Poop color chart: what each stool color means
The short answer
Brown is normal, and green, yellow or orange are usually down to food or fast digestion. Black, red or maroon stool can mean bleeding unless you've had iron, bismuth, beets or similar, and pale, clay or white stool can mean bile isn't reaching the gut. Those three colors are worth a call to a doctor if food doesn't explain them.
Poop is brown because of bile. Your liver makes bile to digest fat, and it starts out yellow-green. As it travels through the intestines, bacteria break its pigments down and the color shifts to brown. Anything that changes how much bile there is, how fast stool moves, or what you ate can change the color.
Most color changes come from food and go away within a day or two. A few are worth taking seriously.
Poop color chart
| Color | Common harmless causes | Causes worth checking | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | Normal | None | Nothing |
| Green | Leafy greens, green food coloring, iron supplements, fast transit | Diarrhea that won’t stop | Usually nothing |
| Yellow, greasy, foul smelling | A very fatty meal | Fat not being absorbed, as in celiac disease, pancreas problems or a giardia infection | See a doctor if it keeps happening |
| Orange | Carrots, sweet potatoes, other beta-carotene foods | Rarely anything | Usually nothing |
| Red or maroon | Beets, red food coloring, tomato juice, red drinks | Bleeding in the lower gut, including hemorrhoids, fissures, inflammation or polyps | See a doctor if food doesn’t explain it |
| Black | Iron tablets, bismuth medicines, black licorice, blueberries | Bleeding higher up, such as a stomach ulcer, especially if sticky and tar-like | Get medical advice promptly |
| Pale, clay or white | Barium from an X-ray test, some antidiarrheal medicines | Bile not reaching the gut because of a liver, gallbladder or bile duct problem | See a doctor |
Brown: normal
Light tan to dark brown is all normal. Shade varies with diet and hydration, and doesn’t tell you much on its own.
Green
Green usually means food went through fast, before bile had time to turn brown, or that you ate a lot of spinach, kale or something with green dye. Iron supplements can do it too. It’s rarely a problem by itself. If it comes with diarrhea that lasts more than a couple of days, deal with the diarrhea.
Yellow
Bright yellow, greasy stool that floats, smells unusually bad and is hard to flush can mean your body isn’t absorbing fat. Possible causes include celiac disease, problems with the pancreas, and infections such as giardia. A one-off after a very fatty meal isn’t a worry. If it keeps happening, especially with weight loss, see a doctor.
Red or maroon
First think about what you ate in the last day or two: beets are the classic cause, along with red food coloring and tomato products. If food doesn’t explain it, red can be blood. Bright red blood on the paper or in the bowl often comes from hemorrhoids or a small tear near the anus, but blood can also come from inflammation, polyps or cancer further up the bowel. Any unexplained blood is worth getting checked.
Black
Iron tablets and bismuth medicines (such as Pepto-Bismol) commonly turn stool black, and that’s expected. Black licorice and lots of blueberries can too.
Black stool that is sticky and looks like tar (doctors call it melena) can mean bleeding in the stomach or upper small intestine. That needs prompt medical attention, and urgent care if you also feel dizzy, weak or faint, or you vomit blood or something that looks like coffee grounds.
Pale, clay or white
Stool gets its brown color from bile, so pale stool can mean bile isn’t getting through. That can happen with hepatitis, gallstones blocking a bile duct, and other liver or bile duct problems. See a doctor, and sooner if your skin or eyes look yellow or your urine is dark. After a barium swallow or enema, pale stool for a few days is expected.
In babies, pale, chalky or white poop should be checked by a doctor the same day.
Track color along with type
Color and shape tell you different things, so it helps to note both. When you log an entry in Poopwell, you can pick a color along with the Bristol type. If you choose black, red or pale, the app flags the entry, tells you plainly that it’s worth discussing with a doctor, and the flag appears under medical alerts in your PDF report.
Questions people also ask
What color should healthy poop be?
Any shade of brown, from light tan to dark brown. The color comes from bile, which changes from green-yellow to brown as gut bacteria break it down.
Why is my poop green?
Usually because of leafy greens, green food coloring or iron supplements, or because food moved through quickly and the bile didn't have time to turn brown. Green stool on its own is rarely a concern.
When is black poop dangerous?
Black, sticky, tar-like stool can mean bleeding higher up in the digestive tract and needs medical attention. Iron tablets, bismuth medicines like Pepto-Bismol, black licorice and blueberries can also turn stool black, and that's harmless.
What does pale or clay-colored poop mean?
It can mean bile isn't reaching the intestine, which happens with liver, gallbladder or bile duct problems. Contact a doctor, especially if you also have yellow skin or eyes, or dark urine. Barium from an X-ray test can also make stool pale for a few days.
Sources
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you're worried about a change in your bowel habits, talk to a doctor. Get urgent help for heavy bleeding, black tarry stool with dizziness, or severe belly pain.
