I mailed my poop for Viome’s $279 gut health test — the report had me flip my entire diet

As a health and wellness writer, I’ve tried (and done) just about everything.

Bryan Johnson’s Longevity Mix. A parasite cleanse. Jennifer Aniston’s viral workout. I’m no stranger to the less-conventional trends and am willing to try anything at least once. So, when the opportunity arose to ship my poop to a lab for an Advanced Gut Intelligence Test, I said yes. Happily.

But a few years ago, I probably wouldn’t have considered it.

Growing up, I was actually quite close-minded about most health trends — and stuck on a very rigid diet. This was partially because I had a lot of food noise, and also because it seemed like everyone around me was drastically cutting out food groups for fear of intolerances or weight gain.

When I was 16, dairy was the enemy, nut milks had taken over every café, and my feed was full of girls talking about bloating and “hot girls have IBS.” I decided I had a dairy intolerance and cut it out cold turkey. In college, I wanted to undo the freshman fifteen I’d gained while eating my way through Europe and Australia. So I went gluten-free — mostly because other girls my age were doing it, and I’d convinced myself cutting carbs would help me lose weight.

A few years later, I was eating a diet primarily made of salads, seafood and the occasional sweet treat. I was maintaining my weight, and beyond the occasional bloating or slump in energy (having a toddler may have something to do with that), I seemed okay.

Still, something felt off.

Over the past year, I’ve become much more interested in gut health, thanks in part to a telling conversation with the founders of Gut Oggau, a biodynamic agriculture and herbal wine estate. It got me thinking beyond how food affects how I look — and more about how it affects how I feel and think.

The gut-brain connection is well studied, yet for so many years, I had never really stopped to ask myself a much more important question: What should I actually be eating to nourish a balanced, healthy gut microbiome? How is food affecting my energy, my mood and my brain?

Once I started asking those questions, I realized I needed a baseline — a clearer picture of what was actually going on inside my gut. And that’s what led me to Viome’s Gut Health Test.

What is Viome and how does it work?

Viome is a leading health-tech company offering at-home tests that analyze your gut, oral and cellular microbiomes using advanced RNA sequencing. The company was founded by leading scientists and clinicians specializing in microbiology.

Its mission is simple: decode your body’s activity so you can be proactive about its signals.

Unlike traditional DNA-based tests, Viome looks at the active microorganisms (think bacteria, fungi and even viruses) in your body, analyzes them, and then generates personalized food recommendations and supplement formulas based on your individual biology.

Viome offers two different tests — a Gut Intelligence Test ($279) focused primarily on understanding the health and activity of your gut microbiome, and a Full Body Gut Intelligence Test ($399) that also considers longevity, heart health and beyond. The Gut Test requires users to ship a sample of the stool to the Viome labs for analysis, and typically takes two to three weeks to finalize your results.

For my goals and purposes, I selected the Gut Intelligence Test. Below, find my complete review, including what to expect in the process, how to access your results and whether it was worth it.

At $279, Viome’s Gut Intelligence Test is an investment — and yes, it requires collecting and sending in a pea-sized stool sample, which could certainly be off-putting for some. In my experience, though, the process was much simpler (and far less disgusting) than I’d imagined.

It can take about two to three weeks to recieve your results. But what you get in return is a wealth of interesting, actionable data. The test analyzes more than 2,500 biomarkers to generate over 25 gut-health scores, including Inflammation, Metabolic Health, Microbiome Imbalances and Gut Diversity.

Based on your individual microbiome, Viome then provides 370 personalized food recommendations —what to eat more of, what to limit and even simple recipe ideas tailored to your results. You can also opt for personalized supplements to help fill nutrient gaps that are uniquely formulated based on your results.

The data is compelling: Viome reports that around 90% of users who took the Gut Intelligence Test and followed their personalized plan saw measurable improvements within 90 days, with 72% reporting better digestion and 67% reporting better sleep.

How to do a Viome Gut Test

Before getting started, Viome asks users to register their Gut Intelligence Test kit online through the Viome app. It asked a few basic identifying questions, but nothing that required much thought.

One thing to note: Viome recommends emptying your bladder before collecting your sample to avoid contamination and advises against collecting a sample during menstruation.

