#16  Poop Pills

“If all you do is follow the herd, you’ll just be stepping in poop all day.”

What if poop could be life saving!?

Yes, Really.

Okay, let’s talk about a weird medical breakthrough: using other people’s poop to heal yourself. Yes, actual poop. Not metaphorically. Not “life gave me lemons” poop. I mean real human feces—collected, filtered, and transplanted into someone else’s gut to treat disease.

Sounds insane, right? But it’s true..

This procedure is called a Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT), and it’s surprisingly effective—especially for stubborn gut infections like Clostridium difficile (C. diff), which can cause chronic diarrhea and sometimes life-threatening inflammation.

A Study That Turned Heads (and Tummies)

In a landmark 2013 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that FMT cured C. diff in 94% of patients, compared to only 31% who were treated with traditional antibiotics. The difference was so dramatic that they stopped the trial early because withholding the poop transplant was considered unethical .

Since then, FMT has been studied for ulcerative colitis, IBS, and even autism—with early evidence showing some potential.

Can Someone Else’s Poop Change Your Mind—or Your Skin?

Here’s where it gets even more sci-fi. There’s a documentary on Netflix (I watched it after Ansune recommended it) where people report borrowing poop from friends or family to treat all sorts of issues—from bloating to fatigue. It’s called “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut.”  There was one scene in this documentary that I wish I could unsee, but I don’t want to even write about it. Let’s just say they showed people making “poop pills” from donar poop.

But hold on… what if your donor is depressed? Or overweight? Or has acne?

Researchers are beginning to suspect that a person’s microbiome—the trillions of microbes living in your gut—can affect everything from weight to mood to inflammation. So, theoretically, yes: a poop transplant from a sad person might make you feel blue. A poop transplant from someone with acne might influence your skin.

It’s not just what lives in your gut—it’s who.

Do NOT Try This at Home (Seriously). Let’s be crystal clear: DIY poop transplants are a terrible idea.  But it did get me thinking, if I had to get someone to donate poop for health reasons: who would I choose? Do you know who you would choose?

I remember the first time I read about fecal transplants—I thought it was a joke. Then I saw the science. And honestly? It makes sense. We’re only beginning to understand the incredible power of gut microbes—they affect not just digestion but brain function, immune response, even emotions.

Maybe one day, we’ll match donor poop the way we match organ transplants or blood types. Maybe “microbiome makeovers” will be part of your annual checkup.

Until then… eat your fiber, feed the good bugs, and keep your gut joyful… and they’ll keep you joyful in return.


References:

1. van Nood, E., et al. (2013). “Duodenal infusion of donor feces for recurrent Clostridium difficile.” New England Journal of Medicine, 368(5), 407–415. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1205037


2. Netflix documentary: Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut (2024)