“Enterosgel” suddenly became a biohack on the English-speaking internet

A medicine that many people across the former Soviet Union know as a remedy for diarrhoea and food poisoning has unexpectedly found a new life on the English-speaking internet. An X user named Gunnar, who goes by the handle FarvingCo, told his followers about an “Enterosgel” “biohack” and said that he takes a serving of the product straight from the tube every morning. A few days later, he even published a separate free guide promising to explain exactly when he takes it, how much he uses and what he combines it with.

The author was particularly interested in the fact that the product, well known to Russian-speaking audiences, turned out to be noticeably more affordable for him in Cyprus than in Sweden. According to him, “Enterosgel” costs less on the island thanks to its large Russian-speaking community, while in Sweden the same product costs considerably more. However, it was not possible to independently verify his specific price comparison between the two countries. The product is indeed sold in Cyprus: for example, a 90-gram tube is currently listed at one online pharmacy for €12.65, while a 225-gram pack costs €21.67. In Sweden, a 225-gram tube costs 326.59 Swedish kronor at one online retailer.

The history of the product itself is also interesting. “Enterosgel” is not a new Western wellness product: its active ingredient, polymethylsiloxane polyhydrate, was developed in the USSR in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Research was carried out in Kyiv, and industrial production began in 1991. In the 1990s, the product was registered in Ukraine and Russia under the trade name Enterosgel. Today, it is sold in dozens of countries; the brand’s official website lists 42 markets where the product is available in pharmacies or online.

Essentially, “Enterosgel” belongs to the group of enterosorbents: it works inside the gastrointestinal tract and physically binds certain substances before being eliminated from the body. A large randomised study of the product for diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome was conducted in the United Kingdom; its results were published in the journal Gut in 2022. However, it would be wrong to turn the product into a universal daily “detox pill” or an essential part of a healthy lifestyle solely on the basis of viral posts on X: medical indications and directions for use are not the same thing as a social media user’s personal biohack.

That is precisely the paradox of the current trend: a product created by Soviet specialists several decades ago and long used in the countries of the former USSR is now being rediscovered by English-speaking users as an obscure “secret” from another medical culture. FarvingCo’s story shows how an old pharmacy product can become a fashionable wellness trend in just a few posts — first being rediscovered online, and only afterwards recognised as something that has long been anything but new to millions of people.