Poop. Something we all do and definitely the butt of many jokes. (See what I did there?) If you are concerned about your pooping habits or just like talking about poo in general, then this is the article for you.
First things first, what is an acceptable colour of poo? Any shade of brown and tinged green means you are good to go! When it is another colour outside of those two something else might be going on.
Green
When your poo is green it might mean that you have recently eaten a lot of greens or food is passing too quickly through your body.
Yellow
If your poo is yellow, you might have too much fat in your diet or have celiac disease.
Clay-coloured or white
Having a white poo would be quite the shock and it could mean that your bile duct is blocked.
Red
This could mean you have bleeding in your lower intestine. Don’t panic yet! It could also just be from hemorrhoids or eating red food.
Black
Iron supplements and eating black licorice have a tendency to make your poop darker than normal; however, it could also mean there is bleeding in your upper intestinal tract.
Why does my poo float?
An article by Everyday Health says that this could be a sign of high fat content or malabsorption which means you can’t absorb enough fat or other nutrients from the food you are eating.
I’m pooping 3 times a day! What is wrong with me?
Nothing! Everyone has different pooping schedules and that is completely normal. According to a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, it is normal to poop 3 times per week to 3 times daily. A concern might be if your pooping schedule changes from what you are used to.
What do the different shapes of my poo mean?
There is this awesome thing called the Bristol Stool Scale which classifies your poop into different types. Types 1 and 2 are signs of constipation. Types 3 and 4 are what you want your poop to look like. Types 5, 6 and 7 are indicators of diarrhea. See the photo below for descriptions of each type.