the bile to fully revert in the intestine and become brown again, and if the transit time is short, for example, when a person has diarrhea, the stool remains green-colored. Green stools may be a normal variant.

Mushy stool with fluffy pieces that have a pudding-shaped consistency is an early stage of diarrhea. This form of stool has passed through the colon quickly due to stress or a dramatic change in diet or activity level.

Megacolon. People who experience chronic constipation or who have a history of bowel obstruction can develop something called megacolon. This is when the colon (large intestine) becomes overstretched. The large intestine will then hold more stool and therefore may mean a larger poop.

Most changes in the color of stool are not cause for concern. The exception is poop that appears black or bloody, which could signal other problems with the digestive system.

Olive oil – consuming a teaspoon of olive oil in the morning on an empty stomach can encourage stool to flow through the gut. The oil acts as a lubricant in the digestive system, meaning it's easier for solids to slide through. It also softens up the stool, making it easier to empty your bowels completely.

Lean forward on the toilet with your forearms resting on your thighs, your legs more than hip width apart and your feet raised up on a small foot stool. Repeat for up to 10 minutes only or until your bowel has emptied. If you don't pass anything try again when you have another urge to go or the following day.