We're launching a study to better understand childhood allergies
Your purchase of the Tiny Health Gut Test may contribute to science on the potential link between the infant (and mom) gut microbiome and the development of allergies. In partnership with Free to Feed, we intend to publish our findings when the study concludes.
More than 40% of American school-aged children have at least one chronic health condition [1]
And we think the number is much higher when it comes to babies and toddlers. From recent research we know that there’s an association between the gut microbiome and the progression of atopic march: eczema, food allergies, asthma and allergic rhinitis[2], [3], [4]. However:
- Even though atopic conditions are starting to become more prominent, research is still sparse.
- Even more so when it comes to allergies like cow’s milk protein allergy and sensitivities to breastmilk.
- Overall, more data is needed to develop further key insights, better diagnosis and potential therapeutics.
Contribute to advance research in childhood allergies
Get the valuable insights of gut microbiome testing and discover the connection between baby gut health and immune development.
Help other parents get to the root cause of allergies while contributing to important research.
Track your baby's microbiome development over time
You can learn the most about your baby’s health and protect against chronic conditions by tracking changes on their gut health over their first 1000 days.
We recommend testing at 7 days old, and every 3 months until your baby is 18 months old.
A Tiny Health subscription gets you:
- Exclusive $30 discount off each test kit
- Your kits delivered when you need them
- Enter your payment details only once
- Pay only when the tests are shipped
- Free shipping
- Skip or cancel anytime
Let’s come together and get to the root cause of childhood allergies and eczema
- 1x Mess-free gut microbiome health test for babies and toddlers, ages 0 - 3 years old.
- Contribution to advancing microbiome science that will benefit future generations of moms and children worldwide
- Biomarkers for your child’s colic, eczema, allergies, asthma, constipation, metabolic health, immune health and more.
- Gut health report with personalized recommendations (delivered in 4-5 weeks).
- $50 gift voucher for follow up samples
- 2x Mess-free gut microbiome health test. One for mom and one for babies or toddlers, ages 0 - 3 years old.
- Contribution to advancing microbiome science that will benefit future generations of moms and children worldwide
- Biomarkers for your child’s colic, eczema, allergies, asthma, constipation, metabolic health, immune health and more.
- Gut health report with personalized recommendations (delivered in 4-5 weeks).
- Special discount on first order of $60 Off
- $50 gift voucher for follow up samples
Tiny Health is the first gut health test created for mom and baby
Tiny Health offers at-home gut tests for the whole family. We focus on a baby’s first 1,000 days to address imbalances that may cause chronic conditions such as allergies. Processed in a CLIA-certified lab and using comprehensive shotgun metagenomics sequencing, Tiny Health gives parents personalized insights and evidence-based recommendations to improve a baby’s lifelong health.
Tiny Health’s mission is to improve health outcomes of future generations through evidence-based insights.
Free to Feed™ helps parents confidently navigate early feeding
Free to Feed is dedicated to finding solutions for food reactivity through research, education, and products. Our science-based approach empowers families to reach their feeding goals. In 2023, we will be launching the first at-home allergen detection kit for human milk. This will provide parents proper data on their individual dietary transfer to rule out or confirm specific food triggers and continue their breast or body feeding journey.
Free to Feed's mission is to educate, inspire, and empower all journeys to support health and happiness
How does the research-edition work?
Purchase the kits, sample and complete surveys
This study is only open to people who have purchased Tiny Health baby gut tests.
To further investigate the important connection between a mom and baby’s gut microbiome, we encourage that the mom also submit one gut test along with her baby’s at a discounted rate.
A stool sample can be taken directly from a soiled toilet tissue or diaper using our dry swab method.
You will fill out surveys upon sampling and towards the end of the research period, as you’ll be a part of furthering allergy research.
Processed in a CLIA-certified lab and using proprietary technology, Tiny Health’s gut test provides strain-level precision and a complete list of all microbes in the gut microbiome including bacteria, fungi, virus, parasites, and archaea. Results will take 4-5 weeks to arrive.
Consent to the study
The research-edition gut test is suitable for families with children between 0-3 years old who have been diagnosed by a healthcare provider (must provide official documents) with one of the following conditions:
- Eczema
- Cows milk protein allergy (CMPA)
- IgE-mediated food allergy
- Non-IgE mediated food allergy (such as FPIES, EoE, FPAIP, FPE, or celiac disease)
- Lactose intolerance
- Breastmilk food sensitivity and/or other immunological or GI disorders
If the subject does not have a diagnosis listed, they may be enrolled in the control arm.
