Gut microbiome
testing
What a gut test tells us
Which bacteria are in your gut, what they’re producing, and how that’s affecting your digestion, inflammation, hormones and energy.
Who it’s for
Those experiencing bloating, irregular bowels, reflux or food reactions that haven’t resolved (especially alongside skin, cycle or energy changes).
STEP 1: Choose your test
Microbiome explorer extended
For adults in Australia, 18+
Full metagenomic sequencing, plus a biomarker panel and pathogen screening
$479 + postage
Microbiome explorer essentials
For adults in New Zealand, 18+
Full metagenomic sequencing
$449 + postage
Both use metagenomic sequencing through an Australian lab.
Please note: Kits are charged at what they cost me, plus payment processing. I do not mark up testing and do not make profits from the kits.
STEP 2: Choose how you want your results explained
Results consultation
A 45-minute appointment where we go through your results together: what’s there, what it means for your symptoms, and what we do about it. You’ll get a written plan within 48 hours.
Best for: anyone who wants to know what to actually do next.
$99
Test only
You get your results and take them to your own practitioner.
Best for: people already working with someone
No added fee
I’d always recommend the consultation. A microbiome report is long and technical, and the value is in knowing which part matters for you.
What happens next?
01 - Your kit arrives
Posted to you within a few days of ordering.
02 - Collect at home
Simple at-home sample, posted back in the prepaid satchel provided.
03 - Results come back
Around four weeks. I’ll let you know the moment they land.
04 - We go through them
Your consultation, then a written plan within 48 hours.
Q & A
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Which bacteria are present, down to species level, and in what proportions. What those bacteria are producing, including short-chain fatty acids, which affect gut lining integrity, inflammation and insulin sensitivity. How diverse your microbiome is, which is one of the better markers of gut resilience. Plus markers of digestion and inflammation, and on the comprehensive option, pathogens and parasites.
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The bacteria in your gut affect how well you absorb nutrients, how much inflammation you’re carrying, how your body handles blood sugar, and how oestrogen gets cleared. When those are off, the symptoms don’t stay in your gut, which is why gut and hormone symptoms so often turn up together.
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If you’ve had ongoing bloating, irregular bowels, reflux or food reactions. If you’ve been told it’s IBS and left there. If you’ve cut foods out and felt better briefly then worse again. If things haven’t been right since a round of antibiotics. Or if gut symptoms sit alongside skin, cycle or energy changes.
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If your foundations haven’t been looked at yet. This includes fibre, protein, eating patterns, stress.
If you’ve got red flag symptoms that need a GP first.
If you’re mainly after a diagnosis, which this doesn’t provide.
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Microba, an Australian lab specialising in metagenomic sequencing. Their reporting goes to species level and includes functional analysis, which most gut tests don’t.
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Not quite. Many direct-to-consumer tests use a less detailed sequencing method and give you a generic report. The difference here is the depth of the testing, and that someone goes through it with you afterwards.
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About four weeks from when your sample reaches the lab.
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At home, with everything included in the kit, and posted back in a prepaid satchel.
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No. You can start here.
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No. Functional testing isn’t rebatable.
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That’s still useful. It rules things out and tells us where to look instead.
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Once your kit has been ordered from the lab it can’t be refunded. If you change your mind before then, email me and I’ll sort it out.
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No, but I’d recommend it. A gut report is long and technical, and the value is in knowing which parts matter for you.