Our partners at Atlas Biomed produce products that are a Medical Device registered with the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) in the UK for distribution in United Kingdom.

Our tests were developed by a team of bioinformaticians, doctors, scientists and IT experts from AtlasBiomed. The Atlas Scientific Board of Advisors are international academics in the fields of medical and biological sciences.

Learn more about our partners at Atlas Biomed and our partnership team here.

A haplogroup is a set of minor changes in the Y chromosome or mitochondrial DNA that have consistently appeared for many thousands of years and point to a common ancestor. The remoteness of this ancestor can be calculated by the number of new mutations.

Belonging to a haplogroup provides information about where your ancestors lived, how they moved around the planet and where your closest relatives are now.

A risk factor is a biological trait or something in a person’s environment that increases the likelihood of developing a specific disease. As a general rule, diseases develop under the influence of a combination of risk factors, the number of which is on the rise. In the 1960s, there were about 1,000 known risk factors, compared to approximately 3,000 nowadays.

Types of risk factors: – external (e.g., environment, economic situation, profession) – characteristics of the human body (e.g., elevated blood cholesterol, arterial hypertension, hereditary predisposition) – lifestyle (smoking, diet, exercise)

Disease risk is the sum of all risk factors, which is why Atlas users are invited to fill in the Health and Lifestyle Survey to get the most accurate assessment of their individual risk.

Multifactorial diseases are common conditions (i.e., hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes) that are caused by multiple factors, including genes and external factors, like the environment, diet and lifestyle.

Such diseases are the result of interaction between multiple genetic and external factors that lead to a family predisposition to the disease, without a clear Mendelian inheritance pattern (i.e., classical genetic).

Hereditary conditions are caused by mutations or the absence (i.e., deletion) of a gene. Mutations can occur in one or two copies of genes, one of which came from the father and the other from the mother. When this happens, a hereditary condition occurs. However, just because there is a mutation, it does not mean that the person will develop the disease.

SNP stands for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), a DNA sequence variation of one nucleotide (A, T, G or C) that differs in the genome of representatives of the same species or between paired chromosomes.

For example, if two DNA sequences - AAGCCTA and AAGCTTA - differ by a single nucleotide, then there are two alleles: C and T. Such point mutations are considered single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

The human genome is a collection of hereditary material made up of 20,000 to 25,000 genes. The human genome consists of mitochondrial DNA and 23 pairs of chromosomes present in the nucleus.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is one of the three basic macromolecules that are contained in the cells of all living organisms. It is composed of a long chain, each link of which is called a nucleotide. During transcription (in the cell nucleus), nRNA chains are formed that ‘mirror’ an exact part of DNA, allowing the further synthesis of encoded proteins. This process is followed by translation, that involves another two types of RNA: tRNA and rRNA. The RNA macromolecule basically serves as a messenger between the nucleus with DNA and the cell as a fabrication station of proteins.

DNA, also known as DeoxyriboNucleic Acid, is contained within each of trillions cells in your body. It serves as a blueprint that determines the physical features of all living things, including you! It looks like a twisted ladder or, as scientists call it, a ‘double helix’. This genetic information was passed on from your parents, which is why it is ‘hereditary’, making you completely unique.

DNA contains information on the structure of various types of RNA and proteins. It is made up of four nucleotides, known as adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine or A, G, T, C for short. They are connected together in a specific pattern: adenine binds only to thymine and guanine only to cytosine. These nucleotides encode information about every protein in the body, thus determining the phenotype of a person (i.e., the set of observable characteristics).

A gene is a distinct segment of DNA that encodes protein molecules. Genes are responsible for the structure of proteins in the body. A person’s genotype is composed of all the body’s genes that together contain all the information and individual characteristics of the organism.

This test is intended solely for the use of persons aged 18 and over.

If you choose this option, we will send you a new OMBucha Microbiome Test kit every 3 months to your chosen address. As soon as the test kit is delivered, we charge the order price to the bank card used for the initial payment.

It is a rolling subscription, so you will receive a test kit every 3 months. You can choose to terminate it whenever you like. To cancel the subscription, just contact us via email hello@ombucha.com.

If your first order contains both the OMBucha DNA and Microbiome Tests, the delivery is free of charge.

Your results will be uploaded to your personal account about 4–8 weeks after your sample arrives at the laboratory.

You should only collect a stool sample in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms. If you have been taking antibiotics or a long course of NSAIDs or have undergone surgery, wait at least 3 months before taking the OMBucha Microbiome Test.

No, you should not change your diet. Keep eating the way you normally do - this will allow us to get an accurate picture of your ‘normal’ microbiome and provide recommendations on how to improve or maintain it.

