{"id":466619,"date":"2026-02-13T17:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T17:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/466619\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T17:02:08","slug":"banana-poop-says-a-lot-about-your-health-heres-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/466619\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Banana Poop\u2019 Says A Lot About Your Health \u2014 Here\u2019s What"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever looked in the toilet after going number two and noticed a banana- or sausage-shaped poop<\/a>? If your answer is yes, you\u2019re likely doing something right.<\/p>\n

Doctors say folks should aim for certain stool shapes and consistencies for many reasons, including your colon health, gut health and general nutrition. <\/p>\n

One way to determine if your stool is considered healthy or not is by taking a look at the Bristol Stool Chart<\/a>, which is \u201ca reference guide to what stools should generally look like,\u201d Dr. Sophie Balzora<\/a>, a clinical professor of medicine at New York Univeristy Grossman School of Medicine and president and co-founder of the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists<\/a>, told HuffPost.<\/p>\n

The chart also helps folks determine \u201cwhat stool consistency, especially when occurring chronically, or on a longer term basis, should warrant a discussion with your healthcare professional,\u201d Balzora said.<\/p>\n

The chart classifies stool from one to seven. Types one and two are very hard poop, like constipation, while types six and seven are loose and watery, like diarrhea. <\/p>\n

Types three and four on the chart are what experts recommend as the \u201chealthiest version of having a bowel movement,\u201d said Dr. Supriya Rao<\/a>, gastroenterologist with Integrated Gastroenterology Consultants<\/a> in Massachusetts. It\u2019s also pretty smooth, not lumpy and solid. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re having a normal bowel movement that\u2019s either type three or type four, it does kind of look like a sausage or a banana shape,\u201d Rao said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we are aiming for [with] our patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to stool as sausage, or banana-shaped, is a helpful way to simply understand your health, but if you get the \u201cick\u201d from comparing your stool to food, Balzora said thinking of healthy stool as \u201csnake-shaped\u201d works, too.<\/p>\n

While the shape of your stool is certainly important, so is its consistency.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should definitely be easy to pass, not hard, but not completely watery as well,\u201d Rao said. \u201cIt should be kind of like a smooth-looking, soft stool, but that still is able to maintain its shape.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"AA banana-shaped stool is close to ideal.<\/p>\n

Eating a high-fiber diet can help you achieve an ideal stool.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, as we know, the typical American diet is very high in ultra- processed foods and animal products,\u201d Rao said. While these things can be eaten in moderation, they don\u2019t really do any favors for your bowel movements. <\/p>\n

Fiber<\/a> is one important way to help you achieve a snake, or banana-shaped stool. Most people do not get enough fiber in their diet, Rao said, which comes from veggies, fruit, whole grains, legumes, seeds and beans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the most that people get is around eight to 10 grams of fiber, and we should be getting upwards of 30 to 40 [grams],\u201d Rao explained. Fiber aids our digestion and adds bulk to the stool. \u201cIt helps the movement of our intestines, the motility. It helps the type of bowel movement we have,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe great thing about fiber is that not only does it promote good colon health \u2014 increasing fiber intake has been shown to be one of some behaviors that can help stave off colorectal cancer \u2014 but it\u2019s also incredibly heart healthy,\u201d said Balzora. \u201cFruits, vegetables and whole grains have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that make it a great go-to when ascribing to a healthier diet.\u201d<\/p>\n

A good way to add fiber to your diet is by sprinkling a tablespoon or two of chia seeds on your oatmeal or smoothie, by swapping whole-wheat pasta for white-flour pasta, or by making lentil soup or snacking on blackberries.<\/p>\n

After you eat, consider getting outside for a few minutes. Your gut will thank you. \u201cI always tell people after they have a meal to take a 10- or 15-minute walk,\u201d Rao said. \u201cIt helps jump start digestion and allows, over time, people to not feel as bloated and to have better bowel movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

You should always monitor your stool shape, color and consistency.<\/p>\n

While it may sound strange to look at the shape of your poop, it\u2019s actually a good way to keep track of your health. It\u2019s important to \u201calways look at your stool before you flush,\u201d Balzora said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking a look before you flush can also help you take note of things like blood in the stool, or black stools (which may signify old or digested blood), which should absolutely bring you to your health care professional for further evaluation,\u201d Balzora added.<\/p>\n

Blood in your stool can be a sign of colon cancer, which is now \u201cthe No. 1 cancer killer in people under the age of 50,\u201d said Rao.<\/p>\n

James Van Der Beek<\/a>, who is best known for his role as Dawson Leery in the \u201990s teen drama series \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek,\u201d recently died at 48 after a battle with colon cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s coming up more and more, and we don\u2019t know why it\u2019s happening so much more in younger people, besides different lifestyle things … but it\u2019s just important to make sure that you\u2019re not ignoring symptoms,\u201d Rao continued. <\/p>\n

Signs of colon cancer can vary, but rectal bleeding is a common one, along with abdominal pain, unexpected weight loss, anemia and changes to your poop consistency and frequency.<\/p>\n

\u201cA classic \u2018banana-shaped stool\u2019 is not the holy grail, so it\u2019s not critical to aim for this consistency every time you have a bowel movement,\u201d Balzora said, but it\u2019s still a good barometer for your gut health. <\/p>\n

If you notice that you\u2019re consistently having changes to your stool, or changes that are happening along with other digestive symptoms, this may \u201csound an alarm to a bigger problem,\u201d Balzora said.<\/p>\n

You shouldn\u2019t worry in silence or dismiss your symptoms. Instead, talk to your doctor about any concerning changes. Balzora added, \u201cAnd get comfortable talking about your stool habits with your trusted healthcare professional because everybody poops.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Have you ever looked in the toilet after going number two and noticed a banana- or sausage-shaped poop?…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[9102,3281,280,97,28328],"class_list":{"0":"post-466619","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-colon-cancer","9":"tag-doctors","10":"tag-fiber","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-poop"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}