What Your Bowel Movements Are Telling You About Your Health

Bright red
Your first instinct upon seeing red-colored stool in the toilet would probably be to panic. But before you speed-dial your doctor, think about what you ate several hours ago—if it was beets or bright red popsicles, that might be the culprit for creating those colored stools. But if it’s obviously a streak of red blood in the stool, in the toilet, or on the toilet paper, then it’s a given that you’re bleeding somewhere inside. There’s still not necessarily any reason to panic—the cause could be something as benign as a hemorrhoid or just a small fissure caused by straining to go. That said, it’s a wise idea to discuss with your doctor if you are straining often since that can lead to painful hemorrhoids. Also, if you’ve never seen blood before it’s definitely worth having your doctor rule out more serious causes—like colon cancer.

Too dark
If your stool is suddenly black and looks sort of tar-like, the culprit could be lurking in your daily vitamin pill. Iron supplementation (on its own or when it’s included in a multi-vitamin) can have that effect on the stool. But if you haven’t recently started taking extra iron and you see this sort of change, you should make an appointment to see your doctor. “If there is bleeding higher up in the GI tract—like the stomach or esophagus—the result can be stool that looks black and tar-like,” says Foxx-Orenstein. “It’s very useful information for the doctor to know if what you’re seeing is black or bright red because that gives a clue to the location of the bleeding.” In either case, she strongly urges anyone who is seeing blood in their stool to get checked out by their doctor.

It floats (and stinks!)
Those ideal torpedo-like poops should sink when they hit they hit the toilet. But when the body isn’t properly absorbing fat from the food you eat, it ends up being excreted in your stool. The result: stool that’s yellowish in color, greasy in consistency, foul smelling, and that floats in the toilet. Certain medical conditions, like celiac disease, can cause these malabsorption problems. And since essential nutrients could also be lost along with the un-absorbed fat, it’s important to see your doctor if you experience this problem. These fatty, smelly stools are also one of the more unpleasant side effects of eating foods that contain Olestra (the faux fat found in some chips and other fried snacks) or of taking the weight loss drug Xenical or its over-the-counter cousin, Alli.

Not going
How often is normal? How much is too much? Or not enough? Everyone wonders if they’re spending too much—or too little—time on the toilet. Turns out, there is no one right answer. “There is no true ideal for how frequent your bowel movements should be,” Foxx-Orenstein says. “What’s ‘normal’ is going to be different for different people.” Once a day, three times a day, every other day—all of these could very well fall within the definition of normal and healthy bowel movements. But if you experience a change in your normal pattern, then you need to look at what might be causing it. If you’re suddenly going too much, it could be because you’ve recently increased the amount of fiber in your diet. That’s a good thing, but it will take the body a little while to adjust to the change. And if you are suddenly dealing with constipation, look first at what changes you’ve made to your diet. “If you’re not eating enough fiber, not eating breakfast [which helps get things moving in the morning], or just not eating enough food, you may be constipated because your body’s not able to produce enough waste,” says Foxx-Orenstein.

More About What Your Body Says About Your Health:

• Feet
• Eyes
• Skin
• Hair
• Urine
• Tongue
• Nails