Understanding Green Stool: Causes and Meaning

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the causes and implications of experiencing green stool. Participants explore various potential reasons for this phenomenon, including dietary influences and physiological processes, without reaching a consensus on the definitive cause.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that green stool could be due to indigestible plant residue, referencing a humorous anecdote about a child's experience with fingerpaint.
  • Another participant proposes that eating spinach could be a cause, questioning the initial hypothesis about indigestible plant material.
  • Black licorice is mentioned as a potential cause for green stool by multiple participants, with one expressing surprise at this claim.
  • A participant notes that vivid green stool could be linked to bile from the gall bladder, suggesting a physiological explanation.
  • Another participant speculates that food coloring, particularly green, could be responsible for the color change in stool.
  • One participant emphasizes the importance of itemizing recent food intake to identify the cause of the green stool.
  • A later reply discusses the digestive process, explaining that bile is bright green and can change color as it passes through the digestive system, potentially leading to green stool if it moves too quickly through the intestines.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the causes of green stool, with no consensus reached on a singular explanation. Various hypotheses are presented, but uncertainty remains about their validity.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on individual dietary habits and physiological responses, and the discussion includes anecdotal evidence that may not apply universally. The relationship between food intake and stool color is acknowledged but not fully resolved.

Line
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I know you guys aren't exactly biologist but,what does it mean if you get off the toilet and you see green stool?
 
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Interestingly enough,

I remember some second grader told me his "poop went green" after "taste-testing" some blue fingerpaint with a 'little' yellow on the side (:rolleyes:).

He even wanted to show his disgusting green excrement, but I was occupied with my lunch at the time.

Every time I look back at that, I remind myself that even second graders can be trying out some much more dangerous substances (.. .. ... i.e., drugs).

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So unless you know the difference between pudding and fingerpaint,

My hypothesis for your case is that the green color was probably caused by some
**indigestible plant residue**.

You can experiment or test my hypothesis by eating or putting in your mouth today or tomorrow everything that you ate or put in your mouth on that day your stools went green :smile:

Edit: Be careful with fingerpaint. Thank goodness it's non-toxic!
 
Line said:
I know you guys aren't exactly biologist
How do you come to that opinion, there are plenty of biologists here.
but,what does it mean if you get off the toilet and you see green stool?
You ate spinach?
 
Monique said:
You ate spinach?

Ahh...:frown: Looks like I'll have to scrap my nice little *indigestible plant residue* hypothesis :frown:
 
black licorice will also turn stool green
 
adrenaline said:
black licorice will also turn stool green
I've never heard of that and I eat several kilos of black licorice a year :bugeye:
 
No I hadn't eaten spinach or any other green vegatables. I mean really vivid Green like psychedellic or how the punk rockers color their hair.
 
Well, itemize everything you ate in the last 48 hours. The answer will be in there somewhere.
 
  • #10
Really bright green... Bile from gall bladder? Just thinking out loud...
 
  • #11
Something with green food coloring? ...Or any food coloring (a green tint might have been mixed with other colors so it didn't look green when eating it).
 
  • #12
Dave is more then likely right, bile. which is bright green as it mixes with our food. As it passes through us bacteria does its magic and breaks the bile salts down into simpler form which are darker in color.
The material that will be passed as stool normally undergoes a progressive color change from green to more yellow to brown. So green stool simply means that the mixture of food and digestive juices is passing through the large intestine faster than normal.
 

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