What Does the Color of My Poop Mean?

You glance down before you flush, and it’s not brown. It’s green, or unusually dark, or an odd shade of red, and you spend the next ten minutes mentally replaying yesterday’s dinner. You’d rather not ask anyone. You’d also rather know.

Color by color

Cleveland Clinic’s¹ list:

• Green. Often leafy vegetables or green food dye. It can also reflect infections, irritable bowel syndrome or food moving through the intestines too fast. See IBS.
• Red. Red-dyed drinks or beets can do it, but so can rectal bleeding from hemorrhoids, ulcers or fissures, or inflammatory bowel disease. See hemorrhoids.
• Yellow. Carrots, sweet potatoes or fatty foods, though it can reflect excess fat in the stool, pancreatitis or celiac disease. See celiac disease.
• Black. Blueberries or iron supplements can cause it, but it can also indicate bleeding in the upper digestive tract.
• Gray, white or clay-colored. Rarely caused by dairy, and concerning for liver, bile, pancreas or gallbladder problems.

The rule of thumb from Cleveland Clinic¹ is to contact a healthcare provider if your poop is any shade other than brown, especially with other symptoms, and to let them know if the color lasts beyond a few days, or comes with fever, diarrhea or pain.

How often is normal

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)² says people have different bowel patterns and only you know what’s normal for you. It defines constipation as fewer than three bowel movements a week along with hard, dry or lumpy stools that are hard to pass, and notes that constipation is not a disease but may be a symptom of another medical problem.

It says constipation affects about 16 out of 100 adults, and that women have a higher risk, especially during pregnancy or after giving birth. Our article on constipation has more.

The NIDDK³ lists causes including slow movement of stool through the colon, pelvic floor disorders, antacids that contain aluminum and calcium, narcotic pain relievers, too little fiber or fluid, low activity, and conditions like diabetes, hypothyroidism and celiac disease.

Red flags

Don’t wait if

1. Urgent

   The NIDDK³ says to contact a physician right away if you have bleeding from your rectum or blood in your stool, along with constant pain in your abdomen, vomiting, fever, or losing weight without trying.

The play

Try this: a one-week stool note

For a week, write down the date, color, consistency (hard, normal, loose), and what you ate, drank and took, including iron, supplements and medicines.

Note red or dark foods, and any pain, dizziness or tiredness.

If the color doesn’t go back to brown in a few days, or you see black or red, call your clinician and tell them the note.

When to get checked

Don’t wait if

1. Urgent

   Cleveland Clinic¹ says to contact a provider for any color other than brown that sticks around or comes with symptoms. The NIDDK³ lists rectal bleeding, blood in the stool, constant abdominal pain, vomiting, fever and unexplained weight loss as reasons to get care right away.

Book an appointment if any of these fit:

• Black or tarry stools
• Red or maroon blood in your stool
• Gray, white or clay-colored stools
• A color change that lasts more than a few days
• Color changes with fever, diarrhea, pain or weight loss
• Fewer than three bowel movements a week that don’t improve with fiber and fluids

Brown is the default. A one-off shade after beets is a story. A shade that stays is a symptom.