The Colour Chart of Poo Identification
Back to discussing Poo. Now we are moving away from the signs of constipation and diarrhoea and observing the Colour of your bowel motion and weather it Floats or Sinks.
Colour
Typically the color of a healthy stool (otherwise known as poo) is from medium to dark brown. However YELLOW, GREEN and BLACK poo is NOT a good sign.
1st check what food you have consumed in the last day or so. Eg a big serve of beetroot or a green smoothie can be the cause of the colour change……….. if this is not the case and you are consistently having poos with one of these colours it’s important to see your health practitioner to have this investigated further.
BLOOD in the stool should always be investigated. It can be seen in the toilet bowl or as bright red blood on the toilet paper after wiping. Often it can be due to haemorrhoids but it can also be a sign of other serious conditions like bowel cancer.
Floats or Sinks? What is best?
Sinking stool is the ideal, so if it sits on the bottom of the bowl or slips away this is a good sign.
Floating Poos can indicate that there is some gas or undigested fats in the stool.
Gas is not a huge problem but fats can indicate that you may have a digestive issues further up the gastrointestinal track such as a lack of pancreatic enzymes or Steatorrhea (a condition due to lack of bile production.)
This can affect your ability to absorb and utilise some nutrients from your foods like your fat soluable Vitamins A, D, E and anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids EPA and DHA. It can also be responsible for slowing down the motility of the bowel.
As always if you are needing more support with your bowel health book in for a naturopathic consultation and let us help educate you further on your bowel health.
