Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Does Your Poop Look Like This? (Signs You’re NOT Healthy)

Jul 21, 2025

Exploring the intriguing world of stool health, the discussion dives into the significance of poop shape and color. Normal should be brown and sausage-shaped, while variations like small pellets or soft stool can indicate digestive issues. Floating, light-colored stools may signal liver or pancreas problems, while black or red stools could hint at more serious conditions. Tips for restoring gut health, such as consuming kefir and berries, add a practical twist to this insightful look into what your poop says about your health.

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INSIGHT

Poop Shape Reveals Digestive Issues

Small, hard pellet-shaped stools indicate slow digestion due to an issue higher in the digestive tract.
Thin, pencil-shaped stools suggest a large intestine problem like obstruction or polyps needing medical evaluation.

ADVICE

Restore Gut Bacteria Effectively

Consume kefir or yogurt blended with blackberries to restore good bacteria lost during diarrhea.
This helps replenish beneficial microbes and resolve loose stools quickly.

INSIGHT

Stool Color Indicates Liver Health

Normal stool colour is brown due to bile from the liver.
Light or gray stool suggests liver or bile duct problems, sometimes before other symptoms appear.

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Today, we’re going to talk about poop shape and color, and address gut warning signs in your stool. Normal poop should be brown and sausage-shaped. Small, hard, pellet-shaped poop indicates that something may be wrong higher up in the digestive tract.

Soft stool indicates that you may have some missing microbes or food allergies. Pathogens can cause loose stool as your body tries to quickly eliminate them. Unfortunately, with diarrhea and liquid stool, good bacteria are also eliminated. Consume kefir or yogurt with blackberries to restore the good bacteria in your digestive tract.

Thin, pencil or cigar-shaped stool signifies a problem in the colon. This could mean the colon is impacted, you have many polyps, or there’s some obstruction in the bowels. You’d want to get this checked by a medical professional.

Normal stools should be brown in color. If you have a problem with your liver or you have thickened bile or bile sludge in the bile ducts, your poop will be light-colored or gray. Floating stool that is also light-colored further confirms this problem.
If your problem is linked to the pancreas, your stool will have a bad odor and may appear greasy. Rarely, this could be associated with cancer, but most of the time, it is caused by an overworked pancreas.

Black stool is often a sign of something more serious, usually caused by oxidized blood. Blueberries and blackberries can also cause black stool.
Beets can cause your stool to appear red. Hemorrhoids can cause red stool due to fresh blood. Collinsonia root is an excellent remedy for hemorrhoids. Green stool is usually caused by chlorophyll from vegetable consumption.

It’s not normal to poop once every 2 to 3 days. You should have a bowel movement 1 to 2 times daily.

Intermittent fasting is the most important thing you can do for your digestive tract. Frequent eating is very problematic and never allows your digestive system the chance to reset.

Incomplete digestion usually results from low stomach acid. Betaine hydrochloride is the best remedy for this problem.

Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.