Gut microbiome tests are everywhere. Should you get one?

At-home gut microbiome tests are trending, selling insights to the curious, empowerment to the chronically ill and a claimed path to longevity to the wellness-conscious.

At-home gut microbiome tests are trending, selling insights to the curious, empowerment to the chronically ill and a claimed path to longevity to the wellness-conscious.

Private companies are offering tests, costing $100 to $500 or more, that promise a bacterial inventory of your intestines.

But can microbiome tests actually provide actionable health information?

As more patients arrive at doctors appointments with results in hand, frustrated gastroenterologists want people to know the tests have limits.

There’s a world in your gut and we still don’t know a lot about it

Inside our intestines, entire ecosystems of bacteria help us digest our food, absorb key vitamins, combat inflammation and much more. Research shows a healthy gut microbiome may play a role in preventing things like liver disease and diabetes and could even influence mental health.

The gut microbiome is incredibly complex and our understanding of it “is in its infancy,” said Dr. Mark Benson, a gastroenterologist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s health system.

“But there’s growing evidence that there are changes in the gut microbiome that are associated with different diseases, including diabetes, liver disease, obesity and inflammatory bowel disease,” he said.