# TMI - digestive question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 7, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505 "2003-08-07T03:08:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505/1 "2003-08-07T03:08:22Z")
I was wondering…what is it that turns shit (can I say that in GQ? It’s a good referral term for it, I think the word poop is silly) different colors? I figured it was diet…it’s orange when I eat lots of carrots, etc.
But I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s green when I haven’t eaten anything green, at least not more than usual. What causes this green?
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### Author:  [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505/2 "2003-08-07T03:32:39Z")
[Bile](http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/b1/bile.asp) can be green, and that colors your feces.
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### Author:  [@FyreFiend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FyreFiend)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505/3 "2003-08-07T03:33:39Z")
Eat anything that’s dyed green or even blue lately? I know if I drink this soda called Brain Wash(\*), which is blue, it turns my crap a Good-Lord-I-Must-Be-Rotting-From-The-Inside shade of green.
\*-Intersting stuff. Tastes like tabasco and has enough caffiene to keep you up all week
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### Author:  [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505/4 "2003-08-07T16:05:20Z")
Ugh! no, nothing like that Fyre! And you would want to drink tabasco why? 🙂
If it’s bile, does that mean something’s wrong?
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### Author:  [@Swoop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swoop)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505/5 "2003-08-08T06:48:25Z")
I’ve got a related (sort of) question, which in the interest of keeping “Digestive shit - TMI” threads to a minimum, I’ll post here:
Why is dietary fibre necessary? Is it useful to our bodies, or to the digestive system itself? If you don’t take in enough, besides reduced bowel movements, what are the consequences? Will shit just kind of back up your colon?
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### Author:  [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505/6 "2003-08-08T12:05:49Z")
Yes, Swoop, that is exactly what will happen. The shit will back up in your colon and kill you. Fibre is material used to purge waste from your digestive system.
Howard
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### Author:  [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-digestive-question/193505/7 "2003-08-09T04:10:04Z")
[This site](http://www231.pair.com/grpulse/bt/andi.html) has a lot of good, straightforward information about the digestive system (and about other anatomy/physiology questions). Bile is a natural substance produced by your liver and gall bladder and it aids in digestion. It’s not abnormal for your feces to vary in color, although it may be more likely if you do have a digestive upset.
Fiber is thought to aid in excretion because it absorbs water, keeping your stool wet and soft, thus moving things along more quickly. Fiber is present in many foods, but even if you eat nothing but low-fiber foods, it isn’t likely that your intestines will “back up” because of the action of [peristalsis](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002282.htm), the muscular contractions that move material through the digestive system. A severe lack of fiber can lead to constipation, hemmorhoids, and make you more susceptible to colon cancer.