study
Commercial intestinal flora tests are often not very informative
A healthy gut microbiome can look different in different people. photo
© David-Wolfgang Ebener/dpa
The tests are intended to inform people about their intestinal flora. But according to experts, the results are often doubtful. There could be a simple reason for this.
Commercial intestinal bacteria tests for consumers are apparently often not very informative. US scientists warn that claims by companies that they are able to detect abnormal microbiomes are not supported by research. Instead, consumers could be exploited or even harmed, writes the group led by Diane Hoffmann from the University of Maryland Baltimore in the journal “Science”. Microbiome tests are also offered in Germany.
“There is currently no consensus about what constitutes a healthy composition of the human microbiome in a population or population group,” emphasize Hoffmann and colleagues. In recent decades, science has discovered that the composition of intestinal bacteria is important for a person’s health. However, a healthy intestinal microbiome can look different in different people.