Gut flora microbiome test

Essential answers three questions: which groups of bacteria predominate in your gut, what pH your sample has, and whether yeast or fungi are present.

The report starts with the bacterial composition: which groups of bacteria predominate in your gut and how they relate to one another. Next comes the pH value of your stool, which describes how acidic or alkaline the environment in which these bacteria live is. Finally, it covers the presence of yeast and fungi. The lab uses DNA sequencing, reading the genetic material in your sample and detecting species that cannot be grown on a nutrient medium. The kit includes a tube with a collection swab and a return envelope, along with an illustrated guide. You collect the sample at home, send it back, and receive your report digitally. Collection takes just a few minutes, you don’t need an appointment, and the sample is analyzed in a specialist laboratory. Each section of the report is explained in context, so you don’t have to interpret the numbers yourself. The test is intended for anyone who wants a baseline for the first time without having to work through a set of metrics. Since the gut microbiome changes over the course of several weeks, you can later compare this baseline with a second sample. What it does not do is diagnose or rule out a disease. If you want to take a deeper look later, choose Complete next time. For details on what’s included, see the Gut Microbiome Test | Essential.

Two different time frames. A vitamin or mineral level reflects a single day, while the gut microbiome changes over weeks.

A nutrient level in your blood depends on the day the sample is taken and on how well your body absorbs the nutrient in the first place. The composition of your gut follows different rules: It responds to what you eat, medications, and periods of illness, and rarely stays the same for long. That’s why a second measurement gives you new information; an interval of six to twelve months makes sense. A blood test tells you nothing about your gut microbiome, and vice versa. Both are snapshots. But they don’t answer the same question, and one result doesn’t explain the other. The samples are different, too: You need a finger-prick blood sample for nutrients and a stool sample for the microbiome. So start with the question that matters to you rather than measuring both at once. Having two sets of results side by side won’t get you answers any faster than one; it will just take you longer to read them. What they do have in common: Neither tells you what to do next, and neither replaces a conversation with your healthcare provider. If you’re concerned about getting enough vitamins and minerals, you’ll find dedicated tests in the nutrient deficiency tests category.

Complete detects more than 1,500 bacterial species through DNA sequencing, along with three metrics and eight bioindicators. The report is around fifteen pages long.

In addition to answering the question of who lives in your gut, it also explores what these bacteria do there. Three metrics provide an overall picture: biodiversity, which measures the variety of species; your enterotype, or the pattern your sample most closely matches; and the FODMAP index, which indicates how significant fermentable carbohydrates are for you. FODMAP is the collective term for types of sugar that bacteria ferment in the large intestine. The report also includes eight bioindicators, each with its own section. These include butyrate-producing bacteria, the mucosa-protecting flora, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and methane-producing organisms. Each is explained in context in the report, rather than shown only as a percentage. The process is the same as for the smaller test, except that with Complete you fill two tubes instead of one. The real difference lies in the analysis. Complete is a good fit if you have tested before or want metrics from the start that you can compare later. This report also does not provide a diagnosis or identify the cause of any symptoms. For details on the specific bioindicators reported, see Gut Microbiome Test | Complete.

Using DNA sequencing. Both tests read the genetic material in the sample instead of growing bacteria on a nutrient medium.

The difference is greater than it sounds. A culture-based test only counts what grows on the nutrient medium. A large proportion of gut bacteria live without oxygen and cannot be detected this way. DNA sequencing also detects these species, because it doesn’t require a living microorganism, only its genetic material in the sample. That’s why results from two methods aren’t directly comparable, even if both refer to gut flora. Two figures are often confused here. More than 1,500 bacterial species are measured. The lab then calculates additional values from these, such as the ratio between two groups or the proportion of a functional group in the total amount. The number of species and the number of these derived values are two different figures, and the product page lists the number of species. If you have a result from another provider, check which method was used and what unit it was measured in before comparing. Percentages and ratios can’t be converted into each other. And because your gut flora shifts over the course of several weeks, comparing two results also means comparing two points in time. For details on how the analysis works, see the Gut Microbiome Test | Complete.

The kit arrives by post. Collect the sample in the tube according to the instructions, then return it by post. Collection takes a few minutes.

The process is the same for both tests. Depending on the test, the kit contains one or two tubes, illustrated instructions and a return envelope. Collect a small amount from several spots. A single spot only shows part of the picture, which is why the instructions specify this. Then seal each tube, label it, place it in its shipping container and take the envelope to the post office that same day. You don’t need an appointment at a clinic. You can set the kit aside until the timing suits you. The instructions state the deadline for the sample to reach the lab. A stool sample becomes unusable mainly if it sits for too long or comes into contact with toilet water. So plan to collect it on a day when you can still mail it, ideally Monday through Thursday and not before a public holiday or the weekend. Antibiotics change the composition. A result shortly afterward reflects this phase, not the situation beforehand. A specialist laboratory handles the analysis, and you’ll receive the report digitally. After the sample arrives, it takes 8 to 10 working days (as of November 2026), longer than for blood because the genetic material from the sample first needs to be prepared and sequenced. To get started, the Gut Microbiome Test | Essential is all you need.

It is not a diagnostic procedure. Four examples: no inflammatory bowel disease, no tumor, no infection, no celiac disease.

It is also no substitute for an examination at a doctor's office. It won't tell you whether you're healthy. Research observes and describes differences in the composition of the gut microbiome in various diseases. This does not tell us anything about an individual person or their test results. No single type of bacteria explains a disease. So an unusual proportion in your report does not mean there is anything wrong with you. It is a number from a single sample. The next one may be different. It does not provide a basis for treatment, and you won't get a diet plan either. What it can do is provide a snapshot: you can see in black and white how your gut microbiome was composed at the time the sample was taken, and you have a baseline against which a second measurement can be compared. A doctor's office is the right place for persistent symptoms, and your report can serve as a basis for discussion there. Take it with you instead of just describing how you feel. And if your real question is whether a particular food plays a role for you, that isn't measured by a stool test but by one of the blood tests in the intolerance and allergy tests category.