What causes dark green stool?

Of course, we should pay attention to the reasons why the stool is black and green, because sometimes it is caused by some diseases and can also cause harm to your health. Therefore, only after clearly understanding the reasons can we use correct treatment and medication to reduce adverse effects.

1. Normal stool should be yellowish brown. This is because after the bile secreted by liver cells enters the enterohepatic circulation, it undergoes a series of chemical changes, and the yellow-green bilirubin in the bile turns into yellowish brown and is excreted from the body with the stool. If your stool is very dark in color, there are generally several possibilities. The first is related to food. There is an old saying among Guangzhou people: Eat pig blood and excrete black shit. That is to say, if you eat pig blood or animal offal, your stool will turn red and black. If you eat a lot of green vegetables, the chlorophyll content will be high and your stool will be green. The second is related to drugs. Patients with stomach problems take stomach medicine containing bismuth, and patients with iron deficiency anemia often take iron supplements, so their stools will also turn black. Taking charcoal and some black Chinese patent medicines can also cause black stools. This type of black stool is a dull, charcoal-black color with varying shades.

2. When the stool is acidic, the bile contained in it oxidizes into green when exposed to air. Bilirubin in bile is a yellow pigment that makes feces yellow. After oxidation, bilirubin turns into biliverdin, which makes feces green.

3. In addition, due to the action of Lactobacillus bifidum, the intestines have become acidic, and the stool has been oxidized in the intestines, turning green and being excreted from the body. Therefore, dark green stool is not abnormal, but a normal phenomenon, and there is no need to worry about it. Dark green stools may usually be caused by indigestion. You can adjust your diet and then observe changes in your stool. Green stool that is watery or pasty, has a sour smell, and is foamy is often seen in diseases such as indigestion and intestinal dysfunction.

4. If the stool of infants and young children is green, it is diarrhea, accompanied by watery or pasty stools, foamy stools, and a sour and smelly smell.