MAIL-ORDER GUT TESTING

For £139, Atlas Biomed will provide a breakdown of your gut flora’s diversity, its ability to digest fibre, your susceptibility to diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, and the nationality your diet most resembles. You will also receive personalised dietary advice on how to strengthen your microbiome through diet. atlasbiomed.com

UBiome offers tests on bacteria from your gut, mouth, nose, genitals and skin – the basic UBiome Explorer kit costs $89 (£68) plus postage to the US. The results will compare your gut health with vegetarians and meat eaters, assess the diversity of your microbes, and how well your flora will metabolise carbs, caffeine and other substances. ubiome.com

As well as offering a gut-health test for $150 (£115), Thryve also sells packages that deliver a health report and food recommendations along with probiotic supplements (on a monthly subscription, if desired) and a stepby-step diet plan. Thryveinside.com

With Carbiotix, the emphasis is on boosting the friendly bacteria in your gut by feeding it the soluble fibre, through diet and Carbiotix’s prebiotic supplements (essentially fertilisers for your gut flora). To avoid filling yourself with more fibre than your bacteria can eat, Carbiotix tests your gut flora monthly so you can monitor the situation and build your flora and fibre intake accordingly. It’s among the cheapest tests going, at €19 (£17) a month or €49 (£44) with a personalised prebiotic supplement.Carbiotix.com