Now, for the first step: sample collection. The kit comes with everything you need, including a scoop and a simple collection paper that attaches to your toilet and acts like a little net to catch the specimen.

From there, you do what you normally do in the bathroom, and then use the scoop to collect a small sample and carefully place it into the collection tube, which already contains a stabilizing liquid. Secure the tube, shake it vigorously for 30 seconds, let it rest for 30 seconds and repeat twice.

Finally, place the tube in the provided biohazard bag with its absorbent pad, seal it and pop it into the prepaid return envelope.

My take on the entire process? A bit weird, but relatively painless.

After sending off the sample, Viome asks users to complete a surprisingly nitty-gritty health questionnaire covering everything from body measurements (yes, the kit comes with a measuring tape) and physical activity to sleep patterns, medical history, alcohol or drug use and mental health.

it took me about 30 minutes to answer everything.

Viome Gut Test Results

Exactly three weeks later, my report was in, and my jaw was on the floor.

The first place I looked, out of pure curiosity, was my food recommendations. As I’ve said, my diet is pretty routine: mostly plant-based, lots of salads, some seafood and plenty of almond-milk lattes. I eat out often, but I’m also guilty of ordering the same things over and over, so there isn’t much variety.

The biggest shock? I was advised to avoid cruciferous vegetables. That’s right: fewer vegetables.

My results indicated elevated sulfide gas production in my gut, and cruciferous vegetables can increase sulfur-related fermentation, potentially contributing to digestive discomfort. In other words, the broccoli, asparagus and other greens I’d been forcing myself to eat weren’t doing me many favors.

Then an even bigger plot twist: I was encouraged to pair calcium-rich foods, like cow’s milk, yogurt and cheese, with high-oxalate foods, since calcium can bind to oxalates and reduce their absorption. So, my years-long fear of dairy? Also down the drain.

As for my health scores, those were a little harder to decipher for the less science-minded reader. Most of mine landed in the green “maintain” zone, which was reassuring. A few, however, were flagged in red as “needs improvement,” including my sulfide gas production and oxalate metabolism pathways.

The final — and perhaps most important — recommendation was simple: aim for a more varied diet. That’s something I explored further in a conversation with Viome’s Grant Antoine, a naturopathic doctor and Translational Science Clinical Lead at Viome.

He explained that the microbiome is home to trillions of microbes, each playing different roles in digestion, immunity and overall health. Like any thriving ecosystem, diversity matters: eating a wider variety of foods provides different fibers, polyphenols, and other compounds that nourish a broader range of beneficial microbes.

So, after years of restricting foods — and essentially convincing myself that dairy, carbs, and certain “unhealthy” foods were the enemy — I realized that eating healthier might actually mean eating more variety, not less. In retrospect, that seems pretty obvious, but this was still a major wake-up call.

Viome Precision Supplements

A couple of weeks after my gut test, my Precision Viome supplements arrived conveniently at my doorstep. These will put you down about $169/month, breaking down to almost $6/day. While they certainly aren’t cheap, you’re getting what you pay for: a whole lot of vitamins, minerals, probiotics and other targeted ingredients.

The formulas are based on self-reported goals and your test results, so the idea is that they’re tailored to exactly what your body needs. Much more personalized than a regular multivitamin. My Viome Supplement Formula was packed with several B vitamins, along with key minerals and ingredients like ashwagandha, L-theanine, calcium, copper, magnesium and fennel extract.

According to Viome, the supplements undergo strict quality testing and dosages are based on levels shown to be effective in clinical trials. So I wasn’t exactly surprised when my daily packet contained eight pretty big pills to swallow (swallowing all of those isn’t particularly fun). And I also wasn’t surprised when my pee turned bright yellow, which can be a normal side effect of consuming certain vitamins. It was a small but reassuring reminder that, yes, I was in fact taking a serious amount of vitamins every day.

Along with the supplements, I’ve also been taking Viome’s Gut Formula, a personalized probiotic and prebiotic gut formula, which “includes specific strains and fibers that can optimize your unique gut microbiome activity.” It comes in a powder that mixes easily into water and has very subtle taste, despite looking like murky brown water. It contains a long list of probiotics and prebiotics I couldn’t begin to pronounce, along with ginger and peppermint leaf to support digestion.

