You went to the restroom and suddenly saw your poop is two-colored! Your stool is not usual brown but other colors are also seen with it.
So, why are you having two colored stool?
Two colored stool is usually a normal phenomenon. This can be due to the foods you eat every day. Sometimes it can be due to alarming situations. You need to contact your doctor immediately at that time. Besides, there are also easy remedies to follow.
It’s just a little insight about two colored stool. I have discussed elaborately its causes and remedies in this article. So, let’s just dig right into the article. I am sure you won’t regret it.
Table of Content
What’s a Normal Stool?
The normal stool consists of waste products that are being flushed out by the body. The waste products include undigested food materials, bacteria, and other toxic substances.
The color of normal poop is medium to dark brown. The stool is this color due to the presence of the substance bilirubin. The bilirubin forms when the red cell in our body breaks down.
According to the Bristol stool chart following are healthy stool according to shape:
- When your feces are sausage-like in shape and have cracks on their surface.
- If the stool is like a snake and also smooth.
The stool is soft to firm in texture. And it usually has a strong smell.
Healthy bowel movement means passing a stool once daily. Even someone passing poop every other day is considered healthy.
The maximum passing of feces is three times daily. Whereas the minimum is to pass stool three times a week.
Reasons for Having Two Colored Stool
Dual colored stool may indicate brown color poop accompanied by another unusual color. The food that you eat every day may be the main reason behind this.
Let’s see some of the examples of two colored stools along with their causes:
Greenish-Brown Stool
If the two colored stools are green and brown it is usually considered healthy.
You have started to eat more healthily. So, you include more green leafy vegetables in your diet. This is one of the reasons for having greenish brown poop.
Other foods causing greenish brown poop are:
- Green flavored drinks.
- Green flavored lollipop.
- Ice pops that have a green flavor.
- Iron supplements.
You can also have greenish-brown stool in diarrhea. The amount of green color is more than brown. This is due to the quick movement of food in the intestine.
Yellowish-Brown Stool
You are eating fried chicken and burgers on your off-day. Eating high-fat foods can cause your poop to be yellowish-brown. Gluten products, carrots, and sweet potatoes can also lead to yellowish-brown stool.
Other causes of having yellowish-brown poop:
- Celiac disease: This condition is a genetic one. Its causative factor is the intake of gluten foods when you can’t tolerate them. The gluten foods are wheat, rye, barley, semolina, and couscous.
- Having disorders in your pancreas: The disorders in the pancreas can give yellowish-brown stool. It includes the blockage of pancreatic duct, chronic pancreatitis or cystic fibrosis.
- Hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver can lead to yellowish-brown poop.
- Gallstone formation is also one of the prime causes of having yellow-brown feces.
Clayish-Brown Stool
You can have light-colored stools with a little amount of brown color. The reason of two colored stool of clayish-brown are:
- Blockage of the bile ducts.
- Damage of the bile ducts.
- Cysts blocking the bile ducts.
- Viral hepatitis.
Intake of certain medications can cause clayish-brown poop. It is the side effect of those medications. Those are:
- Large doses of bismuth subsalicylate.
- Hormonal birth control.
Blueish-Brown Stool
The blueish-brown stool can be due to eating blue or purple foods. These foods are:
- Blueberries
- Currants
- Blue colored soda
- Blue icing dessert
- Plums
- Grapes
- Grape juice
Blueish-brown poop is seen in a very rare condition, porphyria. Porphyria is the situation when your body can’t break down the heme. And this heme contains the iron.
Symptoms of porphyria are:
- Severe pain in the abdomen.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Muscle pain.
- Pain in your chest area, back, or legs.
- Diarrhea or constipation.
- Urine has brown or red in color.
Reddish-Brown Stool
Eating a large amount of the following foods causes reddish-brown stool. They are:
- Beets.
- Tomato soup.
- Food containing red gelatin.
- Red-colored drinks.
- Tomato juice.
- Cranberries.
- Red food coloring.
- Tomato sauce.
