Types of Stool and What They Say About Your Health

Undigested food, salt, protein, and intestinal bacteria make up your waste. Your overall health may be indicated by the way your bowels move. There are several kinds of stools and your stool’s look, colour, and consistency might provide details about the health of your digestive tract.

Understanding the various forms of faeces and how to adjust your food and lifestyle will help you take care of any potential health problems and enhance your digestive system’s health.

Identifying Healthy Stool

A healthy stool is of sausage shape, smooth, and easy to pass. It is medium to light brown, indicating the presence of bile and healthy digestion. A parameter such as the Bristol Stool Chart helps determine how healthy your stool is. Below are a few characteristics of a healthy stool:

• If your stool is healthy, it should have a mild odour. This is a sign of good digestion and a balanced gut microbiome.
• If your stool is soft enough to pass without extra effort, this indicates normal digestion.
• Most people have one bowel movement per day but this is also considered normal if you have three bowel movements per day.
• Your stool colour is also essential; you should pay attention to that. Medium to light brown colour shows the presence of bile and good digestion.
• The normal size of your stool is usually 2-3 inches in diameter and 4 inches in length.

Bristol Stool Chart

The Bristol Stool Chart was developed in 1997 by Dr Ken Heaton and his team at the University of Bristol. It is a helpful tool designed to help people understand their bowel movements. 

These are the different types of stool: 

• Type 1: Hard, lumpy, and difficult-to-pass stool means constipation or digestive issues.
• Type 2: Lumpy, sausage-shaped stools mean lack of fibre, dehydration, medication reaction, or underlying digestive issues. 
• Type 3: A sausage-shaped stool with cracks on the surface means a healthy consistency. This type of stool occurs if you have a balanced diet with adequate fibre and hydration.
• Type 4: This type of stool is smooth, soft, and easy to pass and has a snake-like appearance. This indicates a healthy digestive system with a balanced diet and good hydration.
• Type 5: This stool type involves soft blobs with clear-cut edges. They are also considered healthy but suggest a lack of fibre in your diet.
• Type 6: If your stool is soft, fluffy, and mushy, then you might have mild diarrhoea. In such cases, you should drink more water and electrolyte-infused drinks.
• Type 7: This type of stool is watery and may mean diarrhoea. It can happen due to viral or bacterial infections, food poisoning, or underlying digestive problems.

Floating Poop: What Does it Mean?

If your poop floats on the surface of water, then you may have digestive issues. This can happen if your diet has only fibre or fat, which causes excess gas in your stool. It can also occur if your body is not absorbing nutrients properly. This can happen if you have celiac disease or lactose intolerance. In some cases, floating poop can also mean pancreatic insufficiency or an infection in your digestive tract. If you consistently have floating poop, consult with a doctor. 

Stool Colour and Its Implications

Your stool colour can provide important clues about your digestive health. 

• Brown

This is a healthy stool colour that means your digestive system works well after absorbing nutrients and fluids.

• Black

Black stool can occur because of iron or bismuth supplements. If you have not taken the supplements, bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract could be another reason. Ulcers, polyps, or cancer can cause it. 

• Bright Red

Bright red means a bleed in the lower gastrointestinal tract. It can occur due to haemorrhoids, anal fissures, or inflammatory bowel disease. Sometimes, the stool is red due to beetroot, cranberries, tomato juice, etc – this is not a cause for concern.

• Green

The green colour of your faeces may occur from consuming a lot of green vegetables or from incompletely digested bilirubin.

• Yellow

Yellow faeces indicate high levels of fat in the stool. It happens when you have conditions that cause malabsorption, such as pancreatitis or celiac disease. 

• White or Grey

Your stool’s colour indicates that there isn’t much bile in it. Problems with the gallbladder or liver are the reason.

Conclusion 

By and large, keeping track of your stool helps you know about your digestive health. You can also refer to the stool colour chart for different types of stool and their meanings. If your stool looks like type 1 or 2, then you may be constipated. If it looks like type 3 or 4, then it’s considered normal. Types 5 to 7 mean you may have diarrhoea. And, if you notice any consistent changes in your stool or bowel habits, then it’s best to talk to a healthcare provider.