This might cause darker brown stools due to the iron content of meat.
Causes of dark red stool.
What causes dark brown stool or diarrhea.
Red diarrhea might occur if the food that a person eats causes food poisoning or irritates the stomach.
However repeated reddish stool and diarrhea especially when there is pain is very likely to be due to blood in.
The cause of red stools or black stools could be nothing to worry about such as those that are caused by food coloring.
Bleeding that happens higher up in the digestive tract may make stool appear black and tarry.
If you don t think your diet is the cause the red you see may be blood.
See our symptom checker.
It s important to keep in mind however that red or black in the stool could be due to bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract stomach small intestine or large intestine.
Stool quality what it may mean possible dietary causes.
Blackberries blueberries or black licorice might cause the stool to look almost black due to the staining pigments of these foods.
And if it s bright red the blood likely comes from the.
In fact if the stool is red for just one or two bowel movements and it does not occur again then it could be due to other causes apart from blood.
Causes of red stool.
Foods that are naturally red or contain red food coloring can turn the stool red.
Your diet can affect the color of your stool such as the following.
If your stool is bright red or black which may indicate the presence of blood seek prompt medical attention.
Several different types of food with natural or artificial coloring may cause red in the stool which looks like blood but it isn t.
Food may be moving through the large intestine too quickly such as due to diarrhea.
Red stool causes that are not blood.
As a result bile doesn t have time to break down completely.
Check food labels because a food might not appear red but may still have red food coloring in it.
Check one or more factors on this page that apply to your symptom.
Find possible causes of symptoms in children and adults.
Bright red blood or maroon colored stools usually.
Blood is not the only cause of a red discoloration of the stool.
Other causes of red or reddish poop.
Eating more red meat.
Find possible causes of blood in stool based on specific factors.
Eating dark blue or black colored foods.
Possible causes of blood in stool include.