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Why is poop brown? |
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
Potty Time
Going to the bathroom is your body's natural way of getting rid of things you don't need. Even when you eat the healthiest diet, there are still parts of your food your body discards as waste, and this is why you pee and poo.
You've probably noticed that poop is almost always brown. The shade can change, usually depending on what you’ve eaten, but some form of brown is almost always the case.
Poop gets its brown color from what’s in it – a mixture of wastes, bacteria, and water plus some special helpers your body uses to assist with digestion. Among these is bile, which is green-yellow, and bilirubin, which is brownish.
It’s the combination of green-yellow bile, brownish bilirubin, and the specific things you’ve eaten that give your poop its well-known color!
Potty Time
Occasionally when you go to the bathroom, you might notice more than just poo in the toilet -- sometimes you might spot little bits of food, too!
Certain foods that your body doesn't digest fully will occasionally show up in the toilet when your body discards them as waste. Two good examples are corn and certain seeds!
You don't have to be scared or nervous if this happens. Your body is pretty good at knowing what it needs and what it doesn't need. But, if you ever go to the bathroom and see or feel something that makes you worried, talk to a grown-up about it.
