# What You Eat and How It Returns **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576 "2005-03-28T06:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DuhCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@DuhCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DuhCow)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/1 "2005-03-28T06:01:35Z")
What foods are notorious for discoloring fecal matter? Will any food do so in large enough quantities? ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/2 "2005-03-28T06:05:22Z")
Beets for one. I dont really know if its a food but if I take to much psyllium seed husks for a couple days it it takes on the same color. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/3 "2005-03-28T06:11:07Z")
Red wine always does that for me. Beets too. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/4 "2005-03-28T14:54:10Z")
Foods containing large amounts of blue food coloring, such as the “Blue’s Clues” apple sauce that was marketed for kids awhile back, produce some very interesing results. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/5 "2005-03-28T15:07:52Z")
Spinach! ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/6 "2005-03-28T15:18:30Z")
Reports at [poopreport.com](http://poopreport.com) claim that Faygo Blue Moon Mist soda turns your poop completely green. Makes me wish they sold Faygo in my part of the country… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/7 "2005-03-28T16:12:00Z")
Carrots, in large enough quantities. I’m guessing the same holds true for any food chock full 'o carotene. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/8 "2005-03-28T19:32:50Z")
Iron pills, while not a food, turn it dark or black. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/9 "2005-03-28T19:51:26Z")
Kaopectate, also not a food, darkens the stools. For me, it might fix up a case of diarrhea but also results in a totally disgusting shade of greenish black. It’s bismuth subsalicylate, which apparently converts to bismuth sulfide. Pepto bismol contains the same ingredient. Concord grape juice. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/10 "2005-03-28T20:12:54Z")
My favorite carbonated beverage is Welche’s grape soda…that, and every other grape soda I’ve ever tested = almost bright green. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/11 "2005-03-28T22:26:49Z")
Tropical Punch Now or Laters once convinced my husband he had colon cancer, until I pointed out his Halloween indiscretions. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/12 "2005-03-29T00:57:44Z")
And in a related vein, [how to change your urine color.](http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may98/892776771.Gb.r.html) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/13 "2005-03-29T01:40:12Z")
Smoking very strong pot can turn your feces green or gold the next morning . . . or so I’ve been told 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-you-eat-and-how-it-returns/296576/14 "2005-03-29T01:40:15Z")
Black Licorice