At-home health tests: does a plan from your results help?
The tests measure real things. Whether acting on them helps is a different question.
Viome sells an RNA test of your gut, mouth and blood that returns “50+ health scores” and “370+ food recommendations”, and offers supplements chosen from your results. Superpower tests “100+ biomarkers in a single draw” and builds a plan around them.
Short answer: we found no trial of either company’s plan. The closest evidence: seventeen trials of general health checks in about 250,000 adults found no fewer deaths, and a large trial found that adding blood or gene results to diet advice made it no more effective than advice based on what people ate. Personal advice itself helped a little.
How the evidence flows
Each claim (middle), the studies that tested it (left) — green found it, red found nothing — and the grade they add up to (right). Drawn from the same records as the grades below. Tap to open full size.
At-home health tests (Viome, Superpower) · evidence checked 2026-10-25
What the research shows
Grades are calculated from the studies listed, by fixed rules.
- Personalised diet advice changes how you eat more than general adviceEarly evidence
In a six-month trial of 1,269 adults, advice tailored to each person’s own diet led to slightly better eating than general guidelines — a little less salt, red meat and saturated fat.
- Your gut bacteria’s activity helps predict how your blood sugar responds to foodEarly evidence
Viome’s own study of 550 adults found its gut measures added to a model predicting blood-sugar rises after meals. That shows a link, not that following the test’s food lists improves anything.
- Testing 100+ biomarkers in one draw keeps healthy people healthierNo real evidence
The ad said “Superpower tests 100+ biomarkers in a single draw, then builds a personalized plan around your results.”
Superpower Health · Facebook ad, seen Oct 2026
Seventeen trials in about 250,000 adults compared general health checks with none. Deaths overall, from cancer and from heart disease did not change. None tested a 100-marker panel, and screening more markers finds more borderline results to chase.
- Basing that advice on your blood test or genes makes it work betterNo real evidence
The same trial added people’s blood markers, and then their genes, to the advice. Neither made it work any better than advice based on their diet alone.
- A diet built from your gut-microbiome test beats standard adviceNo real evidence
In IBS, a diet designed from a microbiome test did no better on symptoms than the standard low-FODMAP diet; both groups improved. A different company’s test, not Viome’s — we found no trial of Viome’s recommendations at all.
- An RNA test of your gut tells you exactly which foods and supplements your body needsNo real evidence
We found no trial comparing people who followed Viome’s food and supplement lists with people who did not. The recommendations also lead to supplements the same company sells.
Before you buy
- A test that finds more things also finds more false alarms. Ask what happens next for a borderline result — and who pays for the follow-up.
- Ask whether a recommended supplement is sold by the company that made the recommendation.
- The screening tests with proven benefit (blood pressure, cholesterol, some cancers at certain ages) are usually covered by insurance through a doctor.
Related: probiotic ads · longevity supplements
Your next step
- Test firstAsk a doctor which screening tests fit your age and risksSome screening has proven benefit — blood pressure, cholesterol, certain cancers at certain ages — and is usually covered by insurance.
- What has evidence insteadChange what you eat with advice based on what you eat nowIn the largest trial, advice tailored to people’s own diets improved eating a little; adding their blood or gene results did not improve it further.