Why Green Poop? What Does Green Poop Mean? The Good the Bad & the Ugly

"My poop is green", always a good conversation topic at a party after a drink or three. But what does green poop mean? Is it serious? Need to call for the doctor or the ambulance? Fortunately in the majority of cases it is not serious and can have several explanations.

Bowel movements should regularly occur 2-3 times a day usually around 20-30 minutes after eating a meal. Healthy normal poop is brown and soft. Stool coloration or less regularity can mean things are not as they should be. Fortunately there is a simple way to reduce the likelihood of coloration & digestive disorders.

So what does green poop mean?

The Good (and most common explanations)

- Foods, green leafy vegetables, peas, beans, green peppers, broccoli, spinach, olives etc. Any or all eaten to excess

- Algae such as Spirulina or Chlorella. Common for vegetarians who can sometimes take substantial amounts for iron & vitamin B12 and all the other nutrition they contain.

- Excess iron supplement intake can turn your poop green as the body can only absorb a certain amount at a time. Also a good idea to stick with natural, organic iron containing supplements as many these days are synthetic and even less easily absorbed.

- Laxatives, antibiotics and some medications

- Refined sugar if taken to excess

- Candy, ice blocks, cordials and sports drinks loaded with toxic green food coloring.

- In breast- fed babies, caused by colostrum in the mothers milk.

The bad

In the digestive system of a healthy body, waste changes color from green to yellow to brown as it passes through the small intestines and colon.

- If stool passes through the bowels too quickly, green bile sent by the liver does not have time to complete the digestive process and green poop can result.

- Green diarrhea, usually caused by a virus or a digestive process problem.

If either continues for more than a day or so consult your health care practitioner.

- Food poisoning

The ugly

Why green poop occurs is some times a more serious biological issue

- Overgrowth of bacteria

- IBS

- Celiac disease

- Crohn's disease

- Inflammatory bowel disease

- Infectious diarrhea

- Bowel cancer

If you notice green poop in the toilet bowel think back to what you have eaten, how far back depends on how regular you are. If you cannot relate the discoloration to anything eaten, then if it continues for more than a day or so get it checked out.

For regular bowel movements and to reduce the likelihood of colored stool or digestive disorders it is always advisable to undertake a regular colon cleanse with an oxygen based cleanser. Keep the bowels free from compacted stored waste which is the cause of many problems and at the same time provide oxygen therapy for the body. Illness, disease, parasites, bacteria all thrive in anaerobic conditions.