© HELEN PADARIN PTY LTD 2016. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Do you know your poop?

Having an understanding of what you might normally just flush and forget, can actually help you learn about your health and overall wellbeing.

This guide will help you uncover what the shape, colour texture and smell of your poop is telling you about what’s happening inside your body.

© HELEN PADARIN PTY LTD 2016. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

© HELEN PADARIN PTY LTD 2016. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE SMILEY LOG

THE LIGHT SWIMMER

SHOW AND TELL

THE DARK SUBMARINE

THE COW PAT

THE SKINNY MINI

The ideal poop!

Well formed and easy to pass, this poop is medium brown in colour, has a bit of an S or C shape to it, is easy to pass 1 – 3x daily, and each one feels like a complete evacuation. You’re aiming to pass a good 12 inches of smile inducing poop.

This poop is generally formed but varies in colour and there are bits of identifiable food still visible. This can be a result of not enough chewing and or low stomach acid and or not enough pancreatic digestive enzymes.

This poop is not formed, but not watery like diarrhoea. Mush is a good word to describe it!

Colour can vary and food may be visible. This can be a food reaction and can indicate malabsorption.

This narrow poop can be cylindrical or like a ribbon and can occur if there is obstruction in the bowel. The obstruction can be caused by faecal matter that’s compacted into the gut wall, leaving only a narrow tube through which some poop can move, or it can be a sign of something more serious like polyps or tumours that obstruct poop flow. Be sure to get it checked out.

Dark in colour, strong in odour and usually a sinker, this poop can occur if your digestive functions are not up to scratch and you have an intake of processed and refined foods. It is also a sign of disrupted gut flora. Very dark (black) poops of any shape or consistency can be due to old blood from within the intestines. This is serious and needs to be investigated.

Some medications and supplements (like charcoal or poorly absorbed forms of iron) can also cause very dark / black stools.

Usually light in colour — greenish, yellowish or even white, this floating poop is an indication that you’re not digesting fats very well, in which case your liver and gall bladder may need checking up on and some support provided.

THE MILKY WAY

CHUNKY MONKEYROCKY ROADWATER WORKS

Diarrhoea can be a result of food allergy or intolerance, an infection such as parasites or food poisoning or even stress.

THE RAINBOW POOP

If your poop changes colour regularly by what you eat, like green if you’ve eaten lots of greens and red if you’ve eaten beetroot, then you’re likely not producing enough digestive acids.

Digestive acids break down the pigment in food so that it should all be the ideal medium brown in the end.

This poop is one that can come in all shapes and sizes with visible mucous, which can sometimes look milky.

Mucous if a sign of inflammation and the source of this inflammation needs to be addressed.

Usually dark and formed into stuck together balls or pellets, this poop indicates that you may be dehydrated, have gut flora imbalance, experiencing stress, are consuming too much protein or not eating enough plants.

Usually medium to dark brown, thick in size and harder to pass, often requiring some straining. This may be an indication that you’re eating too much protein, have inadequate digestive acid and or enzyme production, have lax muscles in your intestines or not enough plant food.