Why is my poop green and what does it mean?

GREEN poop could mean a number of different things about your health.

While your poop colour may change in shape and colour depending on your diet, a drastic change could also indicate something more serious.

Why is my poop green?

This is one of the most Googled questions in Britain.

Your poo may be green because you include lots of greens in your diet, such as kale, broccoli and spinach.

Blue foods can make your poop turn green too, like the superfood blueberries.

Certain colour dyes in food – such as blue, purple and black – can also turn your stools green as they exit the body.

Greenish poop is also caused by bile, which is a sign that your liver and pancreas are working well.

If your green number two is accompanied by feeling unwell and diarrhoea, it may be a bug in your gut like salmonella, giardia, or norovirus.

These cause diarrhoea, so your poo passes too fast through your intestines or the bacteria that helps to turn it brown are killed off.

Medications can also turn your faeces green, including some antibiotics, contraceptives, and iron supplements.

No, it’s not a big deal on its own.

Green poo often shows that you are eating plenty of green vegetables, so is a good sign.

Your liver produces bile to aid digestion, and sometimes this can make your stools greenish. It’s not a problem, just a healthy system.

However, you should seek medical advice if:

You are feeling unwell and your poo has become green but you have not suddenly started on a green veg blow out.
The consistency of your number twos has changed along with it becoming green, and you aren’t scoffing loads of greens.
You haven’t made any dietary changes and your usually brownish poo is suddenly green.
Your stools have become green after a recent bone marrow transplant, because it can indicate rejection.

This depends on what is making it green in the first place, but here are some things to consider:

1. Eat a balanced diet, of which green vegetables are a part, alongside healthy fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

2. Help your liver and gallbladder by eating fermented or sour foods like kimchi and lemons.

3. Boost your gut bacteria, which contribute their own waste to yours to generate its brown colour, by taking a probiotic.

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