I’ve been taking both for about three weeks now, while also making changes to my diet, and I’m actually starting to notice a difference. My gut feels more settled, my digestion is much more regular, and I’d even go as far as saying I have a little more energy throughout the day and during my workouts. My Oura Ring has also indicated that my sleep scores have been slowly but steadily creeping upward.

It’s still early, and I’m not ready to declare these supplements a miracle cure, but so far, I’m liking what I’m seeing — and, more importantly, how I’m feeling.

Who is the Viome Gut Intelligence Test best for?

This test is not for everyone. First of all, it’s not cheap — and unless you’re actually invested in your health, I wouldn’t recommend throwing more than $250 at something unless you’re genuinely interested in making the recommended lifestyle changes.

That said, it does offer very interesting and valuable information. The food recommendations are probably the most ready-to-understand and decipher part of it, and the site is easy to use and navigate, with color-coding that makes it easy to see what to eat, what to limit and what to avoid.

The Health Scores are a bit more difficult to understand unless you’re willing to do some research or speak with an expert (ideally your physician) about your results.

All in all, I’d say this is a good test for someone who cares about their health and is willing to make changes based on what they learn. It’s an even better investment for someone who has some gut health concerns that they actually would like to work on solving.

Final Thoughts: Is the Viome Gut Intelligence Test worth it?

Viome’s Gut Intelligence Test was absolutely worth it — for me.

I thought the process was simple (though the concept of sending off my poop still makes me squeamish). But the reward of the information its given me has made it worth it. And I appreciate the fact that Viome makes it faily easy to understand results.

For years, I always felt like I was making the right (and often times harder) choices to stay healthy, but I had never really considered what my gut needed. My Viome report helped me see myself from the inside out and really understand what to eat to nourish my microbiome. As a result, I’ve made lots of small changes; eating a more varied diet, less cruciferous veggies and incorporating more dairy.

None of these changes have been difficult to make — they’ve actually been welcome changes, and I’ve already noticed some differences in my overall health. Better mood. More energy. Balance. The feeling that I don’t have to turn something down just because it doesn’t seem to fit my “diet.”

This test has encouraged me to eat more intuitively. And, I think it’s actually helped repair my relationship with food (and I haven’t gained any weight doing it). I’d reccomend this test to anyone who genuinley cares about their health and wants the data to make informed decisions.

How We Tested

While reviewing Viome’s Gut Intelligence Test, I considered several factors, including the ease of the testing experience, the results and recommendations, the personalized supplements and the overall value.

• Ease of Testing Process: I considered the ease of the testing process, including how easy it was to follow the directions for stool sample collection and shipping, the time spent on the Viome Health Questionnaire as well as the time spent waiting for my results.
• Results and Suggestions: As far as the actual reporting goes, I noted how easy it was to understand my results and utilize Viome’s various resources. I considered both the Food Recommendations and Gut Health Scores, looking at how clearly the information was presented, how easy it was to deciper what the results meant and how actionable the recommendations were.
• Personalized Supplements: The personalized supplements are a major draw of Viome’s Gut Health Test. I considered the overall quality of the ingredients, how well the formula addressed my specific health goals and needs, and how easy the supplements were to incorporate into my daily routine. I also considered how the supplements made me feel over a three-week testing period, while paying attention to any noticeable benefits or potential side effects.
• Overall Value: Viome’s Gut Intelligence Test costs $279, and the Precision Supplements subscription costs around $6/day. They’re both investments, so I considered how useful the information was and whether I actually noticed changes in my digestion and overall health after taking the test and using the supplements — to determine if it’s truly worth the cost.

This article was written by Miska Salemann, New York Post Commerce Writer/Reporter. As a health-forward member of Gen Z, Miska seeks out experts to weigh in on the benefits, safety and designs of both trending and tried-and-true fitness equipment, workout clothing, dietary supplements and more. Taking matters into her own hands, Miska intrepidly tests wellness products, ranging from Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint Longevity Mix to the viral Oura Ring to Jennifer Aniston’s favorite workout platform – often with her adorable toddler by her side. Before joining The Post, Miska covered lifestyle and consumer topics for the U.S. Sun and The Cannon Beach Gazette.