Diabetes symptoms: The hidden sign of high blood sugar in poo – how hard are your stools?

Diabetes is a common condition that’s linked to the amount of sugar in the blood. Around five million people in the UK have diabetes, and type 2 diabetes is by far the most common. Having harder stools may be a sign that you should get tested for diabetes, it’s been claimed.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the body not reacting to insulin.

The hormone is used to convert sugar in the blood into useable energy.

Some of the most common symptoms of diabetes include fatigue, having cuts or wounds that take longer to heal, or passing more urine than normal.

But you could also reveal your risk of diabetes by checking in the toilet after passing a stool.

READ MORE: Diabetes type 2 – eight emergency warning signs of high blood sugar

“About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have some form of nerve damage, or diabetic neuropathy,” it said. “It can develop at any time, but the longer you have diabetes, the more likely it is.

“When diabetes damages the nerves going to your stomach and intestines, they may not be able to move food through normally.

“This causes constipation, but you can also get alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhoea, especially at night.

“Misfiring nerves may not contract the muscles that mix and move the stuff in your intestines, so everything slows down. Your colon absorbs more moisture from the waste, which makes your poop harder – and harder to pass.”