Poop Color Chart
Stool is brown because of bile. When the color shifts, it is usually telling you something about your diet, your transit speed, or your bile flow. Here is what each color means — and the three that are worth a doctor's appointment.
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Every stool color, explained
Medium Brown
Normal. Bile pigment plus healthy transit time.
This is the target. Bile starts out green in the liver, and gut bacteria break it down into stercobilin during a normal 24–72 hour transit — which is what makes stool brown. Consistent medium brown means your bile flow and transit time are both working.
Light Brown / Tan
Usually normal. Often a higher-fiber or higher-dairy diet.
A lighter shade is usually diet, not disease — high fiber intake bulks and lightens stool, and so does a dairy-heavy day. If it drifts toward pale gray or clay and stays there, treat it as the pale category instead.
Dark Brown
Normal. Slower transit, iron supplements, or darker foods.
Longer time in the colon means more water reabsorbed and more pigment concentration. Iron supplements, red wine, dark chocolate and heavily pigmented foods all darken stool. Dark brown is fine; genuinely black and tarry is not.
Green
Fast transit, leafy greens, or food coloring. Usually harmless.
Green usually means bile didn't get the full transit time it needed to break down to brown — so it is most often a speed problem, not a disease. Spinach, kale, matcha, blue or green food dye, and iron supplements also do it. Persistent green with diarrhea is worth a conversation.
Yellow / Greasy
Possible fat malabsorption. Persistent + floating: see a doctor.
Yellow, greasy, foul-smelling stool that floats and leaves a film is called steatorrhea, and it means fat is passing through undigested. Occasional episodes follow a very fatty meal. A persistent pattern is associated with celiac disease, pancreatic insufficiency and giardia — get it evaluated.
Pale / Clay
Possible bile duct or liver issue. Get this checked.
Stool is brown because of bile. Pale, chalky or clay-colored stool suggests bile isn't reaching the intestine — which can point to a blocked bile duct, gallstones, hepatitis or a pancreatic problem. This is one of the few stool colors that warrants a prompt appointment even without other symptoms, especially alongside dark urine or yellowing skin.
Red
Beets can do this. So can lower-GI bleeding. Rule it out.
Beets, tomato, cranberry and red dye are common and harmless causes. But red also means fresh blood from the lower GI tract — hemorrhoids and fissures most often, and less commonly polyps, IBD or colorectal cancer. If you haven't eaten anything red, or it repeats, get it checked rather than assuming.
Black / Tarry
Iron or bismuth — or upper-GI bleeding. Seek care promptly.
Iron supplements, bismuth (Pepto-Bismol), black licorice and activated charcoal all turn stool black harmlessly. The concerning version is melena: black, sticky, tar-like stool with a distinctive strong smell, which is digested blood from an upper-GI bleed. If you aren't taking iron or bismuth, treat black tarry stool as urgent.
Color is only half the picture
Color tells you about bile and transit speed. Consistency tells you about hydration, fiber and motility. Reading them together is far more useful than either alone — yellow and greasy means something quite different from yellow and well-formed.
The clinical tool for consistency is the Bristol Stool Chart, which sorts stool into seven types from hard pellets to fully liquid. Pair the color you found above with your Bristol type for a much more specific picture.
When to see a doctor about stool color
- Book promptly: pale or clay-colored stool, especially with dark urine or yellowing skin.
- Book promptly: black, tarry, strong-smelling stool when you are not taking iron or bismuth.
- Book promptly: red stool or visible blood with no dietary explanation.
- Investigate if persistent: yellow greasy stool that floats, for more than two weeks.
- Always: any color change alongside unexplained weight loss, fever, or severe abdominal pain.
This page summarizes widely-accepted medical information and is not medical advice or a diagnosis. PoopCheck is a tracker, not a diagnostic tool. See a qualified clinician about any concerning symptom.
FAQ
What color should poop be?
Healthy stool is some shade of brown — anywhere from light tan to dark brown. Bile from the liver starts out green and is broken down by gut bacteria into stercobilin during normal transit, which produces the brown color. Consistent brown means bile flow and transit time are both working normally.
What poop colors are dangerous?
Three warrant prompt medical attention: pale or clay-colored stool (suggests bile is not reaching the intestine, pointing to a liver, gallbladder or pancreatic problem), red stool with no dietary explanation (possible lower-GI bleeding), and black tarry stool with a strong smell when you are not taking iron or bismuth (possible upper-GI bleeding).
Why is my poop green?
Green stool most often means food moved through your colon too fast for bile to break down from green to brown. Leafy greens, matcha, blue or green food dye, and iron supplements also cause it. Occasional green stool is harmless; green stool with persistent diarrhea is worth discussing with a doctor.
Does poop color change with diet?
Yes, and diet is the single most common explanation. Beets and tomato can turn stool red, leafy greens turn it green, iron and dark chocolate darken it, and a very fatty meal can make it pale and greasy for a day. Diet-driven changes resolve within a day or two — a color that persists for a week or more is the one to investigate.
How long should I wait before seeing a doctor about stool color?
For pale, red or black stool with no dietary explanation, do not wait — book an appointment. For green or yellow stool, give it a few days to resolve on its own; if it persists beyond two weeks, or comes with pain, weight loss, fever or blood, see a clinician.
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