The ‘ghost poop’

A TikTok trend that showed a real phenomenon

According to the New York Post, gut health specialist, and registered dietician, Julie Balsamo the term ‘ghost poop’ is used to describe when stool sinks to the bottom of the toilet and seemingly vanishes without a trace.

To put it another way, if you’ve ever used the restroom and then peered into the toilet only to see your waste disappear, you’ve likely encountered the elusive “ghost poop”; the same is true if you’ve wiped and there isn’t anything on the toilet paper.

Ghost poop, which is the topic of a hashtag on social media with more than 15 million views, is something to be happy about because, for the most part, it indicates a healthy bowel movement.

In a video that received more than 7.3 million views, a Canadian naturopathic doctor named Dr. Janine Bowring even asserted that having this type of bowel movement could indicate that you are among the “healthiest people on the planet”.

Bowring claims that your excrement fell into the toilet bowl’s depths as a result of a balanced diet and sleep cycle.

“It’s because you’ve got that fiber, you’ve got enough of those essential fatty acids, your circadian rhythms are in tune with nature with the light and dark cycle of the day, and you’ve got that ghost poop”, she explained.

Also, it can imply that your body is well hydrated, according to registered dietician Amanda Sauceda, who practices in California.

“If you’re wiping and there’s no residue on the paper, that can mean your diet has a good amount of fiber in it and you’re adequately hydrated”, Sauceda explained.

In addition, Sauceda said not to worry if you don’t have a ghost poop every day because our diets change, and consequently, so do our stools. In a May 2022 TikTok video, Steven Wright, the creator of the supplement company the Healthy Gut, seconded Sauceda’s assertions and said that while these kinds of bowel movements are “ideal,” you shouldn’t anticipate having them regularly.

“When I say ideal, it’s because it’s what we’’re shooting for on a regular basis, but it’s probably not going to happen every day”, he said in the clip, which has received more than 50,000 views.

Also, according to the Cleveland Clinic, Wright asserted that a “ghost poop” is classified as a “four” on the Bristol Stool Chart, a study tool that “classifies feces” into seven different categories in order to provide information about the health of your bowel movements. A “four” on the BSC denotes a thin, “snakelike”, smooth, and softly textured excrement. A poop that is “hard, pellet-like” and has “a lot of cracks on the surface”, which rate as 1 or 3 on the BSC, is not “healthy”, according to Sauceda. People should make an effort to eat more fiber-rich foods and vegetables in order to produce smooth, “snakelike” ghost feces.

Maintaining hydration is even more important because fiber has a tougher difficulty passing through the gut without it.

“Plants are your best fiber foods, and fiber helps you poop easier and keeps you pooping on the regular”, Sauceda said. “Some stand-out fiber foods are avocado, berries, beans, and whole grains”.

But, according to Balsamo, the ghost feces may occasionally also be an indication of malabsorption.

“While this can be indicative of healthy digestion, it should not be solely relied upon as a definitive measure of one’s digestive health”, Balsamo explained.

“On one hand, floating stool may suggest the presence of steatorrhea (excess fat in the stool) or malabsorption. However, it can also be attributed to a high fiber diet, which can lead to increased gas production”.

You shouldn’t be frightened if you don’t notice that you’re passing any or many ghost feces either. In fact, Sauceda pointed out, having a ghost poop every day isn’t necessarily optimal because you can’t see changes in your excrement if it just vanishes all the time.

“It isn’t ideal 100% of the time because you can’t observe any changes in your poop”, she wrote. “If the poop disappears in the toilet bowl right after you go, then you won’t be able to see if there are color or consistency changes”.

However, according to Balsamo, having a floating stool does not always indicate that you have a serious medical condition.

“It is crucial to assess the overall context and consider other factors before drawing conclusions”, Balsamo advised.

She said it’s crucial to consult a medical professional if you have a “specific concern” about what you leave in the toilet after using the restroom or if your digestive health has changed. Sauceda added that another indication to consult your doctor is if you aren’t using the restroom too frequently.

“Pooping is like taking out the trash and you want to be doing it often”, she said. “If you’re going more than three days without pooping, that could be a sign to talk with your doctor”.