Green poop can result from several causes, mostly related to diet, bile flow, medications, or infections:
- Dietary causes: Eating large amounts of green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, or broccoli can turn stool green due to the chlorophyll pigment in plants. Consuming foods or drinks with green or blue food coloring, such as candies, ice pops, or flavored drinks, can also cause green stool
- Bile pigment: Bile is a greenish-yellow fluid produced by the liver to help digest fats. Normally, bile changes color as it moves through the intestines, turning stool brown. If food moves too quickly through the intestines (e.g., diarrhea), bile may not have time to break down fully, resulting in green stool. Conditions like rapid transit, diarrhea, or gallbladder removal can cause this
- Medications and supplements: Iron supplements, some antibiotics, antacids containing aluminum hydroxide, and bismuth subsalicylate (found in Pepto-Bismol) can cause greenish stool
- Infections: Certain bacterial infections (e.g., Salmonella, E. coli), viral infections (e.g., norovirus), or parasites (e.g., Giardia) can cause green stool, often associated with diarrhea due to faster intestinal transit
Green poop is usually not a cause for concern if you feel well and it is linked to diet or medications. However, if green stool persists or is accompanied by symptoms like abdominal pain, weight loss, bleeding, fever, or vomiting, medical evaluation is advised
. In summary, green poop commonly reflects dietary intake or rapid bile transit but can occasionally signal infections or medication effects
