Why world leaders like Putin are paranoid about guarding their poop
By
Benjamin Ryan
June 23, 2022 3:53pm
Updated
Russian President Vladimir Putin -- whom Kremlin-observers say is suffering from cancer -- reportedly has a team of aides who collect all of his bodily wastes when traveling abroad.NY Post photo composite
MORE ON:VLADIMIR PUTIN
The 69-year-old strongman relies on Federal Protection Service agents to pick up his waste when he goes abroad and ferry it back to Russia where it can be disposed of discretely, according to recent reports in French news magazine Paris Match.
Why all the sneakiness and subterfuge? Putin — who many Russian analysts and insiders claim is suffering from cancer — is nervous that foreign intelligence services could gauge his health by analyzing his waste matter. His fears are not far-fetched: Experts in fecal analysis say a stool sample can give many insights into an individual’s overall health and diet, including medical treatments the person is undergoing.
“If he was on chemotherapy then it may show up,” Ben de Lacy Costello, an associate professor of biosensing and diagnostics at University of the West England Bristol, said of Putin. “Depending on what kind of drug it was and how it was metabolized by the liver and the excretion pathway.”
If Putin’s poop fell into enemy hands, medical specialists might possibly detect the presence of chemotherapy in his body, which could confirm a cancer diagnosis.Getty Images
Putin joins a long line of leaders allegedly caught up in excrement espionage. Soviet Prime Minister Joseph Stalin, for instance, is said to have obtained stool samples from Chairman Mao Zedong during the Chinese leader’s 10-day visit to the Soviet Union in 1949. For that trip, the Russians built special toilets connected to retrieval boxes, which were then sent to a laboratory for detailed analysis.
Legendary Soviet leader Joseph Stalin set up a special stool-collection system to capture excrement from Chinese leader Mao Zedong during his 1949 tour of the USSR.Getty Images
Custom-designed toilets were offered to Chairman Mao during his 10-day visit of the former Soviet Union. Mao’s waste was sent to a special laboratory for detailed analysis.Getty Images
In 1999, Israel’s Mossad agents used a similar ruse during the funeral of Jordan’s King Hussein in Amman. In attendance was the ailing Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who was then suffering from diabetes and cancer. Working with their Jordanian counterparts, the Mossad moved Assad’s waste from his hotel room to a special collection device in order to obtain clearer details about his health.
It is believed that the CIA collected the waste of both former Russian leader Milkhail Gorbachev and current Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni during their visits to Washington. And in 2006, George W. Bush reportedly had his own toilet sent to Vienna, Austria, ahead of an official trip to ensure the composition of his waste matter remained a state secret.
In 1999, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad attended the funeral of King Hussein in Amman, Jordan, where his excrement was collected by Israeli and Jordanian operatives. Assad died the following year after a battle with ill health.Alain Nogues
During a visit to Washington DC in the 1990s, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev reportedly had his waste covertly collected by the CIA.Getty Images
Although some may consider these measures extreme, human waste has long been considered a fairly reliable health indicator. During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts conducted wastewater analysis to assess shifts in coronavirus infection rates in local populations. While the science of analyzing individual anatomies remains far less precise, Costello said leaders like Putin could have cause for concern should their waste fall into the wrong hands.
“If you were paranoid and didn’t want to take a chance, I’d probably say, ‘Yes’, someone could glean some kind of health information from stool,” he said.
But many professors of poo caution that this science remains limited by a lack of sufficient data. While today’s advanced tests can give scientists clues about an individual’s particular health conditions and lifestyle, they “cannot yet be used to accurately predict disease without additional clinical information,” said Pieter Dorrestein, co-director of the Institute for Metabolomics Medicine and a professor at the School of Pharmacy at the University of California, San Diego.
Scientists have long relied on stool and urine samples to gauge health and well-being. During COVID, for instance, wastewater analysis was used to determine shifts in the virus’ trajectory.Shutterstock
Still, stool samples can pretty accurately identify diseases of the gastrointestinal tract itself. Costello said there is “some good evidence” that inflammatory diseases of the bowel, including inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, can alter the compounds of stool in a way that is detectable through fecal analysis.
Stool analysis could also be used to identify some specific cancers, such as colon cancer, as well as key medications such as chemotherapy and the radioactive iodine used to treat thyroid cancer — the specific type of cancer Putin is said to have.
Along with the composition of excrement, the shape, odor and color of stool can also suggest imbalances within the gastric system. Another reason why Putin is protecting his poop.Shutterstock
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It’s not just what’s inside poop that can reveal a person’s health, but its overall appearance, too. “Stool can be assessed in terms of color, consistency, quantity, shape, odor, etc., to indicate disease states,” said Costello. Celiac disease, pancreatitis or even bile duct cancer can all impact the color of excrement.