You can have reddish-brown poop due to the following conditions:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease or polyps in the colon can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. Thus, you can have a reddish-brown stool.
- Having hemorrhoids: Hemorrhoids are the swollen blood vessels around your rectum. It causes rectal bleeding leading to red-brown poop.
- Dysentery: Bloody diarrhea is dysentery. Its causative agents are Shigella bacteria or even Entamoeba histolytica parasite.
Blackish-Brown Stool
Dark-colored foods can cause blackish-brown poop. These are:
- Grape juice.
- Blueberries.
- Black licorice.
- Blood sausage.
Intake of certain medications like bismuth subsalicylate can also cause black-brown stool.
Bleeding disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract can lead to these two colored stools. Bleeding of the stomach mainly causes blackish-brown stool.
Ways to Bring Normal Stool Color
Simple changes in your life can bring your stool color back to normal. Ways to get away from two colored stool is as follow:
Moderation in Your Diet
Stop eating the foods for some time that cause dual-colored stool discussed above. You should eat all types of food groups in moderation. Excess of good things can also be bad.
Always keep in mind moderation is the key. So, eat your veggies, protein, carbohydrates, and fat in moderation. Keep a good amount of fiber-containing food in your diet.
Stay Hydrated
Hydration is very important to have a normal colored stool. You should drink plenty of water. Dehydration can also lead to constipation.
Try to drink at least 2-3 liters of water daily. In winter you may face difficulties drinking more water. Install a water drinking reminder app to drink more water.
Tell your near ones you always remind you about drinking water. You can also keep a journal to keep your water drinking habit in track.
Include Probiotics on Your Diet
You should include probiotics in your diet for healthy bowel movements. Probiotics containing foods are:
- Yogurt
- Miso soup
- Kefir
- Soft cheese
- Sour pickles
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
- Kombucha
- Natto
- Buttermilk
Probiotics are very useful for maintaining a healthy bowel movement. Try to include some probiotics in your everyday diet.
Exercising Daily
Physically active daily can help to maintain healthy bowel habits. Try to incorporate about a 30 minutes walk-in your daily routine.
You can also do light exercises for about 30-45 minutes. Do these light exercises about 3-5 times a week.
Please don’t do exercises every day. This can strain your muscles.
Keep a Food Journal
The foods that you eat every day affect the color of your stool. So keep a food journal to understand the abnormal color of your stool.
So, you don’t need to worry about the abnormal color of your stool. But if the dual-color persists for more than two weeks, contact your doctor immediately.
When to Call a Doctor?
You have changed your diet into a healthy one. And also become more active. But still, the two-colored stools exist!
You should immediately contact your doctor in this situation. Also, pay a visit to your doc if you have the following symptoms:
- If your stool is like coffee grounds.
- Heavy bleeding and blood clots with your stool.
- Severe abdominal pain.
- Severe pain around your rectal area.
- If your stool becomes full black or bright red.
- Having a very difficult time while passing the stool.
FAQs
Does healthy poop float or sink?
Answer: Healthy poop usually sinks in the toilet. You can detect it by splashing the sound of poop in your toilet water.
Floating poop indicates high-fat content in your stool due to malabsorption. This can also indicate celiac disease or chronic pancreatitis.
What does the cancerous poop look like?
Answer: Full black like tar poop indicates colon cancer. Full bright red poop can also indicate it.
If you are having this type of poop it needs further investigation and tests.
Does stress cause loose stool?
Answer: Yes! It can. Stress increases the activity of hormones like cortisol, serotonin, and adrenaline. The cortisol hormone plays the main role in producing loose stool.
Your brain also sends a signal to the large intestine to increase its movement. So, this brain signal and activity of hormones cause loose stool.
Parting Words
Two colored stool is not always something to worry about. It is mainly caused by the food you include in your diet. So, by adjusting your diet your poop can be normal.
But if dual colored poop persists for more than two weeks see your doc. Also, do the tests for diseases that might cause that two colored poop.
