# Test results of InnerBuddies personalized ingredient advice V1 in Friends & Family Study InnerBuddies developed a Version 1 (V1) personalized ingredient advice that maps individual gut microbiome profiles to food-based recommendations. V1 measures the abundance of the top 35 bacteria in a stool sample and compares each taxon to minimum and maximum ranges derived from an internal Healthy Cohort. Taxa are classified as “positive,” “negative,” or “other relevant.” When a positive or other relevant taxon is below the cohort minimum, or a negative taxon exceeds the cohort maximum, that taxon is flagged and may trigger ingredient advice directed at restoring the group of linked taxa into the healthy range. The advice is organized around seven gut-health categories supported by scientific literature and links specific food groups to microbiome pathways associated with those categories. Daily dosages for recommended items are provided by the dietician team. Study setup and methods InnerBuddies conducted a Friends & Family test to evaluate V1 in a controlled internal setting. Fifty participants were enrolled; 40 completed the full protocol and were included in the analysis. The testing window was four weeks in September 2022. Each participant provided four stool samples: one in June 2022 to generate the personalized ingredient advice, and three during the study (start of the test period, midpoint at two weeks, and end at four weeks). A weekly menu tailored to each participant’s ingredient advice was provided by the dietician team. Participants were grouped by adherence into GREEN (high adherence), YELLOW (moderate adherence), and ORANGE (limited adherence) based on team observation and participant feedback. Primary outcomes and findings Across the cohort that completed the program, diversity-related indicators increased during the four-week period: Shannon Index +5.17%, number of OTUs +9.22%, and Pielou’s evenness +3.64%. Positive-associated bacteria increased overall by +8.85%. Individual taxa changes included Barnesiella +18.42%, Butyricicoccus +19.26%, Roseburia +19.97%, Lactobacillus +24.56%, Faecalibacterium +0.21%, Akkermansia +96.69%, Bifidobacterium +23.54%, Hafnia–Obesumbacterium +52.61%, Christensenellaceae +8.46%, and Ruminococcaceae +178.12%. Negative-associated taxa decreased: Escherichia–Shigella −16.78% and Klebsiella −34.27%. Group-level analysis showed that participants with higher adherence (GREEN) achieved larger increases in Shannon Index and maintained higher evenness than YELLOW and ORANGE groups. Diversity increases were evident between the start, midpoint, and end samples, suggesting that following personalized ingredient guidance can shift microbiome composition in four weeks in a small cohort. Limitations and interpretation This was an internal, non-randomized study without ethics committee oversight or peer review. The sample size was modest and adherence grouping was observational rather than blinded. Results should be interpreted cautiously as preliminary evidence that tailored ingredient advice can influence microbiome diversity and selected taxa over short periods. Next steps InnerBuddies plans to update the personalized advice to focus on bacterial functions and pathways (V2), which are more conserved across populations than individual taxa and may enable more targeted micro-interventions. V2 is expected in Q1 2025, with clinical trials planned in collaboration with academic partners. For full study context and original reporting, see the InnerBuddies Friends & Family test results. Related background: What is gut microbiota and why does it matter and background on microbiota importance. Additional product information placeholder: microbiome test.