Blood with stool?

Hello,
I am 29 years old and last year I had a colonoscopy done and one polyp (non-cancerous) was removed.

I often eat junk food but I also eat All Bran and vegetables everyday to balance out my diet and I take 1 or 2 tablespoons of Metamucil per day. Each day I also take 2 Curcumin extract tablets, a multivitamin, 1 selenium tablet, and calcium tablets.
I used to take a baby aspirin every day but found it was giving me an upset stomach so I stopped 6 months ago.  

Yesterday I ate a whole can of beets and then chased it with Metamucil. This morning (22 hours later) I drank 2 cups of coffee and had 3 bowel movements within 45 minutes. The LAST bowel movement I noticed somewhat bright-red blood at the end of one of the stools. It appeared with mucus and seemed to be mixed with the stool.

6 months ago I saw some light blood on the toilet paper and my Doctor concluded it was an anal fissure (or lesion). But this is the first time I have seen anything resembling blood in my stool since before I had the polyp removed last year.
So today I am wondering if this "blood" could be leftover beets mixed in with the Metamucil? Or possibly new polyps? Or something even different? I have also had some irritable feeling in my intestinal areas several times per week.

Thank you.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

Hello - thanks for asking your question.

If you had a colonoscopy last year and there was nothing other than the polyp, it is reassuring that there is nothing more serious.  Being 29 years old, it is less likely that colon cancer is the cause.  

Beets can certainly cause the blood-like appearance of the stool.  Other possibilities would be a hemorrhoid or reappearance of the anal fissure, both of which could develop in the year since the colonoscopy.  

I would continue to observe your stools for the next few days.  If there continues to be blood, I would consider seeing a physician for an anoscopy to evaluate for any anal sources of bleeding (i.e. hemorrhoid or anal fissure).  If that is negative and the bleeding continues, a flexible sigmoidoscopy may then be considered.  

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[surgeon]

beets absolutely can cause redness in stools. Having had a recent colonoscopy, at your age it's fairly safe to assume it's not something serious.