# Color Code for your Feces (kind of gross) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090 "2003-10-07T16:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smootman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@smootman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smootman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/1 "2003-10-07T16:26:54Z")
so, this is kind of a gross question… but does the color/consistency of your excrement mean something… If it’s runny or almost like a clear jelly… I’ve always wondered if a green stool meant I was lacking something… ---
**Author:** ![NTChrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@NTChrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NTChrist)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/2 "2003-10-07T16:31:13Z")
Clear jelly??? :o ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/3 "2003-10-07T16:32:28Z")
My mother always told me that green stool meant you were sick. Whether that’s just an old wive’s tale or not, and what the underlying mechanism is if true, I do not know. Barry ---
**Author:** ![smootman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@smootman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smootman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/4 "2003-10-07T16:34:05Z")
But does the green mean your body was missing x vitamin? ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/5 "2003-10-07T16:40:33Z")
As I said, I don’t know what the underlying mechanism is (assuming that green poop really does indicate illness). I always assumed that it was the presence of some virus or bacterium that caused the color change and not the _lack_ of something, but I really just don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/6 "2003-10-07T17:09:03Z")
Green shit means you ate froot loops. ---
**Author:** ![mrbuddylee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@mrbuddylee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrbuddylee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/7 "2003-10-07T17:12:15Z")
green generally means that you are something blue or purple. Happens to me on occasion when I drink grape soda or lots of blueberries. Clear jelly, don’t know about that one… Poop is a mysterious thing… I’ve heard you should only really worry if it changes and stays changed for a long time, is red or pink, very pale and hard, or dark dark black and like coffee grounds… But I’m no poop expert. ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/8 "2003-10-07T19:10:40Z")
There is also the effect of anthocyanins, the natural colouring in many fruits and vegetables. These are pH indicators - red in acid, green in alkali. If you eat fruits such as blueberries and blackberries, the anthocyanins turn green in the mildly alkaline environment of your small intestine, and sometimes get rushed through fast enough to miss being re-acidified in the colon, hence come out green. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/9 "2003-10-07T19:24:21Z")
All together now… Is your shit light brown? Does it dangle to the ground? Does it dangle like a string? Does it come out nice and round? Does it emit a noxious odor Like a Continental Soldier? Is your shit light brown? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/10 "2003-10-07T22:02:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Feces are mostly shades of brown or yellow because they are also made up of an orange-yellow substance called bilirubin that is present throughout the body and particularly in the intestine. When iron combines with bilirubin, it gives it a brown color. The iron-influenced bilirubin then combines with the feces and turns it brown. > > One condition that can cause yellow poop is an infection known as giardia. Giardia are tiny organisms that are also parasites. Parasites are organisms that live in or on another organism to obtain nourishment. If giardia infects the intestines it can cause severe yellow diarrhea. This is a dangerous infection that can spread to others. In fact doctors that see it have to report it to the government’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention. > > Another cause of yellow poop is a condition known as Gilbert’s syndrome. This condition is characterized by jaundice (a yellow discoloration of the skin) and hyperbilirubinemia. Hyperbilirubinemia is when too much of a substance known as bilirubin (a red pigment secreted by the liver) is present in the circulating blood. Since bilirubin is an orange-yellow color, too much bilrubin in the blood can lead to yellow-colored skin and yellow poop. See your doctor if you are concerned about the color of your poop. > > Feces can be black if dried blood is present in it from a bleed. More active bleeding can lead feces to be red. In addition, intense red food coloring can cause bright red poop. Sometimes brightly colored foods pass through the body almost unchanged, and the poop may be speckled with bright red spots. Even more strange is that feces can be blue or green in children with certain illnesses or if they eat food with a lot of green or blue food coloring. Babies can also get green feces when they are given food for the first time. > > Adults can also have green poop if they eat large amounts of green, leafy vegetables or if they eat large amounts of foods with green food coloring. Green feces can also occur with diarrhea if bile salts pass through the intestine unchanged. Bile salts are substances that make up bile, which is a fluid produced by the liver that help digest fat. The liver is the largest organ in the body and is responsible for filtering (removing) harmful chemical substances, producing important chemicals for the body, and other important functions. > > Feces can even appear white if one drinks a substance known as barium sulfate. Barium sulfate is often given to patients getting an X-ray of the digestive tract because it assists doctors in visualizing the resulting picture from the X-ray better. See your doctor if you are concerned about the color of your poop. Source: [http://www.medfriendly.com/feces.html](http://www.medfriendly.com/feces.html) There you go. The straight poop on feces species of color. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/11 "2003-10-07T22:43:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Feces can even appear white if one drinks a substance known as barium sulfate. Yes, bright, papery white. I’ve wondered why they don’t add some sort of dye to the barium mix; make em come out in all the colors of the rainbow! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/12 "2003-10-07T22:59:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mrbuddylee \* > **green generally means that you are something blue or purple.** I am? Well, sometimes I’m a little blue, but never purple. Lavender maybe… ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/13 "2003-10-08T03:38:07Z")
Green means you’re just friends. Blue means it’s true love. Black means you’re stressed. Red means you’re anxious. Oh wait, I thought we were talking about those little card thingies where you press your thumb on the black square and hold it for 10 seconds and then it tells you something about yourself or your future … ---
**Author:** ![KenGr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecc23a/32.png) [@KenGr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenGr)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/14 "2003-10-08T03:48:14Z")
For the first time I’m happy to be colorblind. ---
**Author:** ![Omnipresent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@Omnipresent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnipresent)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/15 "2003-10-08T03:48:57Z")
I love poop discussion. It always comes up at the dinner table for some reason. Anyway, I’ve noticed that if you eat a goodly amount of artificially flavored and colored licorice/black jelly beans, my shit is green. Go figure? I really don’t believe that you’re missing something if it’s green. Ever check out an infants shit? They must be eating algae or something! ---
**Author:** ![kp\_72110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e68b1a/32.png) [@kp\_72110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kp_72110)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/16 "2003-10-08T04:38:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mrbuddylee \* > \*\*green generally means that you are something blue or purple. Happens to me on occasion when I drink grape soda or lots of blueberries. > But I’m no poop expert. \*\* Well that would explain why it was green after eating those 2 bowls of BooBerry. The clear gel could be mucus (snot). ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/17 "2003-10-08T04:56:21Z")
IANAPoopologist, but my friend’s dad told me that the medicine he used to take actually separated the grease and fat from foods. He’d crap that out in a jelly-like substance at different times than the regular delivery. I do not recall what kind of drug he was taking. ---
**Author:** ![thatDDperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@thatDDperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatDDperson)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/18 "2003-10-08T07:16:29Z")
Oh, man…you guys should see the discussions on my carcinoid cancer e-list. Beige, taupe, tan…sometimes it’s really funny to see the response of the people that don’t have liver mets yet. They just freak out…especially when the word ‘foamy’ comes into play. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/19 "2003-10-08T11:24:27Z")
Burnt umber-colored feces usually means that you’ve been eating Crayolas again. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090/20 "2003-10-08T12:03:15Z")
All I know is that Guinness makes your poop black. If you existed on a diet of nothing but sweetcorn, would you shit cobs? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-code-for-your-feces-kind-of-gross/206090.md?page=2)