Gritty Poop can mean that you have constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, malabsorption, bile duct obstruction or the gritty poop may also be from certain medications like antibiotics and antacids.
Certain medications like antacids and antibiotics can alter the consistency of your poop and cause the poop to become gritty.
If your bile ducts are blocked, the bile pigments can't reach your intestines and can result in gritty, clay colored poop.
When your body does not absorb the nutrients properly, the undigested food particles can then pass through your intestines and appear as gritty in your poop, which can be caused by conditions like pancreatic insufficiency, Crohn's disease or even celiac disease.
Irritable bowel syndrome also known as IBS can cause a change in your bowel habits, which can include gritty poop, which can be a result of inflammation and muscle spasms in your digestive tract.
Constipation can occur due to lack of fiber, certain medications or being dehydrated, which can cause your poop to remain in your colon too long and become hard and break into small gritty pieces.
If the gritty poop goes away within a day or two it's usually not a concern, but if the gritty poop continues or you have any abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever or bloating you should seek medical attention to find the underlying cause.
Healthy poop should appear as and look like a sausage or log with a smooth surface and be relatively easy to pass and be brown in color.
However healthy poop can be either brown or even green in color and still be healthy.
A healthy poop, should reflect a mixture of all the colors of the food you eat and that bile.
Almost any shade of brown, or even green, is considered OK.
Normal poop color is brown.
This is due to the presence of bile in the stool.
Normal poop color can range from light yellow to brown to almost black.
However if your poop is red, maroon, black, clay-colored, pale, yellow, or green this may signify a problem.
Bile from the liver creates the typical brown hue of a healthy bowel movement.
When the poop is very pale, it often means that not enough bile is reaching the poop.
Problems with the gallbladder, pancreas, or liver are reasons why poop may not contain enough bile.
Normally poop should be brown, have a peanut-butter texture, and look like a sausage.
If you have abnormal colors, it may be due to something you ingested.
But it may also be due to serious illness.
If it's abnormal once, it's likely nothing to worry about.