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+--- Thread: Article 'Ghost Poops' are real. Here's what they might mean for your gut health. (/thread-21507.html)
'Ghost Poops' are real. Here's what they might mean for your gut health. - C C - Oct 6, 2026
https://www.sciencealert.com/heres-what-your-ghost-poops-may-say-about-your-gut-health
EXCERPT: In both humans and animals, several lines of research suggest that trapped gas can make stools float, and that gas-producing gut microbes may be responsible. The gas connection was first uncovered way back in the 1970s.
In a study of 33 healthy human subjects, scientists counted 9 participants who produced 'floaters' and 24 who produced sinking stools. This suggests that both outcomes can be 'healthy', but with one distinct difference. According to researchers at the time, the sinking stools were sinking because they lacked trapped gas.
Floating stools, by comparison, had higher trapped gas content, specifically methane produced in the colon. After removing these gases, the floaters and sinkers ended up with similar densities. The authors concluded at the time that stools float because of an increased content of gas or water, or both.
So what does that say about gut health? No one knows for certain, but some research suggests that floaters are linked to gut health issues.
In 2015, a study found that 26 percent of patients with functional bowel disorders reported floating stools, compared with 3 percent of patients with other functional gut disorders. Of all the conditions studied, only mixed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which involves alternating constipation and diarrhea, was independently linked to floaters.
In 2018, a study found that floaters were reported by nearly 13 percent of participants with type 1 diabetes, compared with just 5 percent of controls.
Evidence suggests that fatty or greasy stools tend to float, which may mean the body hasn't absorbed fat and some vitamins properly. But that doesn't mean sinkers are always superior. In 2022, researchers made a serendipitous discovery... (MORE - missing details)