These pricey gut tests may tell you nothing
Community Score: 50% | 7.0K views | 2mo
0 community ratings: null thumbs up, null thumbs down
Have you heard of at-home gut microbiome tests? These poop-analyzing tests promise to tell you if the teeming masses of microorganisms in your intestines are “healthy” or not. There’s a problem though. In a new study in the journal Communications Biology, researchers found that these can be unreliable, as in, they sent identical stool samples to seven different companies and got very different results. These tests can cost hundreds of dollars, so you would expect to get reliable answers about the health of your microbiome, says Dr. Trisha Pasricha — a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and The Washington Post’s Ask a Doctor columnist. If you’re looking for something that can improve the health and diversity of your microbiome, here are four things to consider.
Tags: ask-a-doctor, gut health, gut microbiome test, nutrition
More from Washington Post
- Tips from Bob Woodward on Investigative Journalism — Score: 50%
- I helped my brother cheat. Once his wife found out, he started ghosting me. — Score: 50%
- Lebanese cellist plays at site of airstrikes on Beirut suburb — Score: 50%
- Colon cancer screening at age 45 may be too late — Score: 50%
- Punch’s fans say he has a new ‘girlfriend’ — and she’s the same color as his plush toy — Score: 50%
- Animal rights activists break into facility to free beagles bred for medical research — Score: 50%