Gut biome analysis- has anybody had this test done. Any advice pls

[Poppy_the_cat]

Having both read and seen Dr Michael Mosley's on his excellent TV programme, I feel that having a gut biome analysis- may be vital for me.

Cost is one issue, but making sure the right lab does the adequate testing is the other.

Dr. Mosley's primary lab quoted is in the USA. I was wondering if anybody on this forum has had this test here in the UK?

Recently a friend of my mother's explained that somebody she knows who is a Microbiologist himself (not in the UK), had his biome tested, purely out of curiousity and he discover that instead of having the 300+ bacteria that should be the norm, he had less than 90 different strains.

I feel like I have less than 10 at the moment, able to eat/ tolerate less and less by the day almost! Hence why I ask.

Any advice, greatly appreciated.

Thank-you.

Poppy.

[hendb]

haha i feel like I have 3 bacterias...and the wrong ones

what is he lab recommended by mosley? how much does it cost?

[Poppy_the_cat in reply to hendb]

His book mentions Biome and British Gut. He says the test costs under £100, when the book went to print, pre Brexit; alas since the disaster that is Brexit, it now seems to cost £125. Atlas also seems to provide this test.

I am asking is anybody has already done it and who is best to go with?

[megarub]

Yes I have via the British Gut project.

I read Tim Spector's book 'The Diet Myth', which is about the microbiome. I recommend it as an interesting, informative read. Spector is a reg. medic., and research epidemiologist at KCL, if I remember correctly.

The British Gut project that Spector and his colleagues are part of, is the sister project to the American Gut project.

Both are crowd-funded research projects [academics are collecting gut samples globally] - I paid 75GBP for the test. They don;t offer any clinical analysis. You have to do that through your own researches [which I haven't done yet].

Until I do that, I've not learned anything about my gut, but Spector's book is worth reading. [Hint - eat a really varied diet, and a lot of good bacteria-laden foods like kefir, unpasteurised cheese, sauerkraut etc].

[Poppy_the_cat in reply to megarub]

I have just seen your reply.

Many thanks.

I may just be able to cope with the cost of £75 for the test.

If we do the research ourselves, what do we do once we find the results? How can we use it to get better- any ideas much appreciated.

Poppy

[megarub in reply to Poppy_the_cat]

I'd suggest reading as much as you can, eg, Spector's book, and the references there. And the 2 x Gut Projects.

Probably not worth forking out for an analysis [takes 2 or 3 months for the data to to return to you. Mine is a 4 page list of the relative abundance of bacteria], or spending time figuring out how your analysis compares to population norms etc etc.

Unless advised otherise, in the west we may as well assume we need to increase the range of gut bacteria, eat from wide food sources [again, read Spector] to feed the gut bacteria, avoid anti-biotics etc.

[crimple]

I did the same as megarub. The American gut project has a partner in UK, can't remember name of the London teaching hospital. You get a report but it is up to you to research the results. My gut biome is abnormal, but I do have quite a lot of variety in it. I am gluten free, chicken, egg and mostly lacto free. I don't like pickle type things!

I have decided to try bone broth to heal my leaky gut and may try kimchi or kefir.

I suppose I am an information junkie but I look on it as gathering together all the pieces of a giant jigsaw and then putting it all together in my quest for better health. I am hypo, have Hashi's and am thinking about adding T3.

[Poppy_the_cat in reply to crimple]

Wow, seems like we think very much alike.

My situation I feel is getting worse by the day. I have had diarrhea since March. The only time things improve is when I go abroad to the Med.

Bowel specialist does not think I have Crohn's, but I seem to have very similar food intolerances to a the husband of a friend that does.

I have had truckloads of antibiotics. I have a leaky cut, have graduated from wheat and gluten intolerance to full blown coeliac (no pun intended). I am also Hashimoto's. I can' t cope with lots of carbs. I am legume intolerant and mega intolerant of soya. And now it seems I have MCA disorder/ syndrome. Mast Cell Activation = (allergens like sulphites trigger the mast cells to granulate, essentially explode and release huge amounts of inflammatory histamine throughout the body).

I may have more autoimmune issues currently under review... So essentially I am trying to do as much for my gut as possible.

May I ask what was the cost of the test you had? So far I can only see Atlas advertising the test for £125.

If we have to do the research ourselves into the results, how hard is it? I presume one needs to search on the internet?

Once we do discover what do we do then? Is there a protocol somewhere for redressing the balance in the gut?

Any advice, ideas are most welcome.

Poppy

[Josiesmum]

Hi Poppy. I'm not sure these tests are worth the money because the microbiome is ever changing and whatever the result the advice is always the same, i.e. eat lots of variety, lots of veg and lots of prebiotic soluble fibre, although I appreciate that can be difficult when you're so sensitive. Some sources here: draxe.com/prebiotics/.

[megarub in reply to Josiesmum]

Yes, you're right Josiesmum. A course of antibiotics carpet bombs the gut and it takes months/years to recover.