What Stool Colors Say About Your Health

Borrowed from RealAge Tip By Mehmet C. Oz, MD, and Michael F. Roizen, MD
When your body's gastrointestinal tract isn’t functioning correctly, stool colors can tell you what's going on in your insides & whether you might have bowel problems. Here's a guide:
1. Medium brown is the color of healthy feces. Keep your gastrointestinal system running smoothly with these rules for regularity:
5 Rules for Regularity 1. Listen to your body. When you feel a bowel movement coming on, go to the bathroom as soon as you can. This may require overcoming any aversion you may have to using bathrooms outside your home. 2. Get your fill of fiber. Increase the amount of dietary fiber in your meals by adding whole-grain breads & cereals, raw vegetables, and fruit. Aim for at least 25 grams of fiber per day, and minimize your intake of low-fiber foods, such as meat, cheese, refined sugar, pastries, candy, & anything made with white flour.
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3. Stay hydrated. Don't let yourself get thirsty. Drink plenty of water or other decaffeinated, nonalcoholic fluids. 4. Don't skip meals. Eating stimulates the reflex that causes waste to move forward in the bowel. Missing meals decreases this movement. 5. Keep your body moving. Moderate physical exercise, such as walking or swimming, at least four times a week can help maintain regularity.
There are also several food-based folk remedies that may help relieve occasional constipation. Try: Apples or apple juice Carrots or carrot juice Rhubarb Persimmons Hot tea with one tablespoon of honey or molasses Hot broth Tablespoon of olive oil in the morning and evening Spinach juice Sunflower seeds Pitted dates soaked in hot water
The fact is: normal bowel habits varies from person to person & may be as frequent as three times a day or as few as three times a week.
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2. Pale, gray, clay-like stool suggests a liver problem. Bile from the liver is what makes stools brown; not enough & you get ashy shades indicating anything from gallstones to hepatitis, pancreatitis to cirrhosis. 3. Black or dull red stool is often related to food or meds. You may see black after consuming black licorice, blueberries, iron pills, or diarrhea medication. Call your doctor if you see tarry black stool, which can be a sign of bleeding in the upper intestines or even the stomach. And red? That may come from beets & tomatoes. 4. Green stools aren't just for St. Patrick's Day, although they can be from celebratory beer (it's the green dye). Greenies can also come from eating lots of green vegetables or taking iron or certain medications. 5. Bloody or maroon/red stool is most often caused by hemorrhoids, but red feces can, also, be from intestinal bleeding, so call your doctor.