uBiome results

[Learner1]

You're not the first to find uBiome's customer support less than... supportive. I'm still waiting on a reply to a February email which I followed up a week following original submission. Did you get the Explorer Plus test? If so then that's a poor show as they do say the Explorer plus includes an OAT component. Perhaps that's why they couldn't answer any of my OAT related questions in my original email (Too hard basket)... I like you also have high clostridia species but not Difficile so it appears the OAT from the Explorer Plus would be of little use. Whats worse is Great Plains Laboratories now require you to go through a Dr to request their OAT unlike before where I could just request it personally.

Looks like I may need to head down the Microba pathway - how about you @alicec have you got your microba kit yet?

Regards

Journeyman

I've gotten a plethora of emails from them but none offering Explorer Plus, nor did their prople tell me about it. As a patient, I need accurate and actionable information and am underwhelmed by this company who seens to want to push as many kits out there as possible for consumer hobbyists, not sick people who need good data.

 

[alicec]

have you got your microba kit yet?

Not yet but have had an email telling me it will be coming in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Abha]

How long did it take them to get the kit to you after ordering?

Hi Journeyman,
Sorry I haven't been on PR much recently...My kit came to Europe fairly quickly after I ordered it.Initially I made a mistake and ordered the wrong Kit but later they kindly sent me the correct one(explorer Plus).I have just posted it by Airmail yesterday.That cost about £3.50 approximately.

 

[Abha]

yay finally. can you upload a photo of the kit and contents?

Sorry, I cant do that as I have already posted the items to California.....

 

[Journeyman]

Not yet but have had an email telling me it will be coming in the next couple of weeks.

So did it arrive? I've just checked Microba's website now and see a kit referred to as 'Insight' for $349 which seems suprisingly good given that it was $419 last time I check a couple months back... The only drawback appears to be no reporting of viruses but at half the price of Ubiome's Explorer Plus it looks particularly attractive given its inclusion of protists and fungi along with the usual archaea...
Is this 'Insight' kit the same offering as from a few months back? Or is it an abbreviated version of the original pre order kits?

Regards

Journeyman

 

[alicec]

So did it arrive? I've just checked Microba's website now and see a kit referred to as 'Insight' for $349

I've just received an email saying it has been dispatched - so any day now.

The insight test is the only one they offer as far as I know.

 

[vaer]

uBiome black friday offering

Buy 1 Gut Explorer , get 1 Gut Explorer kit FREE for $89

Simply add 2 Gut Explorer kits to your cart and use code B1G1 at checkout.

uBiome 5 site Explorer kit for $89

code B1G5 at checkout

 

[Learner1]

Just to be clear, that is not the Explorer Plus Kit, but the Gut Explorer which doesn't have very useful info.

 

[vaer]

@Abha did you get any update on your ExplorerPlus? 6 months :thumbdown:

 

[Abha]

@vaer....
I received that kit a long time ago. Ubiome kindly replaced the kit(wrong one sent)...and I have received my results since too.Different results came at different times.

 

[vaer]

@vaer....
I received that kit a long time ago. Ubiome kindly replaced the kit(wrong one sent)...and I have received my results since too.Different results came at different times.

great! they are still shy to give an example analytic or more information on Plus so i was still thinking it is under works.

Can you PM me? i am curious on a few things thanks

 

[Notjustfatigue]

Any update about ExplorerPlus??.

I got in contact with them and, at first, Ubiome "standar" support team does said me that it was already available, but then, after asking some more technical issues, they answered me from Explorer Support Team (this is another work group) and explained me they don't have a specific timeframe for ExplorerPlus by now and that as this were a new product, they were still working on the new report and all of the features to classify the viruses and fungus specifications and they were offering a pre-order discount for ExplorerPlus.

So it seems they don´t send any kits for ExplorerPlus or, at least, they don´t anaylized them.

Any other news or updates about it?.

Best,

 

[Garz]

Just to share some personal experiences

My partner and I have both had Ubiome explorer and DSL-GI-MAP tests done within the space a few months.

The results of these two apparently market-leading companies tests were entirely opposite in terms of bacterial populations present.

Even at Phylum level, the results were not even anywhere close and at the genus level, many genera present in high numbers in one test were entirely absent in the other companies test. The same story was true of my partner's tests.

This level of disparity cannot be explained by the spontaneous change in an individuals microbiome over time, let alone the same change in 2 people.
In fact, such radical differences ( ie eradicating many genera entirely ) would be hard to achieve with even multiple courses of powerful antibiotics.
Whereas in our case, we have made no interventions at all. In fact, our diet and lifestyle were maintained entirely the same before, between and after the tests ( this is obligatory for us to sustain reasonable QoL). Additionally, we have not taken any prescription medicines over that time period at all.

