Do we actually know what a healthy gut microbiome looks like?

Analysing one’s stools was once a niche interest. A quick look at Amazon, however, reveals dozens of home tests designed to test the composition of your faeces. You can even buy kits for your pets.

Such products reflect a surge in public appetite for information about the gut microbiome. “Regardless of the country you are in, a lot of patients are coming to physicians asking about microbiota testing,” says Gianluca Ianiro at the Catholic University of Rome.