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Podcast Host
This is an iHeart podcast.
Dr. Ruckham
Guaranteed Human what's up y'?
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Co-host Juliana
welcome to Bill and Juliana the Podcast.
Co-host
Today we are talking shit. We're going to tackle many questions. So many people have like, why is my poop green? Now, believe it or not, thousands of people search that very question, why is my poop green? Every day there's like 20 to 60,000 monthly searches. Why is my poop green? Obviously, it is normal for people to panic when they see green poop in their toilet. It's visually alarming, it's unexpected, it feels urgent. But it's very awkward to talk about, as we know, unless you're us and we have you, we've got you. That's what this show is about. We are asking the awkward questions and we're asking them to very reputable doctors. So, Dr. Ruckham, one of the most searched questions on the Internet is, why is my poop green? It's unbelievable. It's like 20 to 40,000 searches a month at least. People wondering, what is the answer to that question?
Dr. Ruckham
One answer is, you look at leaves that you see on the tree, what makes them green? Chlorophyll. So if there is some chlorophyll in the food, like spinach, like kale, like broccoli, that could put a green tinge to it. It usually doesn't. It usually doesn't. The most common reason is bile. Bile is made in the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and is released when you eat food. Bile helps us digest and absorb fat. If things are going through you rapidly, the bile, which is what normally changes from green to turn stool brown. That's what makes brown stool. If it's going through you rapidly, it'll come out green. So most people that see green in their stool, it's usually liquidy and it's benign. Doesn't mean anything. I mean, it can be part of an infection. If you have salmonella or shigella and stuff is running through you, it could come out greenish, but then you'd know you're sick, you don't feel good, you're going multiple times, you may have a fever, but the general person that sees it, it's benign, it's nothing. It should just go away in a day or two. I mean, obviously if something didn't go away for days, then you would check it out. But green stool is nothing to worry about.
Co-host Juliana
Fruity Pebbles, the cereal. Froot Loops or Froot Loops. One of the two.
Dr. Ruckham
Yeah, well, anything that would have a diet. Bottom line is green isn't anything to be worried about.
Co-host
Got it.
Dr. Ruckham
You wanna know what we should be concerned about? Okay, so if somebody had clay colored stools, not just a day, anything could happen for a day or two, but suddenly you have clay colored stools where there's no brown. Usually that means there could be some blockage of the bile coming through because bile turns it brown. And, you know, as we get older, it may mean nothing. But if it's a new normal, the urine could start getting darker, the eyes could get yellow. That could be a sign of liver disease, be a sign of cancer, be a sign of a gallstone blocking. But that requires medical attention. Clay colored stools that are lasting for a while.
Co-host
Okay, so not green. Green is fine. So if it's solid and green, it might be you just had too many Fruity Pebbles.
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Correct.
Dr. Ruckham
And it should go away in a day or two.
Co-host Juliana
And how often should we check our stool? Like after every movement, as you recommend taking a look, making sure it's okay?
Co-host
Always. Well, how can you not look at your stool? Don't you look at it all the time?
Co-host Juliana
I don't. All the time.
Dr. Ruckham
Yeah. I mean, everyone's got their own personality. You could be compulsive. You don't need to look at it. But people would tend to know something doesn't. Or if they saw blood in the toilet bowl. Yeah, yeah. Now, I mean, you want to talk about other colors?
Co-host Juliana
Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Ruckham
All right. What about black stool?
Co-host Juliana
That's a scary one.
Dr. Ruckham
Okay, well, but you got to know. So if you have like black and a formed regular bowel movement, that usually means nothing.
Paramount Plus Advertiser
Okay.
Dr. Ruckham
It could mean you have an iron pill, mean you took Pepto Bismol. That can turn stool black. But formed in black usually means nothing.
Co-host
Okay.
Dr. Ruckham
Where the concern is, if it's black, like tar, like when you see them pouring tar on the street where it's loose and mushy, that can be a sign of GI bleeding. Everybody will see some blood on the toilet paper once in a while.
Co-host
Yes.
Dr. Ruckham
You get irritated. You had a hard stool. You don't want to overreact. But you know, now with this stuff that we mentioned about colon cancer between 20 and 49 going up, we got to be careful as doctors, when someone comes in and says, I see red blood, that we just don't blow it off, that it's a hemorrhoid. Did it happen once, twice, and then you haven't had it again and you're 25 or 30, fine. If you're 50 and you saw it, hey, have you had your colonoscopy? Because it's probably hemorrhoid. But if you haven't had it, come on, let's just do it.
Co-host Juliana
Let's get it done.