Logic denotes that they simply cannot both be good tests and we have no way of knowing which is better (or in fact, if either of them is good enough to be useful).

I posted the details in this thread including the results of both tests.
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/ind...t-that-is-available.61265/page-2#post-1021869

As a result, I believe it prudent to maintain a very skeptical approach to the utility of these products for use in making health-related decisions, as there is no objective 3rd party evidence that they "do what they say on the tin" and significant evidence that, in fact, they simply do not.

 

[jepps]

Any update about ExplorerPlus??.

I´ve received the result of the Ubiome explorer plus.
Not the viruses we know as pathogenic like EBV and enteroviruses etc., but type of bacteriophages.

An actual statement about such tests and bacteriophages is here:
https://www.gutmicrobiotaforhealth....ogical-relevance-of-human-gut-bacteriophages/

It has been estimated that phages achieve concentrations up to 1010/g of fecal material compared to 1011 bacteria/g of fecal material (the estimated phage-bacterial ratio in the human gut is 1:1), thus representing more than 1012 viruses residing in the human gut.

The human gut phage community has been described as a complex ecosystem of different species with different genome sizes, including tailed viruses with icosahedral capsids belonging to the Siphoviridae, Podoviridae, and Myoviridae families. Furthermore, other viral communities present in lower levels include single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) eukaryotic viruses, human Herpesviridae and Papillomaviridae and ribonucleic acid plant viruses acquired through diet.

Non-pathogenic viruses that colonize the gut are new actors in the human gut microbiome and they interact both with the host and other gut microbes.

 

[Notjustfatigue]

I´ve received the result of the Ubiome explorer plus.
Not the viruses we know as pathogenic like EBV and enteroviruses etc., but type of bacteriophages.
/

When did you order it and when did you recieved the kit?. I talked to Explorer Support Team and they told me they don't have a specific timeframe for ExplorerPlus, so it was available to preorder but they did not send any kits and i wouldn´t be able to do it since it was "officialy" released.

Do you know if they will finally include pathogenic viruses and, in any case, how can we interpret the information about bacteriophages and other non-pathogenic species that are actually provided?.


Thanks in advanced!!

 

[MaximilianKohler]

There is little to nothing that can be interpreted from these tests. Taking a look at the PDF jepps supplied above, this kind of data is completely useless to any layperson.

 

[jepps]

When did you order it and when did you recieved the kit?. I talked to Explorer Support Team and they told me they don't have a specific timeframe for ExplorerPlus, so it was available to preorder but they did not send any kits and i wouldn´t be able to do it since it was "officialy" released.

Do you know if they will finally include pathogenic viruses and, in any case, how can we interpret the information about bacteriophages and other non-pathogenic species that are actually provided?.


Thanks in advanced!!

I did the test on 30.8.18, and I received the result now. I would ask again on your place, if everything is okay with your sample! If not, they send new kit.

Regarding the viruses: the problem with "over the counter" stool tests ist, that they only show the microbes of the stool. But much more interesting would be the microbes of the bowel mucosa - this is the barrage that supports us against pathogenic microbes and toxins. The microbes of the the bowel mucosa can completely differ from the stool microbes - and maybe the pathogenic viruses like coxsackie and EBV live in the bowel mucosa.

The ubiome stool test makes sense as a picture, if changes in habits (maybe a new diet, new supplements etc.) reflect in the microbiome.

In may place (only one of several examples): prescript assist contains bacillus subtilis, I took it from 2012 - 2018, but the bacillus subtilis never showed up in the ubiome test. But since september 2018 I take the thrive probiotic, and the last microbiome test showed up the bacillus suptilis. So I know, that, regarding bacillus subtilis, the thrive is the better probiotic.

 

[pamojja]

Taking a look at the PDF jepps supplied above, this kind of data is completely useless to any layperson.

They do present a bid more easy to digest data in the 'intro', compared to 2 years ago. Here is mine of that time:

Intro updated (2019):

Overview: 95.8 Wellness Match Score (This score represents the overlap between the microbes in your sample and the average microbiome of individuals in our group of Selected Samples. These are samples from individuals who report no ailments and high levels of wellness.) - down from 96.4 from years ago due to much greater sample size.

Healthy Weight Microbes: 0.33x than Selected Samples (Akkermansia muciniphila, Bifidobacterium, Coprococcus, and Roseburia..)

