Viome offers the Gut Intelligence test, a comprehensive analysis tool that reveals the composition of your gut microbiome and aids in identifying optimal dietary adjustments and probiotics for enhancing gut health and overall well-being. Additionally, Viome provides a range of probiotic blends, prebiotics, and various supplements recommended for individuals who have taken their test. These high-quality probiotics and supplements are also available for purchase directly from Viome, even if you haven’t taken the Gut Intelligence test.
To gain a comprehensive overview of Viome and its Gut Intelligence Test, we invite you to peruse the insightful article titled “Viome: Best At-Home Gut Health & Microbiome Test.”
Sections of the Test Results
Expect your results to be available within two to four weeks. I was very impressed that my results were ready in 10 days. As soon as they’re ready, you will get an e-mail notifying you and your personalized gut health report will be available on Viome’s website. The results are presented on a main page to access the various sections. There is also a panel on the left-hand side of the page with the general categories of results. We will start with the main page sections and then provide reference to the sections found on the left-hand edge.
Let’s dive into the various sections!
Your Unique Formula
This is one of the major results found at the top and most of the right-hand side of the main page. It highlights the specific blends of nutrients and probiotics/prebiotics that would be formulated for you in order to optimize your gut microbiome. This section is very thorough regarding the nutrient and probiotics that will be in the supplement. You can click on each nutrient or probiotic and get a description of what they are and what they do to benefit you. There are scientific references to back up this information. This information can also be found on the left-hand panel under Shop.
- Nutrient Supplement – Lists the name and amount of each nutrient in the blend as well as how many capsules of the supplement you would need to take daily. These supplements come in capsule form.
- Probiotic/Prebiotic Formula – The probiotic/prebiotic formula lists the specific strains and quantity of each probiotic as well as the specific prebiotic fiber. This supplement comes in a powder form that is easily dissolvable in a liquid.
Your Health Profile
This is the other main section at the top left of the main page. It shows the metabolic areas where your gut microbiome is deficient. They are listed in a horizontal sliding scale and you can click on each one that takes you to a description page for that specific deficiency. Examples of such deficiencies could include things like digestive efficiency, protein fermentation, uric acid production pathways, and other topics of this nature.
Food Suggestions
This section lists both food recommendations as well as foods to avoid based on your test results as well as any specific diets you may be following or food allergies you may have. I found this section very extensive and filled with good suggestions that could be beneficial. Clicking on each food gives you a deep dive into the dietary facts of the food, how it can help improve the specific bacteria and metabolic processes you are deficient in, and provides the research is to back this up. However, if I adhered to the foods to avoid suggestions, I would have to make far too many changes to my diet, but gradual and selective changes are certainly possible. This area is broken up into 3 main sections discussed below. These foods and sections can also be found on the left-hand side panel under Nutrition.
- Your Avoid Foods – These are the foods you should avoid in order to improve the bacteria and metabolic processes you are deficient in. They are presented in foods you should avoid for 30 days and foods you should avoid for 6 months.
- Your Superfoods – These are the foods that would be most beneficial to you and your gut microbiome. They are listed by categories that include veggies, fruits & grains, proteins & fats, and spices & other. They also recommend starting with a few of these foods and working up to including up to 10 or more in your daily consumption in addition to the other foods you eat.
- Your Nutrition Plan – This plan includes how many servings of each of the recommended superfood subgroups you should be eating daily for an optimal gut microbiome.
Your Health Scores
This is the final main section that fills the bottom half of the right-side of the main page. These scores represent an overall assessment of key health areas that impact how you feel, look, and age. They determine your food and supplement recommendations. It is broken down into 3 main sections that we’ll cover below as well as multiple subsections. These scores can also be found via the left-hand side panel on the page under ‘Scores’.
- Gut Health – Your Gut Health score integrates over 20 sub-scores that reflect the current state of your gut health. This score assesses things like the pathogenic status of the gut, both harmful and beneficial microbial activities of the gut, butyrate production, oxalate metabolism, intestinal barrier health (gut lining), and more.
- Functional Scores – These scores describe both beneficial and harmful biological functions. They are made by combining pathway activities and are used to form your Health Scores. They are broken down into various functions covering things like Digestive Efficiency, Gas Production, and Metabolic Fitness, among a number of others. This is very useful information to give you a good idea of how efficient your digestive tract is functioning with the current make up of your microbiome. By clicking on each function you can see your score and how it stacks up against the population and get a more in depth explanation of the function itself.
- Pathway Activities – These describe biochemical reactions that produce beneficial or harmful molecules. They are broken down into various functions including things like Butyrate Production Pathways, Ammonia Production Pathways, and Bile Acid Metabolism Pathways to name just a few of the pathways included in the results. Another very informative section to breakdown which areas your microbiome is working well as well as those functions where it in not working so well. By clicking on each pathway you can see your score and how it stacks up against the population and get a more in depth explanation of the function itself.
Overall, I am very happy with the presentation of the results and the depth of information provided. There is a fairly strong scientific basis for the results obtained as well as explanations and the scientific sources are provided. The information presented seems to be at an appropriate level for most people to be able to understand, but there are sections where more complex terminology is used in some instances. The results of Viome’s analysis may not give you a complete picture of your overall health but it does a pretty good job of providing information on how your gut microbiome may be having an effect on other systems in your body. As with any major changes to diet and/or lifestyle, it is recommended that you talk with a doctor or a registered dietitian before adopting any significant recommendations regarding your diet as you could end up eliminating potentially nutritious or necessary foods. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that while research into the gut microbiome and probiotics is increasing, the scientific and medical evidence regarding the gut microbiome, microbiome testing, and probiotic supplementation may not fully support all of the claims Viome makes about what its tests reveal and what probiotic supplements can do for you.
