Microbiomes are subject to great variety due to DNA, diet, health etc.

In my early post, There is no normal or reference microbiome!  I showed the results of populations from different countries.

Dealing with a sick family member, there is a desire to correct their microbiome…. but to what!

Different Paths to correcting microbiome

The microbiome site now has 3 paths available:

•  Comparing your microbiome against a reference microbiome derived from ubiome ‘normal’
• Working off high values or low values as reported by some lab (using their standards).
• NEW: Working off the values seen by healthy family members that hopefully are eating similar. This is the subject of this post.

Comparing to healthy family members

After you log on, you are taken to the sample page. There is a new element there:

This takes you to a page where you can select one Unhealthy person and as many healthy people as you have.

Make a selection and click on. You now see a display of the differences. You may adjust the depth up or down (i.e. looking at bacteria families only or classes etc).

You may adjust by taxonomy level, and also by excluding very low count bacteria — whether these are significant is unclear. Once you are happy, just click the “Use for Suggestions” and you will be moved to the usual suggestions page –but using your family members for the norm!

Bottom Line

This gives a better and far more specific to the individual approach for adjusting the microbiome or identifying where a shift has occurred.

For many of you with health issues — you now have a reasonable estimate of what is healthy for your DNA and your diet using those around you who do not have health issues. 

Whose Best to compare to?

I would rank them in the following order:

1. A healthy child that lives in the same house – 50% same DNA, same diet – more biodiversity due to being younger
2. A healthy sibling that lives in the same house – 50% same DNA, same diet
3. A healthy  parent in the same house – 50% same DNA, same diet – but less biodiversity due to age
4. A healthy cousin who eats similar – 25% same DNA, similar diet
5. A healthy spouse – no shared DNA (hopefully 😉 ) but same diet

This is an education post to facilitate discussing this approach with your medical professionals. It is not medical advice for the treatment of any medical condition. Always consult with your medical professional before doing any  changes of diet, supplements or activity. Some items cites may interfere with prescription medicines.