uBiome is a medical technology company that offers microbiome testing services. Find out how the test works today in our review.
What is uBiome?
uBiome is a microbial genomics company that uses advanced medical technology to help customers learn about the human microbiome.
The company’s About page describes itself as “the leading microbial genomics company” and claims that it’s “pioneering a new era of microbiome-based precision medicine.”
They call their customers “citizen scientists” who endeavor to learn more information about their personal health.
In layman’s terms, uBiome takes samples of your poop, then looks at the microorganisms inside that poop to give you insights about your health (fortunately, you only have to send the company a swab of your feces).
This isn’t some startup company based in someone’s garage. Since 2012, uBiome has partnered with organizations like the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as well as leading educational institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California, San Francisco, and Oxford University.
The company was founded in 2012. They’re based in San Francisco. Today, you can pay as little as $89 to get a comprehensive breakdown of your microbiome.
Let’s take a closer look at how the test works.
How Does uBiome’s Microbiome Test Work?
uBiome now offers comprehensive microbiome sequencing. As mentioned above, uBiome takes a sample of your feces, then analyzes it to give you vital information about how it’s functioning and how it compares to others. The ultimate goal is to give you actionable information about your health.
You pay between $90 and $400 for your kit. The more you pay, the more comprehensive your test will be.
If you order the $400 kit, you’ll send samples from your gut, nose, genitals, and skin to get a complete picture of the inner workings of your entire body. The $90 kit includes one sample of your gut.
Why would you want to learn about the bacteria in your gut? Well, growing research shows just how important gut bacteria are to our health. Here’s what Discover Magazine had to write about the importance of uBiome’s test:
“Different gut demographics correlate with different mental and physical states, including depression and obesity.”
The Human Microbiome Project, over the last decade, pioneered the tools needed to analyze your gut’s bacteria. uBiome built on this research to found the company.
After you send samples into uBiome, the company breaks the cells open and extracts the DNA. They amplify the bacterial DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), then run it through a sequencer to determine which types of bacteria are in each sample.
You can also give consent for uBiome to share your research with third parties and research affiliates around the world. In that case, your unique gut bacteria data could be used in major medical studies.
What Will You Learn from a uBiome Microbiome Test?
You can read plenty of reviews online from real people who have gone through the uBiome Microbiome Test.
These people typically say the same things about the test: it doesn’t give you as much actionable data as you may be expecting.
There’s a good reason for that, and it’s not entirely uBiome’s fault: modern science really doesn’t understand how different levels of gut bacteria affect your personal health. We know some things about their effect on health, but we don’t know the full story.
uBiome is careful to caution upfront that you should not use their data to diagnose, prevent, or predict different diseases.
Instead, it’s designed to give you quantifiable information about your gut bacteria before allowing you to make an informed decision on your gut microbiome.
One of the most useful parts of the uBiome Microbiome Test is seeing how your microbiome compares against other demographics – like vegans, paleos, vegetarians, heavy drinkers, weight losers, weight gainers, antibiotics users, and men and women.
Unfortunately, you can’t narrow down demographics to get to your specific level. One reviewer lamented that she was able to view the microbiome data for vegetarians and women separately, but she wasn’t able to view data for women on antibiotics, or vegetarian women in their 30s.
Said one reviewer,
“I could download my own raw data and manipulate it, but then I was looking at it in a vacuum, without a set to compare to, so the analysis amounts mostly to, “Hey, look. I have this many of those bacteria. Neat?”
However, uBiome does tell you about your bacteria, including which bacteria are most depleted and which bacteria are most enriched.
You can then look up this information on your own to find out what modern science says about that bacteria.
Ultimately, you can expect to do a lot of your own legwork when it comes to understanding the results of your microbiome testing.
uBiome Microbiome Test Pricing
uBiome offers three different tests. The more you spend, the more samples you can send to uBiome. The three tests include:
Gut Kit ($89)
- Sample one site (your gut, using swab of a feces sample)
- Drops to $71.20 per kit if you subscribe to a monthly delivery program
Gut Time Lapse ($199)
- Sample your gut bacteria three times (like before, during, and after a lifestyle change)
- Lets you see how your microbiome changes over time
Five Site Kit ($399)
- Sample five microbiome sites, including your gut, mouth, nose, genitals and skin, to get a complete picture of the inner workings of your body
- Drops to $319.20 per kit if you subscribe to a monthly delivery program
Each kit comes in a sleek black package. You open the package, collect the samples according to uBiome’s instructions, then send the results to the company in San Francisco.
Once your samples have been tested, you’ll be able to log in through the uBiome website to view your results online.
uBiome Microbiome Test Review Summary
uBiome markets itself as an organization that empowers “citizen scientists” across the country (“citizen scientists” is what it calls its customers).
However, at the end of the day, it’s a profit-seeking business backed by more than $6 million in funding from Bay Area groups like Andreesen Horowitz and YCombinator – so we’ll judge it like any other business.
The San Francisco-based company offers microbiome testing kits for between $89 and $400.
However, many people are disappointed by the lack of actionable data you receive from the test. That’s not uBiome’s fault: we just don’t know enough about how gut bacteria impact our health.
It’s up to you to do your own research to see what modern science has to say when uBiome’s test tells you about an excess of firmicutes, for example.
That being said, uBiome’s test does allow you to compare your gut bacteria against others’ bacteria. It lets you see how you compare to others in your demographic in diet category.
It also lets you see which bacteria are most enriched in your gut, and which other bacteria are most depleted.
Priced at $90, uBiome is cheaper than most genetic tests on the market today. However, you might not get the amount of insight into your health data that you were expecting.
You can learn more about uBiome today by visiting uBiome.com.
