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Your Body Eats Two Million Of Its Own Blood Cells Every Second

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red blood cells · spleen · macrophage · human body · biology facts · why is poop brown

The real science

Every red blood cell lives for about four months. When it gets old and stiff, the spleen traps it and a macrophage swallows it whole. The iron gets recycled, and the leftover pigment turns green and then yellow, just like a healing bruise. Then your gut bacteria turn it brown.

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