Would you be willing to ingest someone’s fecal matter in order to lose or gain weight?
The idea that obesity can be fought by taking freeze-dried poop pills might seem weird to say the least, but apparently it is actually backed by science, with clinical trials set to start soon, once enough participants and donors have been gathered. Yes, you read that right, you will be able to lose weight by ingesting freeze-dried fecal matter.
Although at first this concept can seem entirely disgusting, the bacteria found in your gut might have a completely different opinion. The whole microbiome is thought to gain massive benefits if one would ingest fecal matter from a thin and healthy individual, and can sometimes even fight various infections.
But don’t get your hopes too high up, because this whole concept is just that, just a concept, because clinical trials on humans have not been conducted yet. But the theory is justified, with the research team already finding positive results in mice. Rodents that took fecal matter pills from thinner subjects remained at a relatively low weight even though their food consumption rate was higher.
Of course, even if the pill is not going to taste like fecal matter at all, although the idea itself might make some people feel nauseous, participants will be hard to find. Poop pills might be seen as rather quirky, but for those who have an increased insulin sensibility or are suffering from obesity and have run out of any viable options, this treatment might be seen as a veritable Holy Grail. That is to say, if clinical trials will prove that the patient’s microbiome will be heavily influenced by the treatment.
The pill’s manufacturing process is rather straightforward for. Fecal matter taken from healthy and thin donors will be freeze-dried and encapsulated in two layers. Being both odorless and tasteless, once swallowed, the pill will dissolve only when reaching the gut, in order for the microbes to start spreading. Everything is based on the mice study from 2013 when scientists found that microbiomes differ significantly in terms of composition from thin to overweight rodents.
The reverse process is also considered to be viable. If thin mice were subjected to fecal matter pills from fatter counterparts, their body weight would slowly start to increase. This might also help people that suffer from being extremely underweight or other similar circumstances if the clinical trials will be deemed successful.
Although the idea that obesity can be fought by taking freeze-dried poop pills might make most people squirm in their seats, this type of treatment may very well become the new trend in weight loss procedures. Clinical trials will consist of regular administration of fecal matter pills over the course of 12 weeks, with weekly body weight documentation, as well as extensive follow-up checks, just like any other clinical trial conducted in this domain. Only time will tell if poop pills will hit the markets in the next few years, as well as if people will actually opt to ingest fecal matter from thinner people in order to lose weight.
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