Ask Tappity: Science Questions for Kids > Why Is Poop Brown?
Why Is Poop Brown?
Foods are all kinds of colors, but poop is almost always brown. What gives? Watch this video to find out, or read our explanation below!
Poop Starts Out Grey
Poop is all the solids that are leftover from the food you eat after your body has taken out all the nutrients it can use. What’s left is a grayish mush - all of the colorful pigments that give food color have been taken out. So what turns it brown?
Bacteria In Your Intestines Turn Poop Brown
Your intestines have lots of helpful bacteria who live there and help you digest all kinds of things. One of these bacteria helps to digest old dead blood cells that your body needs to get rid of, and when it does that, it makes a chemical called stercobilin that happens to be brown. Because there isn’t much else to color your poop, it all just turns brown!
Poop Can Be Other Colors
Poop is brown most of the time, but certain foods can affect its color. Beets, for example, result in reddish poop, because some bodies can’t fully break down the compound betanin that gives beets their color. Some colors, though, can indicate a medical issue.
Digestive Facts for Kids
Got digestive questions? We’ve got digestive answers!
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Remember the bacteria that help break down food? Some of them end up in your poop, and the chemicals they produce result in the bad smell. Those chemicals are fine in your intestine, but would make you sick if they were in your stomach, which is why you interpret the smell as bad.
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We fart to get rid of built-up gas in our bodies. If we couldn’t get rid of the gas by farting or burping, it would just build up inside us until we exploded.
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People typically fart around 10-20 times per day.
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Nope! Not forever, anyway. It will eventually come out.
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If you don’t let your gas escape, it can cause pain, bloating, and heartburn. Eventually, though, the gas can be absorbed into your bloodstream and released as a burp. So, if you hold in your farts long enough, you’ll eventually burp them out.
More Answers to Human Body Questions from Kids
Why do we have eyebrows? Why are tears salty? The Tappity Human Body Library has interactive lessons with answers to those questions and more!
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