Qualifications to participate in this study:
- The child must be diagnosed by a provider with one of the allergy conditions listed above
- Participants must have purchased a Tiny Health gut test
- Participants must not have taken probiotics for at least 2 months
- Participants must not have taken antibiotics for at least 2 months (intrapartum antibiotics and topical antibiotics are okay)
Read more about the common baby food allergies here.
Receive gut results
Every report includes a personalized expert note that is reviewed by a team of microbiome experts.
Tiny Health also provides actionable, and evidence-based recommendations to give each baby the best possible start in life.
The microbiome result report and action plan are a part of the regular Tiny Health Gut Test product and not associated with the research study.
You will be eligible to receive $50 off 2 subsequent purchases if you complete all the required surveys, making the next gut test only $149.
How do we look at the microbiome?
Highest resolution analysis
We use deep-shotgun metagenomics sequencing, the gold standard to get a comprehensive analysis you can rely on to make informed decisions
Breakthrough insights
We use functional profiling to what microbes are present, how much of them are there, and what they’re actually doing
Targeted suggestions
We use strain-level identification and precision science to detect and confirm microbes' transference, probiotics impact, and more
Meet our supporters:
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Frequently Asked Questions
While microbiome testing does not test for food allergies, we can show associations between your baby’s gut microbiome and their symptoms of eczema or allergies. Or the potential increased risk of these conditions developing.
How do we do this? We use something called biomarkers. Microbial biomarkers are bacteria associated with a higher or lower likelihood of developing a particular condition.
Microbial biomarkers are developed from research. The Tiny Health Bioinformatics Pipeline uses a custom built database of over 120K complete microbial genomes. We sift through the research surrounding the microbiome and use this information to develop a list of bacteria that we feel are important to track in early life.
Beyond the gut, there are a lot of other factors that can contribute to these conditions. Like genetics, lifestyle, and environmental exposures. If your child has eczema or food allergies, Tiny Health shows whether or not biomarkers for these conditions are present. And how to best support gut health.
There is no gut microbiome test that can detect lactose intolerance. At Tiny Health we can help you understand your gut health and how it may contribute to symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Lactose intolerance refers to trouble digesting the milk sugar, lactose. This is different from cow milk protein allergy, which involves an immune response. Cow milk protein allergy is somewhat common in babies whereas lactose intolerance is very rare in children under the age of 5 years old.
There are two types of lactose intolerance:
1. Primary lactose intolerance: This is rare in babies and all about genetics. In this case, the body cannot make enough of the enzyme, lactase. This is the enzyme that helps break down and digest the lactose milk sugars.Primary lactose intolerance is not caused by gut microbes. But symptoms may improve with helpful bacteria like Streptococcus thermophilus.
2. Secondary lactose intolerance: This is all about damage to the gut lining. Lactose digestion takes place in the small intestine and when the lining of the small intestine is damaged, we see secondary lactose intolerance. Which makes it hard to digest lactose. Usually this happens in adults after a long period of gut inflammation.
Secondary lactose intolerance can be caused by gut microbes if these microbes are making the gut inflamed. Repairing an injured gut and clearing inflammation can help support the digestion of lactose.
If your child is having issues with dairy it is important to talk to their healthcare provider to help understand the cause. In older children, lactose intolerance is often diagnosed by dairy elimination and/or a hydrogen breath test.
It’s never too late to test. Testing outside the biomarker window is a good idea because it may show signs of gut dysbiosis. Or underlying imbalances that could trigger other problems.
A child’s gut doesn’t fully mature until 3-5 years old. This means that within this period of time, you can still influence the trajectory of their gut and immune development.
To find out more about allergies and food sensitivities, read about the 4 most common types of food allergies in babies.
Unlike other commercial microbiome services, Tiny Health currently offers the first direct-to-consumer microbiome test with analytic services tailored for infants.
Our recommendations are also specific to the health needs of expectant and pregnant women and young infants.
Additionally, our shotgun metagenomics sequencing offers more comprehensive, in-depth microbiome data compared to that obtained with amplicon-based options.
Our business model doesn't involve selling data for profit and everything you share with us is strictly confidential. Our full privacy policy can be found here.
Yes, especially if you have a family history of allergies. Go ahead and purchase the combo kit now so you have it on hand when your baby is born. Then please wait to get your baby’s 7-day sample and take your (the mother’s) stool sample at the same time as your baby.
Your collection swab is valid for 1 whole year, so you can take the samples anytime within the year, but your baby will have arrived way before then anyway!
Please email us at research@tinyhealth.com. We may be able to retroactively send you a consent form.
We understand that for some conditions there is no official or formal diagnosis yet, which is one of the many reasons we have launched this study.
As long as your practitioner can provide a note indicating that your child has one of the conditions listed above, you may qualify.
The note does not need to be strictly an MD. It can be from any licensed practitioner.