# How InnerBuddies aligns with the international consensus on microbiome testing On December 5, 2024 an international panel published an evidence-based consensus on microbiome testing in clinical practice. This statement outlines minimum requirements across sample collection, laboratory workflows, computational analyses, reporting, and the limited current role of testing in routine care. A focused review of the InnerBuddies approach shows substantial concordance with those recommendations while highlighting pragmatic choices for consumer-focused services. For a full company response and detailed mapping to the consensus, see [InnerBuddies assessment of the international consensus](https://www.innerbuddies.com/blogs/news/how-does-innerbuddies-gut-microbiome-test-compare-to-international-scientific-consensus). InnerBuddies implements several practices that mirror international guidance. The company partners with accredited external laboratories, uses validated sequencing platforms (Illumina MiSeq and Oxford Nanopore), applies established databases such as SILVA for taxonomic assignment, and documents quality-control steps including primer removal, chimera filtering, and read-length filtering. These elements address core recommendations on laboratory accreditation, sample preservation, and transparent preprocessing pipelines. InnerBuddies also stores received samples at -80°C in line with sample preservation guidance and supports longitudinal sampling for follow-up comparisons. The consensus emphasizes multidisciplinary teams and transparent reporting. InnerBuddies combines microbiology, nutrition/dietetics, and computational analytics in its team and provides reports that include alpha diversity (Shannon, Pielou) and comparisons to a healthy cohort—practices consistent with recommended alpha/beta diversity metrics and matched-control comparisons. The reporting avoids over-simplified dysbiosis indices and the now-discouraged Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio, aligning with the panel’s caution about single-number indices and limited interpretability. Where the company takes pragmatic, consumer-oriented positions, it does so explicitly and with acknowledgement of trade-offs. Functional inference (metabolic potential) is derived from 16S amplicon data using PICRUSt2, a common practice for broad functional insights, while noting the higher accuracy of shotgun metagenomics. InnerBuddies justifies the 16S approach on cost–benefit grounds for a consumer product and signals willingness to adopt shotgun sequencing in clinical products where reimbursement and clinical validation change the quality–cost balance. This mirrors the consensus recommendation to favour methods appropriate to the intended clinical question and resource setting. InnerBuddies also separates consumer-facing outputs from healthcare-professional workflows: consumer reports emphasize understandable nutrition and lifestyle suggestions based on combined survey, food diary, and microbiome data, while more detailed technical information will be provided for clinicians or in clinical-use products. Raw and taxonomic data downloads are available for second opinions, consistent with recommendations to allow data sharing and reanalysis. For deeper reading on specific taxa and functions referenced in InnerBuddies reports, see Akkermansia muciniphila overview and Gut microbiome: the good, the bad and the ugly. Additional product details are available at microbiome test product page. Overall, InnerBuddies meets most consensus statements through accredited labs, validated pipelines, appropriate diversity metrics, cohort comparisons, and multidisciplinary expertise, while clearly communicating current limitations and research needs for clinical application.