Unique Microbes: 10 in your sample that are found least frequently in our results (Seldom seen bacteria are less likely to have been studied in depth, but the rarity of these specimens does not indicate they are beneficial or harmful.)
0.9% of Samples: Elusimicrobia - Elusimicrobia - Elusimicrobiales - Elusimicrobiaceae - Elusimicrobium
1.8% of Samples: Spirochaetes - Spirochaetia
1.3% of Samples: Fretibacterium2.1% of Samples: Sedimentibacter2.6% of Samples: Syntrophococcus

Gluten-Digesting Microbes: <0.05x than Selected Samples (Enterococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Bacillus licheniformis..)

Anti-Inflammatory Microbes:
- Butyrate-producing microbes: >2x than Selected Samples (Anaerostipes, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Eubacterium, and Roseburia..)
- Propionate-producing microbes: 0.28x than Selected Samples (Akkermansia muciniphila, Eubacterium, Roseburia, and Ruminococcus..)
- Polyamine-producing microbes: 1.23x than Selected Samples (Bifidobacterium..)

Lactose-Digesting Microbes: 0.29x than Lactose Intolerant People (a lower abundance of bacteria that may help reduce the symptoms of lactose intolerance than people who identify as lactose intolerant. Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium, and Roseburia..)

Artificial Sweeteners and Your Microbes: 0.19x than Artificial Sweeteners Consumers

Probiotic Microbes:
0x than Selected Samples (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium)
0.24x than Selected Samples (Akkermansia)

Probiotic Foods Microbes: 0x than yogurt, pickles and sauerkraut consumers

Microbial Diversity: 8.60 out of 10 diversity score (Microbial diversity scores can range from 0 to 10, with 10 being the most diverse. Most people have a score between 6 and 9. A score of 10 — maximum diversity — is not common.) 89th precentile - down from 93rd 2 years ago

Alcohol and Your Microbes (microbes often reduced in people whose alcohol use is damaging their gut barrier):
0.87x than Selected Samples (0.85x in Alcohol Consumers)

Alcohol Metabolism (compared your abundance of two groups of bacteria):
1x of Accumulators (those that turn alcohol into toxic acetaldehyde)
10x of Decomposers (and those that then break it down: Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, and Bacteroides)

Sleep Microbes:
- Serotonin-producing microbes (Streptococcus and Enterococcus): 0.14x than Selected Samples
- GABA-producing microbes (Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium): <0.05x than Selected Samples

Vitamin-Producing Microbes:
- Vitamin K (bacteria which use vitamin K1 to produce vitamin K2): 3.30% compared to Selected Samples
- Vitamin B9 (folate) producing bacteria: 31.33% compared to Selected Samples

Nutrient Metabolism:
- Complex Carbohydrates metabolizing bacteria (Bacteroides, Roseburia, Butyrivibrio, Ruminococcus, Bifidobacterium, and Prevotella..): 82% compared to Selected Samples
- Lipid metabolizing bacteria: 61% compared to Selected Samples
- Amino acid metabolizing bacteria: 38% compared to Selected Samples

TMA-Producing Microbes (gut microbes that produce trimethylamine (TMA), a chemical that is later converted within the body to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO): 0.53x than Selected Samples

Your Gut Barrier: PLUS (Buy an Explorer Plus kit to access this story)

And give detailed suggestions for each. On the other hand, they stopped to show in the advanced tab how your metabolism in much more detail compares to 'Selected Samples'.

Does the Explorer Plus version really only show that additional 'Gut Barrier' quick info?

 

[jepps]

Does the Explorer Plus version really only show that additional 'Gut Barrier' quick info?

This is, what the result shows: the number of the IECs (intestinal epithelial cells)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24566914
The abundance of innate and adaptive immune cells that reside together with trillions of beneficial commensal microorganisms in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract requires barrier and regulatory mechanisms that conserve host-microbial interactions and tissue homeostasis. This homeostasis depends on the diverse functions of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), which include the physical segregation of commensal bacteria and the integration of microbial signals. Hence, IECs are crucial mediators of intestinal homeostasis that enable the establishment of an immunological environment permissive to colonization by commensal bacteria. In this Review, we provide a comprehensive overview of how IECs maintain host-commensal microbial relationships and immune cell homeostasis in the intestine.

 

[ebethc]

I've gotten a plethora of emails from them but none offering Explorer Plus, nor did their prople tell me about it. As a patient, I need accurate and actionable information and am underwhelmed by this company who seens to want to push as many kits out there as possible for consumer hobbyists, not sick people who need good data.

did you try SmartGut? It claims to be a "detailed clinical report" and sounds like the uBiome product that I would want to try.... The Explorer thingy is more of a generic overview, I think....

https://ubiome.com/clinical/smartgut/