If Your Stool Looks Like This... See A Doctor

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Three of these stool colors are normal and three of them are dangerous. But which is which? I'm Dr. Quinn. I'm a GP and poo color comes up in my clinic more often than you'd think and for very good reason. The color of what's in the bowl is a status report of your diet, gut, liver, and risk of four different cancers. Let's start with the most common color, which for some reason is brown. Brown is exactly what we want.

[00:00:27]It's the sign that a system is working as it should. But have you ever wondered why brown? Your liver produces a yellow green fluid called bile to help digest fat. Inside that bile is a pigment called belly rubin. As that bile travels through your gut, bacteria break it down, slowly changing color along the way until it ends up brown. Think of it like copper going green over time. Just chemistry, a natural process. Brown means the pigment ended up exactly where it should. But what happens if that pigment never makes it there in the first place? Pale gray or clay colored stool. Now that's not normal. And that's something worth having a think about because it usually means that the pigment hasn't made its way into the gut at all. And if it's not getting into the stool, it has to go somewhere. So instead, it backs up into your bloodstream. And that's when you start to see jaundice, the skin and eyes turning yellow and your urine going dark almost like strong tea as your body tries to clear it another way. So the real question is why is that happening?

[00:01:37]Sometimes the cause is relatively straightforward like gallstones or inflammation around the bile duct. But sometimes it's a blockage and occasionally that blockage is something far more serious pancreatic or bile duct cancer.

[00:01:52]If you see this once and it clears, keep an eye on it. But if it sticks around or it comes with yellowing of the eyes or dark urine, that's one to speak with your doctor about and don't sit on it.

[00:02:03]Now, the next one can look alarming, but it's almost always harmless. And here's why. Sometimes this is simply your diet, leafy greens, food coloring, but more often it comes down to speed. Think of your good as a production line. Bile starts yellowy green and bacteria slowly turn it brown on a journey through. But if things are moving too fast, that process doesn't finish. It comes out still green. Fast transit, unfinished business. Usually nothing to worry about. So that's one that looks bad but is actually normal. Now for one that looks normal but can be quite bad. Now this next color I never ignore. If your stool is black, and the most important bit here is if it's sticky and looking like wet rolled tar, especially, pay attention.

[00:02:59]When you're bleeding high up in your digestive system, the stomach, the upper gut, the blood gets to digested on the way down, almost like being cooked.

[00:03:09]That's what it why it turns black. If you're on blood thinners, taking anti-inflammatories, drink heavily, or struggle with gastritis, your risk of this is higher. Now, iron tablets, blueberries, licorice, all of these can darken your stool, too. But if this is new, truly black, and has that tarlike sticky consistency, get it checked the same day. Now, for the one that sets off most people's alarm bells, but should it? Now, believe it or not, these are not real stools. So, the next one, this one is meant to be red rather than orangey. But stick with me because red is the one that most people worry about, but most of the time it's not what they fear. Blood isn't supposed to be there for sure, but naturally our minds will jump to things like cancer when we see this. Now, cancer can do it, and for that reason, it must be taken seriously.

[00:04:02]But most of the time, the blood comes from something simple. hemorrhoids, a small a small anal fissure, and sometimes it's not even blood. Roughly one in eight of us can't break down the pigment in beetroot. So, they eat it, see red, and convince themselves something's wrong when it was just the food. But if the blood is mixed into the stool, darker, keeps happening, that suggests it's coming from further up the bowel. And that's something we'd want to investigate. So, if this ever happens, definitely talk to your doctor about this one. Now, yellow stool, especially if it's greasy or floats and is hard to flush, that's your gut telling you it's struggling to absorb fat properly potentially, and instead it passes through you. Sometimes this is a problem with your pancreas. Now, most people are aware that your pancreas has a role in insulin and diabetes, but not many people know it produces the digestive enzymes that break down fat as well.

[00:04:59]Now, if those enzymes aren't doing their job, for example, in chronic pancreatitis, the fat stays in the stool, that's what gives it a pale, oily, yellow appearance. But it can also happen in other things like malabsorption with things like celiac disease. Oneoff, probably nothing.

[00:05:18]Persistent, especially if it's with weight loss or bloating, talk to your GP. But interesting and all as the different colors are, there's something more important to look out for. change.

[00:05:29]When someone tells me their stool has changed, I'm thinking about three things. Some people poo three times a day, some only once a week. So long as that's what they've always done, both those people are completely normal. But if the person who poos once a week is now pooing three times a day, that's not normal. That's when I want to hear about it. So, after you finish inspecting your poop, hopefully you'll head to the sink, you'll wash your hands, and take a long look at yourself in the mirror.

[00:05:58]something you do several times a day every day for most of your life. But I'd wager you don't know your own face as well as you think. A lot of people get important medical signs in their face that they're completely blind to. If you want to learn about the important ones that are commonly missed, have a look at this video here. Thank you very much for watching everyone. I hope it was useful.

[00:06:21]Maybe I'll see you over there. Bye-bye.