Free Gut Health Quiz CTA
Viome
$149
Viome offers three sophisticated microbiome tests and several reasons why they are our 2022 Editors’ Choice for the best overall testing company for your gut microbiome, as well as the best for whole-health insights.
Viomes results pages are incredibly thorough. They offer deep and valuable insights that you can address on your own or — more preferably — with your doctor. This is especially true of the Full Body Intelligence Test, which may reveal syndromes or disorders you never knew you had and provide you with guidance on how you can address them.
Gut Intelligence Test
Viome’s Gut Intelligence test, the most affordable of the company’s tests at $149, analyzes the trillions of microorganisms in your gut more thoroughly than any other test in our guide. Included here are:
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Bacteriophages (also simply called phages)
- Viruses
- Parasites
- Archaea
Other companies like Ombre and BIOHM offer valuable insights focused on bacteria or fungi, but these results provide a less specific picture than what you get from Viome.
Studies indicate that focusing on RNA rather than DNA can allow Viome to focus on the active microorganisms and what they’re doing. In this way, the whole picture of your gut microbiome becomes clearer. This makes sense if you recall that your microbiome is the genomic makeup of the microorganisms in your gut, and dead microorganisms leave DNA behind that can muddy the picture.
Full Body Intelligence Test
At first glance, it might seem odd that your spit could tell you that much about your brain or your heart, but several studies back this up. One looks closely at a specific pathway known as the oral microbiome brain axis (OMBA). The OMBA modulates things like cranial inflammation and other physical aspects of your brain that can positively or negatively affect cognition. And another study defines a link between the balance of microbes in your mouth and your likelihood of cardiovascular disease.
