Jeremy Clarkson, 59, said he “nearly had a heart attack” after spotting the alarming colour in the toilet. The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire presenter “figured” the terrifying symptom was a symptoms of bowel cancer. He retold the shocking discovery in his column for The Sun back in August. He said: “I looked back to see what I’d produced and damn near had a heart attack.”
The presenter said the “whole bowl was stained blood red” and he jumped to the conclusion it was bowel cancer.
Sharing his thoughts at the time, he added: “Well that’s it, I’ve got bottom cancer.”
But to Jeremy’s relief, he remembered the night before he’d eaten beetroot.
In reference to the purple vegetable, the star continued: “I swear to God that stuff should come with a health warning, advising people that it will your number twos the colour of Marilyn Monroe’s lips.”
The technical term for the presence of red beetroot pigments in urine and stools is beeturia.
But if you see persistent blood in your stools, you should see your GP.
This is one of three main symptoms of bowel cancer, advises the NHS, alongside:
- A persistent change in bowel habit – going more often, with looser stools
- Persistent lower abdominal (tummy) pain, bloating or discomfort – caused by eating and may be associated with loss of appetite or significant unintentional weight loss
Blood in stools can sometimes be caused by other health problems, such as piles.
Piles, also known as haemorrhoids, are lumps inside and around the bottom.
