See, your stool is mostly made of your digested food and bacteria, Shanti Eswaran, MD , a gastroenterologist at Michigan Medicine, tells Health. Typically, reasons for green poop fall under two categories: illness or food. Here, doctors explain, specifically, the top seven reasons your poop might have a greenish color—and what you can or should do about it.
If you've recently been ill and taken an antibiotic, it's not uncommon to see a color change in your stool, says Eswaran. It's also not uncommon to have antibiotic-induced diarrhea, which could cause your stomach to hurt. Luckily, this should clear up within a few days, after you complete your course of the medication. Not dissimilar to the reason antibiotics do a number on your poop, bacteria invading the GI tract could cause a green tinge to your stool.
Diarrhea itself always increases the odds of green stool, too. Food moving through the body too quickly may not have the necessary time for bile to break it down, which could cause your stool to remain a greenish color instead of brown.
Heidi Moretti, RD , a dietitian focusing on functional nutrition, says it's not uncommon to see green stool if you have other GI issues, especially ones that cause diarrhea.
Dark green, leafy vegetables are rich in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their color. Virtually any chlorophyll-rich plant food can cause green-tinged stool if you eat enough of it. Nuts like pistachios, seeds like hemp seeds, and herbs like parsley, basil, and cilantro are also rich in chlorophyll. Matcha, a type of powdered green tea, can also make stools a bright green hue.
Some foods contain green or blue and yellow food coloring that may turn your poop green. These dyes are sometimes used in canned green peas, green beer, breakfast cereal, candy, jarred pickles, salad dressing, beverages, cake and cookie icing, and desserts.
You'll also see these dyes in food around St. This video has been medically reviewed by Chris Vincent, MD. Besides the obvious green foods, deep blue or purple foods can sometimes lead to green poop. Blueberries, grapes, and red wine, for instance, can result in a dark green-blue stool. Purple or red and blue food coloring in drink mixes, grape Kool-Aid and soda, frozen ice pops, cake icing, blue Gatorade, packaged fruit snacks, licorice, and grape-flavored Pedialyte can also cause dark or bright green poop.
These food dye colors are often used during holidays such as Easter, Independence Day, and Halloween. As bile makes its way through the small intestine to the large intestine via the bile ducts, it progressively changes color from green to yellow to brown.
This is due to the action of bacteria in the large intestine acting on bile salts. In some cases, consuming lots of coffee, jalapenos, chili pepper, and alcohol can have a laxative effect, causing foods to pass through the intestines faster than normal called decreased transit time and before stool change color from green to brown. Taking iron supplements can change the color of your poop to dark green or black.
Juicing or going on a juice cleanse will also up your intake of chlorophyll and, in turn, increase the likelihood of green-tinged stools. If you experience green stools during a colon cleanse, it may be due to food rushing through your intestines too quickly to allow bacteria to give your stool its characteristic brown color. A high-fat diet, like the keto diet , may give your poop a bright green hue. With a high-fat intake, your body produces more bile to digest these fats and excess green-colored bile may find its way into the toilet bowl.
Green stool can occur during pregnancy. Some women get it in the earliest weeks of their pregnancy, sometimes even before the BFP "big fat positive" on the pregnancy test. Other women get it because they take prenatal vitamins which contain a higher dose of iron than the typical multivitamin or iron supplements. Green stool can also happen during the third trimester. Some women get loose green stools during late pregnancy as food moves rapidly through the intestines. An infant's first bowel movements are typically green-black in color.
Dark green or green black poop in babies may be caused by iron supplements and iron-enriched foods, such as baby formula. Green poop in breastfed babies particularly "EBF" or exclusively breastfed babies could also be a sign that the baby is getting too much low-calorie, low-fat foremilk the milk that comes first in a feeding and not enough hindmilk, which is higher in fat.
It could mean that the baby isn't feeding long enough on each breast or draining the breast effectively or that there is an oversupply of breast milk. A lactation consultant may be able to help identify the issue. Kids often eat foods that contain food dyes, including green, purple, blue and yellow, or red and blue coloring. Chewing on green or purple crayons can also change the color of stools. Diarrhea decreases bowel transit time, so any condition that causes diarrhea can result in a green stool, including:.
A rare but serious cause of green stool in kids and adults is poisoning by chemicals such as the pesticide paraquat. Green stools accompanied by visible mucus may signal irritation or inflammation in the lining of the intestines. If it happens regularly, it could be a sign of a condition that may require treatment especially if it's accompanied by diarrhea, constipation, pain in the abdomen, or nausea or vomiting.
Like green poop, floating green stool is often normal and related to what you ate. In addition to any traces of blood in the stool or bleeding from the anus, pay attention to any other symptoms that occur with stool discoloration.
These may include nausea, vomiting blood, or a feeling of fullness. Common causes of rectal bleeding include :. It is worth having a quick look at stool before flushing it away.
Stool is a very good indicator of whether the digestive system is working properly. It may provide a clue to illnesses such as those mentioned above. According to the Bristol Stool Chart , there are seven shapes and consistencies of human stool.
As a general rule, type 3 or 4 is the ideal stool, as it is easy to pass but not too watery. Type 1 or 2 means that a person is probably constipated.
Type 5, 6, or 7 indicates that a person probably has diarrhea. This chart helps doctors identify problems and correlate the time food takes to pass through the digestive system.
The shape and form of stool may also help doctors make a correct diagnosis. The most important thing to do to regulate stool color is to eat a healthy diet. The ideal stool color is light to dark brown. Some people who eat large quantities of greens may pass green poop. However, it is important to keep an eye on both the color and the texture of stool. Anyone who is concerned about the color of their stool should discuss it with a doctor. Learn more about how the Squatty Potty may improve bowel movements.
Foamy or frothy poop is usually diarrhea-like and may appear to have bubbles in it. It may also seem oily or contain mucus. Learn about the causes…. Diarrhea, which refers to unusually loose or watery stools, is a common problem with many potential causes.
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