The brown color of poop comes from the bile that is added by the liver to your bowl of cereal as it makes its way through the small intestine. The bile is changed by bacteria from green to brown.

Much of the food you eat is absorbed by your digestive system, which includes your stomach and your intestines.

GI doctors caution against ignoring blood in the stool. "Blood in the stool is one of the more common symptoms of colon cancer in older patients—less so in younger patients," Dr. Ligresti says.

Learn the key differences between colon cancer and IBS, including symptoms, risk factors, and treatments. Understand why they're often confused and how to manage each condition.

A colonic is a type of hydrotherapy that uses water to remove stool and gas from your colon, says Pratima Dibba, MD, a board-certified gastroenterologist with Medical Offices of Manhattan.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterTHURSDAY, Aug. 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Automatically mailing a stool test kit to people’s homes might be the best way to boost colon cancer screening ...

More people under 50 are getting colonoscopies and at-home stool tests. Now, doctors are spotting tumors before symptoms ...