Stool Color & Medical Diagnosis

A medical diagnosis can be determined through stool color. Stool is typically brown, but bowel movement colors can vary. However, just because a person's stool color isn't brown doesn't mean he is not healthy.

Bowel Movement Colors

• Bowel movements can be red, black, yellow, green and whitish/clear. Black, red and yellow are less healthy stool colors.

Red Stool Color

• The shade of red stool determines the medical diagnosis. Bright red is an indicator of hematochezia; a simple type of rectal bleeding. The darker the red the more serious the medical diagnosis is likely to be. Dark red stool can indicate stomach or colon cancer.

Black Bowel Movements

• Stool that appears black is a very bloody stool. Black stool will likely lead to the medical diagnosis of a bleeding ulcer.

Yellow Bowel Movements

• Yellow bowel movements may indicate Celiac disease, an inherited intolerance for foods with gluten. Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye which are used in cakes, breads and muffins. Yellow, oily bowel movements indicate the body is not properly digesting fats.

Colors in Relation to Diet

• Green and yellow stool color can be linked to diet. Yellow stool color indicates too much fat in the diet. Green bowel movements can be caused by eating green foods like spinach and lettuce or foods with green dyes like Popsicles. Additionally, green bowel movements can be caused by traveling through the gastrointestinal tract too fast.

Medication

• Stool color may be affected by any medication a person is taking. Medications can reduce the amount of bile (fluid that digests fats) in the waste. As a result, stool may turn a whitish color.