Your stool can reveal more about your health than you might think. Changes in its colour, consistency, and texture can provide important indicators about digestive health, or even underlying medical conditions. While some variations are temporary and harmless, others may signal the need for urgent medical attention.
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Dr Kunal Sood, an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist, explains what the colour of your stool could reveal about your health. In an Instagram video posted on October 2, the doctor highlights how your stool colour can carry important clues about digestion, diet, or even disease, explaining that while some of the shades are temporary and harmless, others can indicate the need for immediate medical attention.
Black or tar-like
According to Dr Sood, black or tarry stool might be a result of bleeding in the upper GI tract caused due to peptic ulcers, gastritis or varices. He explains that when blood is exposed to stomach acid, it becomes black and sticky, resulting in melena or black stool. He flags clues such as tar-like texture, foul odour, dizziness and weakness - and if these are accompanied by fainting or rapid heartbeat - it requires urgent medical attention. However, he also mentions that dark stool can also be a result of iron supplements or bismuth, which turns the colour darker.
Bright red
{{/usCountry}}According to Dr Sood, black or tarry stool might be a result of bleeding in the upper GI tract caused due to peptic ulcers, gastritis or varices. He explains that when blood is exposed to stomach acid, it becomes black and sticky, resulting in melena or black stool. He flags clues such as tar-like texture, foul odour, dizziness and weakness - and if these are accompanied by fainting or rapid heartbeat - it requires urgent medical attention. However, he also mentions that dark stool can also be a result of iron supplements or bismuth, which turns the colour darker.
Bright red
{{/usCountry}}The doctor points out that this may be a result of bleeding in the lower GI tract. According to him, “Hemorrhoids commonly cause painless streaks on toilet paper or stool. But bleeding may also come from fissures, diverticula, colitis, angiodysplasia, or colorectal cancer.” Conversely, eating beetroots might also mimic the colour of blood in your poop due to the presence of betalain pigments. He warns that heavy bleeding is a sign of concern and requires colonoscopy within 24 hours.
Green
Green stool can result from bile acid malabsorption or when bile pigments move through the intestines too quickly to turn brown, as often happens during diarrhoea. Dr Sood also adds, “Green leafy vegetables can tint stool with chlorophyll. Often harmless if short-lived, but persistent green watery stool may signal malabsorption.”
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Brown
According to the pain medicine expert, brown is the normal colour of stool. It comes from stercobilin, a pigment synthesised when gut bacteria process bilirubin from bile. However, he highlights, “Bulky, pale, oily stool suggests fat malabsorption, and very dark tarry stool points back to bleeding.”
Pale or clay-like
Dr Sood explains that this is caused due to a lack of bile pigments. This is often seen in biliary obstructions - such as stones, strictures, or tumours - or cholestatic liver disease. The three classic symptoms to look out for are jaundice, dark urine, and clay-like stool. He warns, “In infants, persistent white stools warn of biliary atresia, needing urgent surgery.”
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
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