When it Comes to Your Bowel Movements, What Does Green Feces Mean?

You may be surprised one day as you are going to flush the toilet you notice something out of the ordinary. Your Stool is green. Well don't panic just yet; this may be nothing to get alarmed about.

Causes of Green Feces

The color of our bowel movements reflects the foods that we eat. This could have a lot to do with the green bowel. If you have recently eaten a meal high in rich leafy green vegetables, this could be the culprit. These foods are loaded with chlorophyll, which we all know from elementary school, that chlorophyll is what gives plants their bright green colors. Also, another factor is foods that have high iron contents such as red meats, also tend to cause green bowel. Artificially colored foods are another cause of the green stool. Parents will tend to notice if their child consumed a large number of Popsicles; the green feces may show up. Laxatives and colon cleaners are also known to be a cause of the green bowel.

Risk factors Associated With Green stool

Although vegetarians do not eat meat so the source of their green bowel movement may not be from large amount of red meat, but rather those green leafy vegetables. Babies who are breast-feeding are at risk for developing green stool, due to the high levels of iron in the mother's milk.

Prevention Of Green Bowel Movements

A good way to prevent green feces is to eat a well balanced meal. It is not recommended to totally deplete your iron intake, or eliminate your leafy green vegetables, you may want to slightly just reduce the consumption of these foods and see if you notice a difference.

When to worry about green bowel movement

As mentioned, it is very common for your Bowel movement to be different colors depending on the foods you eat, however if there are other symptoms that develop with the green feces such as a high fever, vomiting, drastic weight loss, or diarrhea then you may want to consult your doctor or or health care professional. These symptoms may be a sign of food poisoning. There are many serious illnesses that have the symptoms starting with green stool. Celiac disease can be indicated through green stool. This is not a life threatening disease, and usually can be treated with a gluten free diet. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a serious disease that can occur due to problems in the intestines and can also be treated with an adjustment to your diet.