Zoe gut health tests

[Dave18]

has anyone in here used a Zoe test to see their gut health, blood sugar etc?

Thanks

[Fibrowhat]

Hi @Dave18, I just received the test kit; kit includes individual labelled boxes for finger prick test, blood sugar test, gut health test & there’s some muffins too - not open the individual boxes yet. Wanted to add photos but can’t see where to do that. Anyway will keep you all updated.

[TrexArms88]

This is something I've got my eye on. A friend is currently going through their tests now, so waiting to see how they get on.

The service does state, very clearly, that it's not for people that suffer with IBS. That's probably due to the fact that the diet prescribed is very high fibre and could well mean eating trigger foods in high quantities.

My guess on this would be that with a little knowledge of FODMAPs and in conjunction with Zoe studies there could be a good compromise to be had between understanding triggers and the effects certain foods have on the body.

At near on £600 (includes a years subscription to the Zoe community following tests) it's not cheap though.

Definitely keen to understand other's experience with this though, the idea of personalised nutrition, as led by Prof Tim Spector and his team, is indeed very exciting though.

[Inksplat]

yes I’ve done the Zoe programme- you do the muffin/blood finger prick test to check your response times to sugar spikes and fat tolerance. You are also sent a blood sugar monitor to wear for two weeks. It helps you to see your own responses to certain foods, and personalise your menu. There is also a poo test which gives you a comprehensive list of your good and bad gut bacteria. The app is great to follow and really motivates you to eat the foods which Zoe recommends for you, but doesn’t take into account special diets such as low fodmap.

They encourage you to do all the things they freely promote on their podcasts - high fibre, variety of 30 plants per week, some fermented foods, avoid like the plague any highly processed foods, get good sleep, control stress.

My Zoe results to the initial tests were unsurprisingly not good. There are no follow up tests so you don’t know whether or not sticking to their diet advice helps ( though they were talking about offering this at an extra cost which would push the whole programme cost up to over £800) and at the end of 3 months if you want to continue using the app it’s a further £35 per month. It didn’t help me with my gut issues, but I think it improved my diet choices, though that’s slipped a bit lately.

Next, I’m going to work with a nutritionist who offers some testing for known gut problems like SIBO which the NHS don’t offer. At the moment I cannot even speak to my GP so I’m forced down the private route. It’s going to cost as much as the Zoe programme but with much more 1:1 contact and support. Goodbye life savings but if it improves quality of life it’s worth it.

[Dave18 in reply to Inksplat]

thanks for the comprehensive reply. So would you recommend it?

[Inksplat in reply to Dave18]

I’m glad I did it, as there’s lots of nutrition advice, and I changed my diet as a result- but it didn’t help me with gut issues- but it is not intended for that so I can’t complain!

[DonnyInPain in reply to Inksplat]

Good luck with it all.It's so sad that those of us with gut issues are just ignored and left to suffer.

Where did you find your nutritionist?

[Inksplat in reply to DonnyInPain]

I’m sorry to admit I can’t remember what led me to her- I think it was after listening to an IBS Network webinar and I looked on the BANT website… I did a 1/2 hr consult during which I felt she knew what she was talking about. She also said to me you have a functional gut disorder - I’d never heard that before so I googled and found a great paper with loads of information which explains a lot- and also highlights how health professionals are advised to deal with it - bud sadly that’s not been my experience . I’ll see if I can attach the link ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Heronious in reply to Inksplat]

There is so much information on this site, really interesting reading, thank you very much and best wishes.

[DonnyInPain]

I'd also like to know!I signed up but then it costs £300 for a year membership or £160 for 4 months membership or £60 a month for month-to-month membership.

[dedeottie]

Hi. I have just come to the end of wearing my glucose monitor. I ate the muffins, did the finger prick and poo test and became slightly obsessed by blood glucose monitor. This was because I have found it fascinating and informative in the extreme! To be honest , if the only feedback I had was that already given by the monitor, I would feel the whole experiment had been worth it because I have learnt so much about my body’s response to carbohydrates. During this initial period there are lots of lessons and insights popping up on the app along with suggestions for experimenting with food choices while still wearing the monitor. I am now eagerly awaiting the results from all the tests. I paid the minimum amount which at the time still felt like a lot but so far I feel the biofeedback may well be life changing in my case. I will update when results are here.

[XDjames]

Starting mine in June, interested to read experiences here.