Dr. Ruckham
And if you had It a year or two ago or three ago. And not worried because you've been checked. Everyone's worried it's cancer. It's rarely cancer. It's usually something else. Colitis, an inflammation, something more. But it's time to check it out.
Co-host
So clay, green, black, we've covered a lot. Red.
Dr. Ruckham
Is there a Green's the least worrisome.
Co-host
Green could just mean just. You gotta lay off the Fruit Loops.
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Co-host
Gotta lay off those Fruit Loops. And some lucky char. And you know what else has given me green poop, now that I think about it, is gummy bears. Just like any sort of thing with the dyes and all the fake dye stuff.
Co-host Juliana
I did it at 50. You did it a little bit before you were 50. And, you know, colonoscopies, obviously are so important. And Juliana, being a breast cancer survivor, we know the importance of early detection, and that's everything. And now we're starting to read that colonoscopies are being done at earlier and earlier ages. What's the story? Set us straight.
Dr. Ruckham
Well, between 20 and 49 years old, colon cancer now is the number one cancer. It always was breast cancer for years, and now it's affecting younger people. With that in mind, the prior recommendation to start at age 50 was lowered to 45. And even then, we're gonna miss some. But, you know, it still is not a common thing. And we don't want people to unnecessarily get worried. But it's something to be aware of.
Co-host
I'm sure people ask you, what do you think the reason is that the age is getting younger and now it's the number one leading cancer in that age group.
Dr. Ruckham
None of us really know, but if you're going to make a suspicion, I got to believe it's something in our diet. The food, the plastics, the preservatives, the antibiotics that animals get. Hormones. It's got to be something in there.
Co-host
Yeah.
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Dr. Ruckham
Why is it never chill?
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So good.
Dr. Ruckham
Your bill, ladies.
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I assisted first.
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Co-host Juliana
So one thing a lot of people are talking about is some of these alternative options to colonoscopies. Whether it's the cologuard or the at home test. Now there's even a blood test. There's some pill you can take, right? I think that that's happening. So tell us about the alternative options and how effective are they?
Dr. Ruckham
Yeah, so you know, in general, there's an old saying. The best test is the one you do. It's better than doing nothing. But if we look at it objectively, colonoscopy is the most accurate. It can find polyps and you can remove them at the same time. And if it's normal, you don't need it for 10 years. But if someone says I don't want to do it or they want to be checked, but they're 78 years old and they're a little more fragile, but they don't want to do nothing, then something like cologuard, which is a stool based test, the company mails it to your home, you put the stool in and you mail it back. They look for about 10 different altered DNAs in the stool and some blood. And it's very effective for picking up colon cancer. It'll pick up about 92% of colon cancer, but that's already getting late. We wanna pick it up in the pre cancer when it's Apollo, it's picking up cancer hopefully at the earlier stage. But again it's more accurate for the more advanced colon cancer, maybe a little
Co-host Juliana
less, a little late to the party,
Dr. Ruckham
but it's better than doing nothing.
Co-host
Nothing, right? No, that's a good point.
Co-host Juliana
We also just did the.
Dr. Ruckham
And then there's fit with the fecal immunochemical test.
Co-host Juliana
I don't know that one.
Dr. Ruckham
That's just a regular stool based test. That's a little cheaper than cologuard. The doctors can even do it in their office. But if that's negative, that should be almost every year.
Co-host Juliana
Got it. Okay. We did the prenuval full body scans. Is that something that could pick up anything with the colon or. I don't know, I guess it scanned our colon too, right?
Dr. Ruckham
We did a head to toe those tests. I mean you might just like any CAT scan, pick up a growth in the stomach or colon. It would have to be, have some bulk to it, you know, an early flatter one it might not pick up. But if there was bulkiness to the tumor in the colon or stomach or esophagus, it might see it.
Co-host
Dr. Arkham, let me ask you this. On the note you were saying before about the different tests you can do. So for instance, like breast cancer, right? They don't recommend mammograms until a certain age for women. So as a breast cancer survivor, I always tell younger women at least, at the very least do self exams, right? And then the yearly exam with your OB GYN for, for younger people listening who are maybe too young for the colonoscopy but are still want to stay on top of their health, they Want to be proactive. They've heard of people getting colon cancer in their 20s and 30s. So someone in their 20s and 30s listening right now. Would you recommend maybe one of those blood tests?
Dr. Ruckham
So to do it before the approved age of either 45 or younger, if there's a family history of polyps or cancer may not be covered by insurance because it's meant as a.
Co-host
The colonoscopy wouldn't be covered.
Dr. Ruckham
Or the cologuard or the. Or the shield. So you may say, hey, look, I'm willing to pay out of pocket. Okay, but it may not be covered. The stuff that you could do, if you see your primary care doctor, they could do a stool test in their.
