The Poop Chart: What Your Poop’s Colour, Shape, and Consistency Reveal About Your Health

The Bristol Stool Chart

Physicians use the poop consistency chart, or the Bristol Stool Chart, to sort stool into 7 primary types. They use this as a source of information about digestion, hydration levels, and general gut health. Here are the 7 types of poop and what they signal:

Type 1: Dry, Hard, and Separate Lumps (Like Nuts)

• What it means: Severe constipation, typically dehydration or fibre deficiency.

• What to do: Drink more water and eat more fibre foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Type 2: Sausage-Shaped, Lumpy

• What it means: Mild constipation. Your poop is moving slowly, likely due to low fibre or dehydration.

• What to do: Drink more water and incorporate more fibre into your diet.

Type 3: Sausage-Shaped with Cracks

• What it means: Normal poop, but could use a bit more hydration.

• What to do: Continue with your healthy diet and fluid intake.

Type 4: Smooth, Soft, and Snake-Like

• What it means: Perfect stool! Your digestive system is fine.

• What to do: Continue with your healthy diet and fluid intake.

Type 5: Soft Blobs with Clear Edges

• What it means: Mild diarrhoea, perhaps stress, change of diet, or mild irritation of the gut.

• What to do: Ensure you’re getting enough fibre and avoid irritants like excessive caffeine.

Type 6: Mushy, Fluffy Pieces with Ragged Edges

• What it means: Moderate diarrhoea, often caused by food sensitivities, infections, or malabsorption issues.

• What to do: Drink fluids with electrolytes to prevent dehydration and monitor for persistent symptoms.

Type 7: Watery, No Solid Pieces

• What it means: Severe diarrhoea, often due to infection, food poisoning, or digestive disorders.

What to do: Drink plenty of water and consult a doctor if it continues.

Poop Colour Guide: What Do Poop Colours Say About Your Health?

The poop colour guide can inform you about how your digestive system is working. Brown is normal, but changes may mean diet changes, medication side effects, or maybe illness. Here's what the colour of your poop has to say about your health:

1. Brown (Healthy and Normal)

• This is normal poop colour, thanks to bile, a digestive juice produced by the liver.

• Bile and digested food mix and create a regular brown colour.

• If your stool is consistently brown and solid, your digestive system is functioning well.

2. Green Stool

Causes:

• Eating large amounts of leafy greens (like spinach, kale, or broccoli).

• Food is moving too quickly through the intestines, so bile hasn't had a chance to fully break it down.

• Taking iron supplements.

• Eating artificial food colouring (such as candy or sports drinks).

When to be Concerned: Persistent yellow stool over several days without a diet-related cause can point to an eating disorder, such as bile acid malabsorption.

3. Yellow Poop

Causes:

• Malabsorption that results in fat being excreted in excess in the stool. This is most often associated with disorders such as celiac disease or pancreatic insufficiency. 

• Liver or gallbladder disease that interferes with bile formation.

• High-fat diet.

When to Worry: If greasy, smelly, and persistent yellow poop occurs, it can be a sign of fat absorption issues and needs to be addressed by a doctor.

4. Black Poop

Causes:

• Iron supplements, black liquorice, or dark-coloured foods.

• Internal bleeding in the upper part of the digestive system (stomach or oesophagus), usually from ulcers or gastritis.

• Certain medications, such as bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol).

When to Worry: If you haven't eaten anything dark and your poop is still black, call a doctor immediately.

5. Red Poop

Causes:

• Ingestion of foods containing red pigments such as beets, tomatoes, cranberries, or red food colouring.

• Gastrointestinal tract haemorrhage in the distal tract, e.g., from haemorrhoids, anal fissure, or bowel disease.

• Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis - inflammatory bowel syndrome.

When to be Concerned: If you haven't eaten anything red in colour, then it could be a persistent issue, and you should get it checked by a doctor.

6. White, Pale, or Clay-Coloured Poop

Causes:

• Obstruction of bile ducts, which prevents bile from reaching the intestines.

• Liver disease, such as hepatitis or cirrhosis.

• Certain drugs, such as antacids with aluminium hydroxide.

When to be Concerned: If there is more than a day's worth of pale stool passed, or with dark urine or yellow skin (jaundice), call your doctor right away.

Types of Poop and Causes: What Influences Your Stool?

Your stool does not change at random—there are a number of factors that influence its shape, texture, and frequency. Understanding these determinants will help you make the appropriate changes to optimise digestion and overall health.

1. Diet: The Biggest Indicator of Stool Health

Your diet has the greatest direct impact on the quality of poop you'll have. An eating regimen that is rich in fibre from grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains creates soft, well-shaped stools that pass without any problems. Similarly, eating processed foods that have high fat and sugar results in constipation, loose stool, or spasmodic movements.

