Gut Testing

Gut Testing covers the consumer kits that promise to tell you what is happening in your microbiome — and the considerably narrower question of what they can actually tell you. The overview guide compares Viome, Zoe, Thorne, and FoodMarble, and the in-depth review takes Viome's Gut Intelligence test apart on its own terms.

The useful framing is that these products do not measure the same thing, so there is no single winner. Viome and Thorne sequence microbial genetic material from a stool sample. Zoe adds a continuous glucose monitor and standardised test meals to score how your body actually responds to food. FoodMarble is a handheld breath-testing device you use repeatedly at home to track gas after specific meals. Which is worth the money depends entirely on what you are trying to learn.

What none of them are is diagnostic. No consumer kit here is FDA-cleared to diagnose IBS, SIBO, celiac disease, or a food allergy, and persistent or red-flag symptoms belong in front of a clinician before they belong in a testing kit. Start with the comparison guide to work out whether testing answers your question at all, then read the Viome review if a full microbiome test is the direction you are heading. If it isn't, the Conditions guides are the cheaper starting point.