These pricey gut tests may tell you nothing
March 13, 2026
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1:24Now PlayingThese pricey gut tests may tell you nothing
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as posted by the channelHave you heard of at-home gut microbiome tests? These poop-analyzing tests promise to tell you if the teeming masses of microorganisms in your intestines are “healthy” or not. There’s a problem though. In a new study in the journal Communications Biology, researchers found that these can be unreliable, as in, they sent identical stool samples to seven different companies and got very different results.
These tests can cost hundreds of dollars, so you would expect to get reliable answers about the health of your microbiome, says Dr. Trisha Pasricha — a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and The Washington Post’s Ask a Doctor columnist.
If you’re looking for something that can improve the health and diversity of your microbiome, here are four things to consider.
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