Orange Bowel Movement
Human feces should naturally be brown in color; many variations of brown, but brown nonetheless. If your stool appears orange – check the light to be sure (sometimes just a shift in the shadows could change everything)
What Causes Orange Bowel Movements?
There are many common and benign reasons for an orange stool. Supplement and medications that may contain beta-carotene could be to blame. It could also be caused by foods such as:
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Sweet Potato
- Winter Squash
- Any food with artificial yellow or orange coloring
- Fresh Thyme
How to Cure Orange Bowel Movements
If you eliminate these foods and your stool is still orange, then it could be caused by not enough exposure to bile salt. Bile is greenish yellow and when it reacts with enzymes in the bowel it turns stools brown.
One reason could be lack of bile; either because the body is not making enough or because the bile ducts are blocked. Blocked bile ducts can be caused by gallstones, cysts or tumors.
A second reason that bile is not being absorbed could be that the stool is moving too quickly through the body – possibly due to diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome or short bowel syndrome.
If you cannot attribute your orange stool to a dietary issue then consult your physician.