Very careful! This color poop can be a sign of cancer

A from now on, consider analyzing the colour of your stool. Although different shades may be perfectly normal and associated with what you eat, some changes may, on the other hand, give clues about the functioning of your digestive tract. 

Is your bowel working well? There's one color that can be confused with the first signs of cancer.

A gastroenterologist reveals to the Shape website the colors of feces that tend to raise suspicion of some health problems.

Joshua Peck, describes that, in some cases, although it may seem worrisome and even not exactly what you want to see, but green feces, for example, “can be completely normal”.

This is the meaning of the colors of feces that tend to be associated with health problems

Green

“Most likely, they come from eating green leaves, such as lettuce and spinach that your body did not digest so well,” Peck notes. Still, it adds that it may also be a sign that the stools move rapidly through the body.

Yellow

Yellowish feces with oily drops can be a “math absorption sign, which means the body is not absorbing the fats properly”. The specialist also relates this phenomenon to pancreatic problems and bowel problems with regard to food absorption and “certain types of enzyme deficiencies”.

Although it may not be an emergency, the gastroenterologist suggests that he consults a health professional, especially if the stools have “a particularly bad odor and still float, as it may eventually be related to a celiac disease”, he points out.

Grey

“ A pale and greyish color indicates that there is a lack of bile in the faeces, which may mean that there is an obstruction in the liver drainage system, which is very worrying, and people definitely need to seek medical attention immediately,” Peck advises.

Red

Associated mainly with bleeding, feces with this color may even be a cause for concern.

However, before you get worried, know that there are behaviours that you should look at, for example, what you ate during your last meals. Foods such as beets or rich in red dyes may be why “you have seen this alarming tone of poop”. 

Another of the most common causes of blood in the faeces may also be hemorrhoids. However, to deter problems such as colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, or Crohn’s disease, Peck suggests that you consider redness as a sign that something is wrong and seek medical help.

Another cause for alarm!

“ Whenever you have an unexplained change in the color of stools, you should look for a health care professional”, the specialist says.