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Co-host
That's good.
Dr. Ruckham
And that's at least a way to say, is there some blood in there?
Co-host
Okay, got it. So that could be something that could be also preventative.
Dr. Ruckham
Yeah. And maybe things will change, you know, if, you know, if some of these costs come down. But everything you're doing, the earlier you do it where there's more likely to be normal, then a positive may have a greater chance of being a false positive.
Co-host
And also, back to the colonoscopy prep. There's the liquid, right, the liquid prep. And then now people talk about too, they take pills.
Dr. Ruckham
Pills, yes.
Co-host
Are the pills as effective as getting the full cleanse as a liquid or I imagine liquid would probably be more effective.
Dr. Ruckham
The pills are very effective. The older ones that were around maybe 10 years ago had phosphorus in it. So you gotta be very careful that people drank a lot. Cause they could cause kidney stones if you had an underlying problem. The ones today are safe. They're very safe. They're very effective. And we use them all the time. The only negative sometimes is the copay can be a little higher for people when they go to buy. But you also got to know too, to me, it's as effective as the liquid. But when you do it, you're taking 12 pills times two. So when you do it. But if you're doing it with water, so there's no funny salty. Take the pill with water, pill with water, the pill with water four times. Then 15 minutes later you do another four.
Co-host
Oh, wow.
Dr. Ruckham
Then 15 minutes later you do Another four. And then you just drink water.
Co-host Juliana
Buckle up.
Dr. Ruckham
And then you wait. And then when you would do the second one, which usually we tell people five to six hours before the procedure scheduled, that's why we delay the second dose. We want any mildew and debris that builds up overnight to be flushed out right before Then you do that again.
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Dr. Ruckham
But that's essentially the same timing as the liquid.
Co-host Juliana
I want to get my hands in case I need to lose a few pounds. I'm going to just run through the 12 pills, just get some trim up for myself.
Co-host
Oh, my gosh. That will do that.
Co-host Juliana
I'm kidding. Knowledge is power. I think, you know, that's the one thing we always talk about on this podcast. See your doctor, get checked regularly, ask questions, be your own best advocate when it comes to your medical health. And I think this has been really helpful. So thank you. I know that you're a busy man. You're doing literally thousands of colonoscopies every year, which is incredible.
Dr. Ruckham
You know, the most important thing is not to be overly. Don't get overly worried, but don't ignore something. Use your common sense. Use your heart. You know, when you're not feeling right.
Co-host
And the early detection is the most important thing. Right. Because when you can catch something early
Dr. Ruckham
correct in anything, that's the name of
Co-host
the game, early detection. Well, thank you. I have learned so much today.
Co-host Juliana
Thank you so much, Dr. Rukham.
Co-host
Can't believe how much I've learned. This is amazing. Thank you so much. I hope everyone has learned a ton today.
Co-host Juliana
We'll have you back again soon.
Co-host
Yes.
Dr. Ruckham
Thank you.
Co-host
Thank you, Dr. R. Thank you.
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Podcast Host
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Podcast: Bill and Giuliana: The Podcast
Episode: (BONUS) Why Is My Poop Green?
Date: June 21, 2026
Theme:
Bill and Giuliana tackle one of the internet’s most searched (and awkward) health questions: “Why is my poop green?” Joined by expert Dr. Ruckham, they explore the reasons behind various stool colors, debunk myths, and discuss colon health, screening options, and the increasing prevalence of colon cancer in younger adults. The episode mixes approachable humor with medical facts to destigmatize poop talk and empower listeners with practical health advice.
| Timestamp | Segment | |:-------------:|:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:34 | Episode topic introduction, why “poop questions” matter | | 03:35 | Dr. Ruckham explains green stool (bile, veggies, infections) | | 05:09 | When to worry: clay-colored stools (potential liver issues) | | 06:36 | Black stool: when to worry, relation to supplements and GI bleeding | | 07:46 | Red blood: hemorrhoids vs. need for colonoscopy, especially in older adults | | 08:41 | Colon cancer in younger people; lowering age of first colonoscopy | | 09:20 | Speculation about dietary/environmental causes for rising rates | | 12:31 | Alternative screening: Cologuard, FIT, home tests and their effectiveness | | 14:30 | Can full body scans detect colon polyps or cancer? | | 15:30 | Screenings for younger adults; insurance coverage concerns | | 16:22 | Colonoscopy prep: pill vs. liquid, safety and process | | 18:05 | Encouragement for regular checks and advocacy (Juliana's closing advice) | | 18:27 | Dr. Ruckham: balance between not worrying and not ignoring health changes |