A new social media challenge is encouraging people around the world to eat blue muffins to better understand their gut health

The #bluepoopchallenge was created by healthcare technology company ZOE and is part of a global nutrition study.

Sarah Berry, co-lead author of the study, says the #bluepoopchallenge is a culmination of a lot of gut health research, calling for people to eat muffins containing blue food coloring to monitor their own gut transit times.

The challenge is simple and can be done by anyone. Those looking to participate can visit bluepoopchallenge.com where they will be guided to bake their own blue muffins using food dye. People located in the U.S. and U.K. also have the option to purchase the muffins pre-made. To begin the challenge, participants eat two muffins for breakfast and track the time it takes until their stool appears blue-green in color.

Transit times can vary, but Berry said anything less than 14 hours or more than 50 hours between eating the muffins and seeing the blue-green color in one’s stool could be an indicator of unfavorable health outcomes. She added that the average transit time in a healthy gut is typically about 28 hours.

I can’t wait to try this, because I think I may be the Usain Bolt of gut speed!

Susan Saunders 5/28/21