How to Prepare to Take a Microbiome Gut Health Test

A healthy gut is essential for your overall well-being, influencing digestion, immune function, and even your mental health. One of the best ways to gain insight into your gut health is by taking a gut microbiome test. This non-invasive, at-home stool test analyzes the balance of microorganisms in your digestive system to provide you with valuable information about how your diet, lifestyle, and supplements are impacting your gut. In this post, we’ll cover the benefits of testing, how to choose the best gut health test for your needs and the recommended steps to take to prepare for your gut health test. 

What is a Gut Health Test?

A gut microbiome test, often referred to as a stool test for gut health, is a scientific method used to analyze the diverse community of microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, living in your digestive tract. These microbes aid in digestion, vitamin production, and protection against harmful pathogens. Testing your gut allows you to see how well your gut microbiome is functioning and whether imbalances could be contributing to issues like bloating, skin problems, fatigue or even mood disorders.

Most tests involve collecting a stool sample at home and sending it to a lab for analysis. The results will give you a snapshot of your gut health and help you understand which diet, supplemental and/or lifestyle changes you could make to improve your overall well-being.

Gut Microbiome Test Benefits

• Personalized Nutrition: By identifying which bacteria are thriving or lacking in your gut, you can make more informed decisions about which foods you need more of and how to best support digestion.
• Identifying Imbalances: Test results can help pinpoint overgrowths of harmful bacteria or a lack of beneficial probiotics, which might be contributing to common digestive issues like bloating or diarrhea.
• Holistic IBS/IBD Management: Get personalized advice to better manage IBS, Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis by identifying trigger foods and receiving specific changes you can make to reduce abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, etc.
• Improved Immune Function: Since much of your immune system is located in the gut, improving your microbiome can lead to stronger immunity and better overall health.
• Long-Term Health Tracking: Periodic gut testing allows you to track how your microbiome changes over time, helping you adjust your diet and habits for long-term wellness.
• Tangible Insights: If you’ve been suffering from GI symptoms, testing your gut microbiome is a great first step towards getting some concrete insights about what’s happening inside your digestive system. Having this data can lead to being more informed on your health, having deeper conversations with your doctors and empowering patients to better advocate for themselves. 

How to Choose the Best Gut Health Test

With many options available, it's important to select a test that offers comprehensive results. Here’s what to look for when choosing a test:

1. Sample Size: Unlike other gut health test kits, Injoy’s microbiome testing kit includes 3 samples over multiple days. By testing more than one sample we're able to see how your microbiome shifts over time to give you a more accurate and complete picture of your gut health, as microbiome composition can fluctuate from day to day. Tests that only collect and test a single sample likely will not capture these variations. (Plus it’s a much better deal to get 3 tests at $99.99 USD each vs other kits retailing well over $250 USD for just 1 test!) 
2. Advanced Testing Methods: Look for tests that use DNA sequencing  to provide the most detailed results. These methods are far more accurate and comprehensive than basic culture-based or PCR tests which only identify a fraction of the bacteria present in your gut.
3. Easy to Read Reports: When deciding on which microbiome test is best for you, ask to see a sample report. You will want a report that is detailed but also easy to interpret the data and understand what to do next with that info. Injoy’s report provides you with a personal Gut Health Score, shows how your gut compares against those battling IBS and IBD and very clear next step recommendations personalized to your unique gut. 
4. Actionable Insights: Your gut microbiome is unique, so why settle for generic advice? Choose a test that provides personalized recommendations based on your unique results. Injoy’s test, for example, offers a detailed report with the specific dietary, supplementary and lifestyle changes your body craves.
5. Additional Tracking: If you’re interested in identifying food triggers, you’ll also want to look for a microbiome test that offers additional tracking tools. For example, Injoy also enables tracking within our app in addition to the gut health test to build a more complete picture of your gut health. You can even utilize the Injoy app without taking a gut health test! Download the Injoy app on iOS and Android to easily start tracking your diet, daily energy levels, sleep quality, exercise, mental health and even GI symptoms like stool consistency, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea and stomach pain. 
6. On-Going Support: When selecting which microbiome test is right for your health goals, you might also want to consider if there will be any on-going support after completing the test and receiving your results. Through our app, Injoy offers a range of options for on-going support such as a vast library of interactive articles, recipes, exercises and more curated based on your unique needs. You can also get instant, accurate and judgment-free answers to every digestive health question from our viral AI-powered GutChat tool! 

When is a Good Time to Take a Gut Health Test

The best time to test your gut health will really depend on your specific health goals. While many Injoy customers decide to begin testing when they are experiencing digestive discomfort, there are also many others who decide to take an Injoy gut health test to better understand their bodies and proactively optimize their overall health. 

Here’s a few reasons you might decide to take a gut health test: 

• You want to identify the triggers behind your gut health issues. 
• You need confirmation that your gut problems are real and not "in your head." 
• You’re already managing a gut issue and want a tool to monitor your progress. 
• You’re curious about how to optimize your microbiome for better overall health. 
• You recently started a new supplement or medication and want to see how it’s impacting your gut. 
• Your mental health has been struggling and you want to improve your gut health to positively influence your mental health. 
• You are curious to find out which vitamins your microbiome is producing vs not and receiving a list of foods to support vitamin production based on your unique microbiome.
• You recently took antibiotics and would like tips to help restore your gut balance. 
• You’re training at a high-level and want to optimize your gut health because better overall health starts in the gut!

Whether you’re dealing with specific symptoms or just interested in learning more about your microbiome, there’s no wrong time to test your gut health. Microbiome testing is simply a tool to better understand your unique gut health profile - sort of like a Fitbit for your gut! And by regularly testing your gut health, you can track how your microbiome evolves over time and make more informed decisions about your diet, supplements and lifestyle to keep your gut functioning at its best. 

How to Prepare to Take Your Gut Health Test

Preparation is key to getting accurate results from your gut health test. Here are some important steps to take:

1. Maintain Your Normal Routine
   In the days leading up to the test, try to maintain your regular diet and lifestyle. Drastic changes, like a new diet, medications, or significant travel, can affect your microbiome. If these factors are part of your daily routine, they’ll be reflected in the results, but try to avoid sudden changes just before testing.
   
   
2. Stay Hydrated
   Hydration plays a key role in digestive health, so ensure you're drinking enough water before the test. Proper hydration supports healthy digestion and helps with sample collection.
   
   
3. Pause Probiotics and Supplements
   Probiotics and supplements can temporarily alter the balance of bacteria in your gut. For the most accurate results, stop taking probiotics 3-5 days before the test. This allows your gut to return to its natural state without outside influence.
   
   
4. Wait After Antibiotics, NSAIDs, Surgery, or Colonoscopy Prep
   If you’ve recently taken antibiotics or NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen), undergone surgery or completed colonoscopy prep, it’s important to wait before taking your gut health test. Antibiotics and NSAIDs can have a lasting impact on your gut microbiome, and testing too soon may give an inaccurate picture.
   
   

5.  Reduce Stress
   Stress can affect your gut health by altering the gut-brain axis, which may impact the diversity of bacteria in your digestive system. To ensure the most accurate results, try to keep your stress to a minimum (if possible!) in the days leading up to your test. 

Final Thoughts

Taking a gut health test is a simple, non-invasive way to gain insights into your microbiome and improve your overall well-being. By choosing a comprehensive test like Injoy, which offers multiple samples, highly personalized recommendations and on-going interactive education, you can unlock the full potential of your gut health!