What do the different colors of fecal mean?

Question

Can you determine how your insides are by the color of your fecal. i.e. brown, green, beige?

Answer 1

Your fecal matter is normally brown and depending on what you have eaten, this will determine the color. I once had a piece of cake with purple icing. The next day, I had purple fecal matter. If you take Pepto-Bismol, your stool will turn black. If you don't take Pepto-Bismol and you stool is black, it means you have blood in your fecal matter (like a bleeding ulcer, etc.) If you see that, go to the doctor. Also, watch out for green stool, that can usually mean you have an infection, although not always. You might have eaten a cake with green icing. LOL.

Answer 2

Yes you can. The color is from bile. The substance that breaks down fats. You can tell something about your health habits from the color. Ideal color is "pumpkin color", a light beige. Greenish, usually means you eat foods higher in fats( bile is greenish in color, more bile= more fats. Black stools means you need to drink more water, the water that you drank was re-absorbed, by the kidneys. Stools should also be smooth without many cracks in it (no pun intended) and in long pieces, no little balls/marbles (also a sign of not enough water) One last thing, they SHOULD float. If they sink, you need more fiber in your diet. Hope this helps, Alan

Answer 3

Black usually means dried blood.
Red can mean active bleeding (or intensely red-colored food)
Green can result from lots of leafy green vegetables, or diarrhea.
If it's white, there's liver problems (like hepatitis)
Frequently feces is the color of the food eaten.

More info:
http://www.medfriendly.com/feces.html#colors

Answer 4

It depends on what you eat.