# The color of poo **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786 "2009-12-03T00:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/1 "2009-12-03T00:53:28Z")
For the last couple of days my stool has been bright green (you should see my bench). Not olive green mind you, but the color of grass clippings. I swear I haven’t eaten anything green in days. Could it nevertheless be something I ate? Or did some exotic strain of bacteria invade my digestive system? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/2 "2009-12-03T01:02:18Z")
[http://www.greenstool.com/green.htm](http://www.greenstool.com/green.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/3 "2009-12-03T01:08:02Z")
Also: [Green Diarrhea: Causes, Related Symptoms, and What to Do](http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/otherdiseases/a/greenstool.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/4 "2009-12-03T01:32:36Z")
Not that this helps the OP, but I feel I would be remiss if I did not provide a link to this Straight Dope column: [Why is, um, fecal matter brown? (February 27, 1987)](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/575/why-is-um-fecal-matter-brown) ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/5 "2009-12-03T01:33:16Z")
I was afraid to follow Philster’s (undoubtably very helpful) links, but I can tell you, from personal experience ``` Bright purple sugar cookie frosting=Very green waste material ``` so it doesn’t always have to be that you ate something green. Although, as the case of my cousin’s toddler once showed several of us, green Play-Doh will do as well. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/6 "2009-12-03T01:38:59Z")
Certain brands of grape drink (not juice, but more like Kool-Aid) have turned my poo bright green. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/7 "2009-12-03T02:21:17Z")
Are you not much of a drinker, but you drank a larger-than-usual-for-you amount of red wine recently? Like, say, over Thanksgiving? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/8 "2009-12-03T02:49:00Z")
Interesting article here: > **[Macho attitude undermines concussion policies](https://sports.yahoo.com/jc-directsnap120109.html)** > > Hines Ward's questioning of Ben Roethlisberger exemplifies the challenge in combating head injuries. Basically, bile is green and dead blood cells are brown. If your poo is speeding through your system very fast (possibly because of big overeating the past weekend?) it is possible to have naturally green poo. There’s a lso a list in that article about other things that can cause green poo. Poo. Poo POO Poo. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/9 "2009-12-03T02:49:44Z")
The blue food coloring in things like powerade reacts with bile and produces a bright green color. The frosting mentioned above contains the dye, as well as grape drinks. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/10 "2009-12-03T03:20:50Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > For the last couple of days my stool has been bright green (you should see my bench). Not olive green mind you, but the color of grass clippings. Clearly your body has joined the environmental movement. The news is all over making your life green. Apparently your body has taken this to heart, or in this case, to shit. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/11 "2009-12-03T16:34:49Z")
Thanks for the responses. I can’t think of anything purple or blue that I ate. The only thing unusual is that I went for 2 months without drinking any alcohol, then I had a fair amount of beer over Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to that it’s been basically poor eating habits during that time, with 2 meals consisting of burgers and fries (one of them had bleu cheese, tho). Still, it’s been quite festive. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/12 "2009-12-03T21:02:29Z")
I think large enough amounts of any artificial color will have that effect. Well, from experience, a lot of red Jell-o will have more of a reddening effect, but you get the idea. Licorice does the job for me. Quite possible the beer reacted funny with the rest of your diet. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/13 "2009-12-03T23:10:09Z")
Have you eaten cupcakes or cake with black frosting? That, too, will turn your poop green. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/14 "2009-12-04T12:01:18Z")
Black licorice turns mine green. Joe ---
**Author:** ![ascensions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@ascensions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ascensions)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/15 "2009-12-04T16:40:53Z")
Fruit Loops always does it to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mallory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mallory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallory)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/16 "2009-12-05T02:36:24Z")
Lucky Charms does it to me. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/17 "2009-12-05T02:57:13Z")
I’ve always wanted my _dog_ to have neon colored poo, so I could find the stuff at night. I heard that some pet food companies experimented with this. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-poo/519786/18 "2009-12-05T05:03:10Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > Not that this helps the OP, but I feel I would be remiss if I did not provide a link to this Straight Dope column: > [Why is, um, fecal matter brown? (February 27, 1987)](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/575/why-is-um-fecal-matter-brown) Much like how Greedo shot first, the question is why “shit” is brown, dammit. My book proves it! 😉