• Question: Why is poo brown?

    Asked by to Andrei, Ekbal, Gemma, Helen, Ruth on 24 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Helen Gath

      Helen Gath answered on 24 Jun 2014:


      Well, haha, it can depend on what you eat..have you ever eaten a lot of beetroot?
      I have to say that I researched this answer, I was not previously aware!
      Pooh is the by-product of all our food and waste breakdown which goes on in the body Red-blood cells which die have to be excreted out and contribute to a large volume of the faeces. When the blood cells die they lose their haemoglobin – this contains a pigment which makes your blood red. Losing this pigment makes the cell yellow in colour.

      Bile is another contributor to pooh. Bile helps your liver break down fat, and in doing so becomes ‘oxidised’. This changes it molecular structure and therefore its colour.

    • Photo: Ruth Nottingham

      Ruth Nottingham answered on 24 Jun 2014:


      Another thing that changes its colour is called Bilirubin

    • Photo: Ekbal Hussain

      Ekbal Hussain answered on 25 Jun 2014:


      Hiya!

      I don’t have much to add on the topic of why poo is brown. Helen and Ruth have got that covered.

      But I did just find a rather interesting video of what happens to poo and how it could make it’s way back into your house after flushing! Eeuuuww!

      Ekbal

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