Passing of poop, stool or faeces is regarded as a normal phenomenon in the human physiology. Poop is regarded as the solid waste matter discharged from the intestine after digestion of food has taken place through the anus.
Poop is a collection of water (which makes up about 75%), bile, undigested food like fibre, fat, inorganic salts, mucus and dead bacteria. Majority of the food you eat can affect your poop in its texture and its colour.
How your diet can affect the texture of your poop
Poop is usually soft to firm in appearance and its shape is determined by the intestine. The Bristol Stool Chart or Meyer’s Chart categorised the human poop into seven categories on its consistency, shape and appearance.
Type 1: Separate hard lump (indicates severe constipation)
Type 2: Lumpy and sausage like (indicates mild constipation)
Type 3: Sausage shape with cracks in the surface (stool is normal)
Type 4: Like a smooth, soft sausage or snake (stool is normal)
Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (stool lacks fibre)
Type 6: Mushy consistency with ragged edges (indicates mild diarrhoea)
Type 7: Liquid consistency with no solid pieces (indicates severe diarrhoea)
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, women and men should consume 25 and 35 grams of fibre a day, respectively. Diet rich in fibre plays a big role in regulating bowel movement as well as adding bulkiness to your poop. Two types of fibre exist: soluble and insoluble.
Soluble fibre dissolve in water, which makes your poop firmer and slower to pass. Foods high in soluble fibre include oats, edamame or green soybeans, oranges, apples, bananas and Brussels sprouts.
Insoluble fibre does not dissolve or absorb water. They add bulk to poop and speeding its passage through the gastrointestinal tract. Foods rich in insoluble fibre — wheat bran, beans, nuts, the skin of fruits, bulgur and leafy vegetables.
How your diet can affect the colour of your poop
Poop can present in different ranges of colour. Its colour is influenced by your diet as well as the amount of bile in your stool. Various shades of brown and even greenish-brown are considered to be normal.
Brown Stool
The colour of poop is determined by the presence of bacteria in the intestines and the presence of bile pigments called bilirubin (broken down red blood cells). Bacteria break down bilirubin in the intestines, causing poop to appear brown. The shade of brown may vary slightly for a variety of reasons: from how much fat you consumed, to how many grains were in your diet. Fat turns to bile during the digestion process and can lighten the colour of your stool.
Green Stool
It occurs when your stool moves through the gastrointestinal tract rapidly. It has more bile salts than bilirubin. Eating significant amount of green foods like spinach or foods that have added green food colouring can also turn your poop green.
Black Stool
Food containing black colouring as well as licorice, iron supplements and bismuth subsalicylate can cause your poop to turn black. It can also be an indication of bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract.
Red Stool
Beets, tomato juice or soup, radishes, turnips, cranberries and red food colouring can give your poop a red shade. It can also be the presence of blood (from lower gastrointestinal tract) in the poop.
Orange Stool
Foods rich in beta-carotene include carrots, sweet potatoes, and winter squash are responsible for the orange colour in the poop.
Yellow Stool
This is usually greasy in appearance. It is as a result of excessive fat in your poop. Diet plays little or no significant role in the colour change because most of the time it is as a result of malabsorption disorders like celiac disease.
Pale Stool
This can be very concerning because it is not as a result of the food eaten. It is suggestive of insufficient bile in the poop. This may be due to a problem with the liver or gallbladder, which both help in the secretion of bile.
Conclusion
A balanced diet as well as drinking sufficient amount of water helps in normal and healthy bowel movement. It is advised to check your poop before you flush it down the drain as you may notice some changes. If you have a colour change in your poop that lasts for a week or more and it is not related to your diet, you should visit your doctor.
Chronic constipation and diarrhoea that occur for more than a few days are suggestive of symptoms of some conditions that need immediate attention.
Author Profile:
Dr. Charles-Davies Omiete is the founder of 25 Doctors, a website that helps you chat with doctors online.