Does Eating Cocoa Powder Make Stool Turn Black?

Eating a small amount of cocoa powder generally does not cause dark stools. However, consuming excessive amounts of cocoa powder may lead to black stools. Here are the details:

1. It Does Not Cause Dark Stools:

Cocoa powder is refined from cocoa beans and is used in high-end chocolates, ice cream, candies, pastries, or other cocoa-containing foods. The color of natural cocoa powder can range from light brown to dark brown, while alkalized cocoa powder can be reddish-brown, dark brown, or brownish-black. If consumed in small quantities, with good gastrointestinal function and high tolerance, the pigments are expelled with intestinal motility, usually not resulting in dark stools.

2. It Can Cause Dark Stools:

Ingesting a large amount of cocoa powder, especially those with darker hues such as brownish-black, dark brown, or pure black/deep black cocoa powder with added food coloring, can lead to black stools. Large amounts of melanin cannot be digested and absorbed by the body, potentially mixing with feces and resulting in the excretion of black stools. It is recommended to stop consuming such foods, and the condition of black stools will gradually disappear.

Additionally, consuming iron-rich foods like pig liver, pig blood, duck blood, beef jerky, or having long-term conditions like constipation, peptic ulcer, erosive gastritis, pancreatitis, esophageal variceal rupture, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, etc., may also cause dark stool color. If dark stool color is observed, it is advisable to seek early diagnosis from the gastroenterology department of a hospital. If caused by underlying diseases, doctors will develop a suitable treatment plan based on the patient's condition.