Gut Check
uBiome is 23andMe for your fellow travelers
Last year, I “donated my spit to science” to get a DNA analysis from 23andMe. This year I donated something a litttttle different.
Despite some skeptical (and grossed-out) reactions from my family, I ordered a gut sampling kit from uBiome. It’s a similar setup — sample container, basic instructions, prepaid envelope to the lab. Instead of spitting into a vial, you lightly wipe a cotton swab on your toilet paper (just enough to color it, they say many times) and then the gut bacteria gets analyzed in the lab.
What’s the point?
You might have heard that we have more bacteria cells in our body than human cells. Many ratios get thrown out here, but a 2016 NIH report says we have 1.3 bacteria for every 1 human cell. Interestingly, these bacteria add up only to a slim 0.2kg (7 ounces, a little less than a billiard ball or baseball). Also 70% of our human cells are red blood cells, which have no nucleus or DNA inside.
If we are full of bacterial DNA machines, then it follows that our bacterial representatives would have a major effect on our capabilities and our health. There’s a particular interest on whether depression, sugar cravings, and irritable bowel syndrome are in part motivated by 💩 shitty bacteria in our gut, or possibly our mouthes. This is a territory where research is difficult and quacks are plentiful. Here are a handful of links which raise interesting questions:
Joe Rogan and Chris Kresser on Processed Food, Gut Bacteria and Food Cravings
What did I learn?
I have traveled around the world, so I joked that I would find some unusual or dangerous bacteria. I also know I’m not so healthy (though nothing proven to be gut-specific, like IBS), so I was curious what this study might flag.
I’m going to summarize with a focus on my personal report because I don’t want to copy medical advice and IP. Also I took antibiotic eyedrops and was sick about a week before sample-time, so that could affect things.
First off, I’m in the 79th percentile for a “gut diversity” measurement:
As you can see, this was almost the best attainable score. How helpful are my super-diverse gut colonies? Several scores were similar to the average, or the average of Selected Samples (from people who reported being healthy). That felt good to see.
One graph that stood out was Akkermansia, which “has shown potential to combat weight gain and inflammation” (and if you believe inflammation is linked to depression… interesting).
My Akkermansia hold a tiny share of my gut bacteria democracy, 1/60th as much as the healthy sample average.
uBiome recommended I eat more bananas, garlic, and onions (though probably not in the same meal).
My sample also had nine “very elusive bacteria” types, including one which appears in 0.6% of their samples. I tried to find some meaning in this by Googling the bacteria names. Most are associated with animal stomachs (???) and one family (Selenomonas) includes the bacteria in the “Is Obesity an Oral Bacterial Disease?” study. There wasn’t a lot to go on with rare bacteria, but it was a Google/Wikipedia rabbit hole, for sure.
tl;dr
Go Akkermansia! You can do it! 🍌🍌🍌
Down with Selenomonas!
Disclaimer
This was a personal experiment and not professional, economic investment, or medical advice. Talk to a real doctor.
2019 Update
uBiome was investigated by the FBI over their insurance practices. I know that after I took my sample, uBiome encouraged me to order a more comprehensive test that would be supported by my health insurance.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k3k8j/ubiome-at-home-microbiome-tests-raided-by-the-fbi
