Orange poo can be a surprise, especially if you cannot remember eating anything orange. In most cases, orange stool is linked to food like carrots or sweet potato, or to stool moving through your gut faster than usual. Occasionally it is worth checking, and this guide explains how to tell the difference.
Orange poo is most often linked to beta-carotene-rich foods, food colourings, some medicines, or faster gut transit, which is thought to leave less time for gut bacteria to turn bile pigments brown [1][2]. Pale stool alongside yellowing skin or eyes should be checked urgently by a GP or NHS 111 [3][4].
Why is poo normally brown?
Your liver releases bilirubin, a pigment from broken-down red blood cells, into bile, and gut bacteria convert it step by step into the pigments that colour stool. In 2024, researchers identified BilR, a gut bacterial enzyme behind a key step, and found it in nearly all healthy adults [1]. Change the amount of bile, the speed of transit or the pigments in your food, and the shade can shift, as our stool colour chart shows.
What causes orange poo?
Food is the usual suspect. Carrots, sweet potato, squash and mango are rich in beta-carotene, an orange pigment, and high intakes can even tint skin yellow-orange, harmlessly [2]. Food colourings may do the same. Speed matters too: with loose stool or diarrhoea, bacteria have less time to transform bile pigments, which may leave stool yellow, green or orange [1], the same idea behind yellow stool. Some medicines, such as the antibiotic rifampicin, can turn body fluids reddish orange [5].
| Possible cause | Why it may happen | What usually happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Beta-carotene foods | Pigment that is not absorbed passes through | Fades within a day or two |
| Food colouring | Dyes pass through the gut | Fades once the food has passed |
| Fast gut transit | Less time for bile to turn brown | Settles as stool firms up |
| Some medicines | The medicine colours body fluids | Often expected; ask your pharmacist |
| Reduced bile flow | Less bile reaching the gut | Needs checking, especially with pale stool or yellow skin |
When is orange poo worth checking?
Most orange poo settles within a day or two. Speak to a GP if it persists without an obvious cause, or if stool looks pale or clay coloured, which may mean less bile is reaching the gut [3]. Red or black stool is different; see our guides to blood in poo and black stool.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if your skin or the whites of your eyes look yellow, perhaps with itchy skin, darker pee and paler poo [4], or your poo is black or dark red, or you have bloody diarrhoea [6].
See a GP about any changes to your poo that are not usual for you [6].
How do you work out what caused your orange poo?
Rewind 24 to 48 hours. A big bowl of carrot soup? A new supplement or medicine? Looser stool than normal? Checking consistency on the Bristol Stool Chart alongside colour helps, because stool form may reflect gut transit time [8], and a gut health baseline makes real changes easier to spot.
Can carrots really turn your poo orange?
They can, especially in large amounts or as juice. Whatever beta-carotene your body does not absorb can pass through and tint stool [2]. It is a harmless side effect of eating colourful vegetables, and it should fade within a day or two.
Is orange poo a sign of IBS?
Not on its own. IBS is identified by a pattern of symptoms, such as tummy pain linked to bowel habit changes, after other causes are ruled out [9]. A single orange poo tells you very little; our guide to tracking IBS patterns covers what is more useful.
One orange poo after a carrot-heavy dinner is almost certainly food; a pattern is what is worth noticing. Gutsi is a gut health tracker that records consistency and captures frequency every day, passively, so you can see when your patterns change. Add a quick note of what you ate, and what is normal for you becomes clearer.
References
- Hall B, Levy S, Dufault-Thompson K, et al. BilR is a gut microbial enzyme that reduces bilirubin to urobilinogen. Nature Microbiology. 2024;9(1):173-184.
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin A and Carotenoids: Fact Sheet for Consumers.
- MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine. Stools: pale or clay colored.
- NHS. Jaundice. nhs.uk.
- NHS. Rifampicin. nhs.uk.
- NHS. Symptoms of bowel cancer. nhs.uk. Reviewed September 2026.
- Rose C, Parker A, Jefferson B, Cartmell E. The characterization of feces and urine: a review of the literature to inform advanced treatment technology. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. 2015;45(17):1827-1879.
- Lewis SJ, Heaton KW. Stool form scale as a useful guide to intestinal transit time. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. 1997;32(9):920-924.
- Chey WD, Kurlander J, Eswaran S. Irritable bowel syndrome: a clinical review. JAMA. 2015;313(9):949-958.
Gutsi provides lifestyle and wellness insights only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.