In other words, anything but the elegant “S-shaped poop” fecal formation made famous by TV doctor (and now GOP Senate candidate) Dr. Mehmet Oz might hint that all is not well in Putin’s body.
By
Benjamin Ryan
June 23, 2022 3:53pm
Updated
MORE ON:VLADIMIR PUTIN
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The 69-year-old strongman relies on Federal Protection Service agents to pick up his waste when he goes abroad and ferry it back to Russia where it can be disposed of discretely, according to recent reports in French news magazine Paris Match.
Why all the sneakiness and subterfuge? Putin — who many Russian analysts and insiders claim is suffering from cancer — is nervous that foreign intelligence services could gauge his health by analyzing his waste matter. His fears are not far-fetched: Experts in fecal analysis say a stool sample can give many insights into an individual’s overall health and diet, including medical treatments the person is undergoing.
“If he was on chemotherapy then it may show up,” Ben de Lacy Costello, an associate professor of biosensing and diagnostics at University of the West England Bristol, said of Putin. “Depending on what kind of drug it was and how it was metabolized by the liver and the excretion pathway.”
If Putin’s poop fell into enemy hands, medical specialists might possibly detect the presence of chemotherapy in his body, which could confirm a cancer diagnosis.Getty ImagesPutin joins a long line of leaders allegedly caught up in excrement espionage. Soviet Prime Minister Joseph Stalin, for instance, is said to have obtained stool samples from Chairman Mao Zedong during the Chinese leader’s 10-day visit to the Soviet Union in 1949. For that trip, the Russians built special toilets connected to retrieval boxes, which were then sent to a laboratory for detailed analysis.
Legendary Soviet leader Joseph Stalin set up a special stool-collection system to capture excrement from Chinese leader Mao Zedong during his 1949 tour of the USSR.Getty Images
Custom-designed toilets were offered to Chairman Mao during his 10-day visit of the former Soviet Union. Mao’s waste was sent to a special laboratory for detailed analysis.Getty ImagesIn 1999, Israel’s Mossad agents used a similar ruse during the funeral of Jordan’s King Hussein in Amman. In attendance was the ailing Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who was then suffering from diabetes and cancer. Working with their Jordanian counterparts, the Mossad moved Assad’s waste from his hotel room to a special collection device in order to obtain clearer details about his health.
It is believed that the CIA collected the waste of both former Russian leader Milkhail Gorbachev and current Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni during their visits to Washington. And in 2006, George W. Bush reportedly had his own toilet sent to Vienna, Austria, ahead of an official trip to ensure the composition of his waste matter remained a state secret.
In 1999, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad attended the funeral of King Hussein in Amman, Jordan, where his excrement was collected by Israeli and Jordanian operatives. Assad died the following year after a battle with ill health.Alain Nogues
During a visit to Washington DC in the 1990s, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev reportedly had his waste covertly collected by the CIA.Getty ImagesAlthough some may consider these measures extreme, human waste has long been considered a fairly reliable health indicator. During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts conducted wastewater analysis to assess shifts in coronavirus infection rates in local populations. While the science of analyzing individual anatomies remains far less precise, Costello said leaders like Putin could have cause for concern should their waste fall into the wrong hands.
“If you were paranoid and didn’t want to take a chance, I’d probably say, ‘Yes’, someone could glean some kind of health information from stool,” he said.
But many professors of poo caution that this science remains limited by a lack of sufficient data. While today’s advanced tests can give scientists clues about an individual’s particular health conditions and lifestyle, they “cannot yet be used to accurately predict disease without additional clinical information,” said Pieter Dorrestein, co-director of the Institute for Metabolomics Medicine and a professor at the School of Pharmacy at the University of California, San Diego.
Scientists have long relied on stool and urine samples to gauge health and well-being. During COVID, for instance, wastewater analysis was used to determine shifts in the virus’ trajectory.ShutterstockStill, stool samples can pretty accurately identify diseases of the gastrointestinal tract itself. Costello said there is “some good evidence” that inflammatory diseases of the bowel, including inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, can alter the compounds of stool in a way that is detectable through fecal analysis.
Stool analysis could also be used to identify some specific cancers, such as colon cancer, as well as key medications such as chemotherapy and the radioactive iodine used to treat thyroid cancer — the specific type of cancer Putin is said to have.
Along with the composition of excrement, the shape, odor and color of stool can also suggest imbalances within the gastric system. Another reason why Putin is protecting his poop.Shutterstock38
What do you think? Post a comment.
It’s not just what’s inside poop that can reveal a person’s health, but its overall appearance, too. “Stool can be assessed in terms of color, consistency, quantity, shape, odor, etc., to indicate disease states,” said Costello. Celiac disease, pancreatitis or even bile duct cancer can all impact the color of excrement.
In other words, anything but the elegant “S-shaped poop” fecal formation made famous by TV doctor (and now GOP Senate candidate) Dr. Mehmet Oz might hint that all is not well in Putin’s body.
