Expert explains why your poop is green and serious reason why you might need to go to the doctors
Ellie Kemp
Featured Image Credit: LuckyBusiness/Getty Images/Kinga Krzemińska/Getty Images
Our toilet habits might be a taboo subject, but they can offer us some important insights into our health.
Some of us are 'voluntary withholders' without even realizing it, while others can't seem to ever get off the porcelain throne and feel the need to poop after every meal.
Usually, a change in bowel habit isn't anything to worry about.
But there can be some alarming changes that might worry us - including the color of our poop changing.
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If one day you began passing green stool, for example, you'd be pretty concerned.
Fortunately, health experts have explained what it could mean and when you should seek help.
The most common reasoning behind green stool is major changes in your diet.
And it's usually because, well - you're eating your greens!
Vegetables like broccoli, kale, spinach, peas, and asparagus are rich in chlorophyll, the chemical that gives plants the ability to make energy from sunlight.
This can help in turning your poop green.
But other strong-colored foods can have the same effect - think blueberries, smoothies, soda, food coloring in icing, and ice pops.
Some medications and illnesses can have an impact on your stool. According to UK charity Guts UK, some antibiotics can make your poop turn a funny color.
And being unwell, like having a gastrointestinal (GI) illness, could also be the cause. If you have such an infection, you'll also probably notice you're going to the toilet more often.
Crohn's disease is among the GI illnesses that could be causing the discoloring. This causes significant inflammation in your digestive tract, leading to diarrhoea, stomach aches and cramps, and even blood in your poo.
Those suffering from gluten intolerance - known as celiac disease - can also experience green poop as a side effect of the illness.
Some bacteria can change the color of your poop, such as salmonella, norovirus, and even a parasite known as giardia.
They cause your guts to empty quicker than normal, which is where the discoloration comes from.
Other people might have an undiagnosed liver or bladder problem.
Guts UK adds: "Green poo can also be caused by a condition called bile acid diarrhoea, where bile stays in the stools without being reabsorbed, and hence discolours the poo.
"This can occur if you have liver or gall bladder disease, or if you have had bowel surgery or disorders of the small intestine."
Howard E. LeWine, Chief Medical Editor at Harvard Health Publishing, said: "Intermittent green stool in someone who otherwise feels fine is usually related to eating dark green vegetables, such as spinach and kale.
"Another reason for green poop is the rapid passage of green bile from the small intestine when a person has diarrhoea.
"Medications, including bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol), iron supplements, and some antibiotics, may also result in greenish colored stool."