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Topics: Health
Jess Battison
Whether we want to admit it or not, sometimes when we have a peek down the toilet there might be a raised eyebrow or even a gasp at the sight.
Maybe you overdid it and got cocky with that dodgy takeaway down the road the night before, or maybe there’s a much more alarming reason for the way your poo looks.
A doctor has warned when your number two means you need to immediately seek medical help.
Gut scientist Dr Will Bulsiewicz is on a mission to help others improve their health with food and lifestyle changes.
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And with that, he’s shared the truth behind your poop in a chat with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast.
The doctor and author of Fibre Fuelled recommended ‘fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts and legumes’ for producing healthier poos.
Dr Bulsiewicz went through various shapes of poos and described what each one meant.
He labelled ‘type one’ as having ‘hard lumps’.
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If your poo is coming out in small lumps but are hard to pass through, then he says you’re ‘very constipated’.
Next up is a ‘lumpy and sausage like’ s**t which means you’re just slightly constipated.
Then there’s type three, ‘a sausage shape with cracks in the surface’ which the doc says indicates you’re healthy.
Plus if it’s a ‘smooth, soft sausage or snake’ then you’ve got yourself a healthy gut. Congrats.
But if it’s type five with ‘soft blobs and clear-cut edges’ then you’re lacking fibre in your diet.
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Poo that’s a ‘mushy consistency with ragged edges’ indicates inflammation and then ‘liquid’ is due to inflammation and diarrhoea.
So, that’s what the shapes are saying. Now for colours of poop.
The doctor said: “If you have white poop, there's a blockage that stops the bile from mixing with their intestines.
“If you're struggling to process your fat, you have yellow poop.”
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Green poo could indicate infection but it’s more likely you’ve had one too many green juices.
Similar for blue stool - maybe you’ve just eaten too many blueberries.
But there’s one particular colour that indicates you need urgent medical attention: Red.
“That's blood in your stool. That's not normal and is grounds to talk to your doctor,” he said.
The expert warned red poo is often because of colon cancer or haemorrhoids.
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And if your poo is black, you may also need to see a doctor.
“If you have black stool, you had Pepto Bismol or you have bleeding in your stomach. Your stool will turn black it will smell terrible and it will be like tar,” Dr Bulsiewicz added.