Can Vitamins Change The Color of Your Bowel Movement?

Tip

Vitamins can, indeed, change the color of your bowel movement and are one of the most common reasons for the surprising change in the appearance of your stool.

Iron Supplements

Iron supplements are given to build red blood cell counts in people who have anemia. They're also often recommended to women to compensate for blood loss experienced during menstrual periods.

Whether taken as a tablet or in liquid form, iron supplements are one of the main reasons for the occurrence of darker than normal, dark green, or even black stool. If you take an iron supplement or a multivitamin that contains iron, you should know that darkened stool is a common side effect and may even be a sign that the therapy is working, according to Medline Plus.

Go Green With Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is a popular supplement believed to have numerous benefits, from lessening chemotherapy side effects to curing diabetes. While there's little research to support these health claims, it's fairly clear, according to the Mayo Clinic, that chlorophyll is safe for human consumption.

And what's not to like? Get your chlorophyll in a shot of wheatgrass juice, and enjoy the head-clearing medicinal, yet abundantly organic, taste. If you really like the stuff, go for it. But don't be surprised if your stool appears green. Why? Well, just consider how much chlorphyll-containing grass a horse eats — then follow him around for a day.

Supplements With Carotenoids

Vegetables get their vibrant colors from a group of pigments called carotenoids, and taking multivitamins or supplements with high levels of them — beta carotene is a common one — may cause your poo to turn yellow, orange or other colors of the rainbow, according to the GI Society.

Read more: Vitamins That Are Good for Stress and Depression

Other Whole-Food Supplements

There are actually many nutritional whole-food supplements made from organic plant matter. Turmeric and its active ingredient curcumin, licorice root and antioxidants in the form of red wine flavonoids are just a few of the smorgasbord of ground-up plant matter that you can swallow in pill form.

Antacids — Their "Other" Effect

Bismuth subsalicylate is an ingredient used in certain aids for acid indigestion or diarrhea. Found in Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate and similar over-the-counter medications, it can cause bowel movements to result in dark or black stool, just as iron supplements do. But bismuth subsalicylate, as well as calcium supplements, can also go the other way, turning your stool light, white or clay- colored, according to WebMD.

Glitter Pills

Nowadays there are even pills that turn the fruits of your bowel movements into rainbow-colored glitter, though their health benefits haven't been studied — probably because there aren't any.

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