We're literally just scratching the surface of this fascinating topic.

There exists more than 20,000 scientific articles that have been published relating to the gut microbiome and its relationship with various health conditions over the past decade.

Every single month, world over, new research is released in this field. We used these publications to develop an interpretation system that is now featured in our microbiome test.

This research has firmly established that bacteria in the microbiome are not simply ‘good’ or ‘bad’ species. Rather, how microbes participate in health or illness is dependent on their abundance in the overall community and how they relate to one another. The recommendations provided on your personal account have been developed on the basis of microbiome research by doctors and scientists.

OMBucha uses advanced technology to analyse the DNA of your gut bacteria. Unlike conventional laboratory analysis, the OMBucha Microbiome Test not only qualitatively determines the composition of bacteria, it calculates the proportion of different types of bacteria in the microbiome. The 16S rRNA sequencing used for the OMBucha test is more sensitive: it can detect bacteria that cannot be cultivated in Petri dishes (the method routinely employed by laboratories for stool sample analysis).

16S ribosomal RNA (or 16S rRNA) is the component of the 30S small subunit of a prokaryotic ribosome that binds to the Shine-Dalgarno sequence. The genes coding for it are referred to as 16S rRNA gene and are used in reconstructing phylogenies, due to the slow rates of evolution of this region of the gene. Carl Woese and George E. Fox were two of the people who pioneered the use of 16S rRNA in phylogenetics in 1977.

Multiple sequences of the 16S rRNA gene can exist within a single bacterium.

Incorporating testing via the OMBucha gut microbiome test kit is probably your most cost effective, accessible and accurate method to truly analyse & track your gut competition & health.

We test your DNA and microbiome, using the latest technology from Illumina, a world leader in the field of molecular analysis. Your genetic data is analysed in a certified EU laboratory in the Netherlands, accredited with ISO 15189.

Learn more about our home gut microbiome testing.

Why should I take a microbiome test?

The OMBucha home Microbiome Test analyses the types of bacteria present and their proportion in the overall microbiome. It provides information about the various functions of your gut bacteria, like the extent to which they protect you against certain diseases and inflammation, as well as what vitamins they synthesise. You will also get recommendations to improve and maintain the balance of your microbiome by adding specific foods to your diet.

Benefits of Gut Microbiome Testing:

• Learn how microbes protect you from disease
• Understand how diet affects gut bacteria
• Optimise microbe’s vitamin synthesis
• Dietary fibre breakdown and butyrate synthesis
• Personalised food recommendations
• Probiotics and beneficial bacteria report

What You Will Learn

• Health Your microbiome health score and protection from 5 disease risks
• Nutrition Proportion of probiotics and beneficial bacteria, micronutrient synthesis potential and diversity score
• Foods Weekly personalised food recommendations to improve your microbiome health in 17 areas
• Bacterial composition List of bacteria found in your microbiome (%) and what enterotype you belong to

Learn more about home microbiome testing here.

Your gut microbiome is a vast, interconnected community of trillions of bacteria and fungi that inhabit every aspect of your (GI) gastrointestinal tract, and have a major influence on your metabolism, body weight, propensity to illness, immune system, appetite and mood. Think of this network of living bacteria as an interwoven web of living, communicating elements, no different than your blood cells, that truly make you - YOU!

The microbiome is a community of bacteria that live in the gut. Human gastrointestinal microbiota, also known as gut flora or gut microbiota, are the microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts of humans. Nowadays, we know that over 1,000 different types of microbes are active in the human intestines. Thanks to major advances in science & technology, it is now possible to perform accurate analyses of the microbiome using 16S rRNA sequencing to identify these bacteria based on their DNA. In fact, the genes in the human microbiome outnumber the genes in the human body 100 to 1.

Crudely put, the human is basically a tube from mouth to colon, surrounded by a big meat sack of water and protein made up of DNA. Your lifestyle and what you feed your living body (your inputs) create outputs through RNA and DNA gene expression. Everything you expose your system to, the food you eat, the environment you live in, the pharmaceuticals you consume, are all incoming code, that is translated and what is output is quite literally who you are, and how you feel.

Gut bacteria are part of a big group of microbes that perform important jobs for the human body like digesting food and breaking down dietary fibre, synthesising vitamins and essential chemical compounds as well as protecting the body from inflammation. Some bacteria may participate in the development of certain illnesses but, for most species, only if they are present in abnormal amounts. When the microbiome is balanced, it is able to prevent the intrusion and overgrowth of potentially pathogenic bacteria, thus contributing to overall health.

To experience optimal health and wellness, your focus has to be on optimising the delicate balance of positive microbiota that make up who you are, and how you feel/experience the world around you.