Quiz: Do You Know the Scoop on Your Poop?

Bright-red blood often indicates that the bleeding is coming from the lower end of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract — “and it’s almost always from hemorrhoids,” says William Chey, M.D., professor of gastroenterology and nutrition sciences at Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan. It could also be from a small tear in the tush.

If your poop appears pale and even seems to float in the toilet, it may be an indication that your pancreas, an organ that aids in digestion, isn’t functioning properly.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 16 percent of adults have symptoms of constipation. Among adults ages 60 and older, that share about doubles.

“I tell many of my patients who have issues with constipation: The more you move, the more your gut moves,” says Reezwana Chowdhury, M.D., a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “A sedentary lifestyle does slow your gut down.”