• Fiber-containing foods: These help to bulk up the stool and ease bowel movements.

• Greasy and fatty foods: Can produce diarrhoea because of rapid digestion.

• Milk, ice cream, and cheese (milk foods): These may produce diarrhoea or constipation in individuals with lactose intolerance.

• Hot and spicy food: Can irritate the digestive system and lead to loose stool or the need to have it urgently.

• Artificial sweeteners: Artificial sweeteners in diet sodas, candies, and chewing gum are shown to produce a laxative effect and cause bloating and diarrhoea. 

2. Hydration: The Key to Poop Consistency

Water is essential for smooth digestion. When you’re dehydrated, your colon absorbs more water from stool, making it hard and difficult to pass. This often results in poop types that fall under the "constipation" category in the poop consistency chart (Type 1 or Type 2).

On the other hand, increased fluid intake loosens your stools and prevents constipation. If you are consuming a lot of fibre but little fluid, fibre does the reverse and causes bloating or hard stools.

Tip: Aim for 2-3 liters (8-12 cups) per day and more if you are exercising or in a warm climate.

3. Gut Bacteria: The Role of Your Microbiome

Your body contains trillions of bacteria in your gut that assist in breaking down food, nutrient absorption, and bowel movement regulation.  AHealthygut bacteria leads to normal stool formation, but an imbalance can result in bloating, constipation, or diarrhoea.

• Probiotics (yoghurt, kefir, fermented foods): Support a healthy microbiome and enhance digestion.

• Antibiotics: May interfere with gut bacteria, resulting in temporary diarrhoea or constipation.

• Processed foods and added sugars: These can lead to the overgrowth of unwanted bacteria, resulting in bloating and irregular stool.

If you find yourself experiencing irregular bowel movements, adding foods or supplements with high probiotics can introduce balance into your system.

4. Stress and Anxiety: How Emotions Affect Digestion

Your gut and brain are paired for life. Stress, anxiety, and even excitement can speed up or slow down digestion, which actually influences stool consistency.

• Stress diarrhoea: Under stress, your body releases stress hormones that excite the gut, causing loose stools or an urgent need to make a run for the bathroom.

• Stress constipation: Conversely, prolonged stress can cause slowed digestion, constipation and harder stools.

Tip: When stool changes are noticed during stress, use relaxation methods such as deep breathing, meditation, or exercise to manage digestion.

Final Thoughts

Your poop is among the best natural health signs you possess. Whenever you suspect anything in your health, read the poop colour chart, to determine the different kinds of poop. This way, you can identify early warning signs of digestive problems before they escalate. If you or someone you experience any problems related to stools or urine, then consult anexperienced gastroenterologist at your nearest super-specialty hospital as soon as possible!

FAQs

1. How frequently should you poop?

Pooping atleast three times per day and three times per week is normal. If you are taking it more or less frequently and get upset about it, then there might be something wrong.

2. What do foods that make poop soft include?

Food rich in fibre such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes will soften poop. Drinking plenty of water also does the job with easy digestion.

3. Am I supposed to worry about poop changes?

If you observe ongoing changes in your stools, for example, ongoing diarrhoea, constipation, black or red-coloured stool, or ongoing belly ache, you should go visit a physician.

4. Can medications alter poop colour?

Yes! Iron supplements will make the stool black, certain antibiotics will colour it green, and antacids will bleach or even whiten it.

5. Why does poop float or sink?

A floating stool is a sign of excessive fat, which also occurs in malabsorption, whereas a sinking stool is generally normal. If the floating stool is chronic, get checked for gastrointestinal problems.

Citations

Azer, S. A., & Sankararaman, S. (2020, January 21). Steatorrhea. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541055/

Can Dehydration Cause Constipation in Adults or Children? (2024, April 8). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/constipation/can-dehydration-cause-constipation

Chumpitazi, B. P., Self, M. M., Czyzewski, D. I., Cejka, S., Swank, P. R., & Shulman, R. J. (2015). Bristol Stool Form Scale reliability and agreement decreases when determining Rome III stool form designations. Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 28(3), 443–448. https://doi.org/10.1111/nmo.12738

National Institutes of Health. (2012, June 13). NIH Human Microbiome Project defines normal bacterial makeup of the body. National Institutes of Health (NIH). https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-human-microbiome-project-defines-normal-bacterial-makeup-body

Rollet, M., Bohn, T., & Vahid, F. (2021). Association between Dietary Factors and Constipation in Adults Living in Luxembourg and Taking Part in the ORISCAV-LUX 2 Survey. Nutrients, 14(1), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14010122

Ruiz-Ojeda, F. J., Plaza-Díaz, J., Sáez-Lara, M. J., & Gil, A. (2019). Effects of Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiota: A Review of Experimental Studies and Clinical Trials. Advances in Nutrition, 10(suppl_1), S31–S48. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmy037