Invivo Healthcare

20/01/2025

“Don’t guess, test” ⁠🔬
Start with a clear picture - 7 host and 62 microbial markers mapping the gut microbiome. ⁠
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Our GI Ecologix™ offers:⁠
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+ Free 1-2-1 result consultation with our experts⁠
+ User-friendly home testing kit⁠
+ The precision of qPCR and ELISA technologies⁠
+ Processed at our first-of-its-kind UK B-Corp microbiome lab⁠
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Our lab team are ready to help you uncover the microbiome. A great place to start is with a detailed and accurate snapshot of your client’s gut. ⁠
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Please note: Invivo is a provider of testing services only. Tests can only be purchased by or through a registered healthcare practitioner. If you are someone looking to test your microbiome, you can find a healthcare practitioner through our website.⁠
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09/01/2025

The is back! 🫛🥕🫐

Welcome back to another year of microbial discovery! And what better way to nurture ourselves anew and embrace our role as Microbiome Guardians than with a challenge!

Just as a vibrant garden thrives on diversity of species, so does your gut microbiome. That’s why we created the Gut Garden Challenge.
How do I take part?

The challenge is simple - consume at least *30 unique plants* per week. It’s a “challenge”, but it might be easier to achieve than you think.

Why should I join in?

Your microbiomes will love it – Research has shown that those who eat a wider variety of plant foods tend to have more diverse gut microbiomes.¹ This challenge encourages you to eat the variety of plants our microbes need to thrive, nurturing diversity of commensal bacteria for a nourished, healthy gut.

What do I need to do?

1. Track the different plants you eat each week - they can rack up fast!
2. At the end of the week - count them up! How did you do?

What counts as a plant?

This might seem obvious, but it’s not just fruits and vegetables. Herbs and spices, pulses, legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds count towards your total - so you can see how your Plant Points can rack up quick.

For more information about the Gut Garden Challenge visit our website. Best of luck and let us know how you’re getting more Plant Points into your diet.

Love,
Invivo x



Ref:
¹ McDonald et al. American Gut Consortium; Knight R. American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research. mSystems. 2018 May 15;3(3):e00031-18.

23/12/2024

The Festive Season and the Gut

Festivities often come hand in hand with overindulgence, including lots of rich, sweet foods and alcohol. However, our gut microbiome may struggle under the pressure. Here are 3 tips on how to support your gut through the festive season:

Tip 1 – Keep fibre in sight

It’s tempting to lean towards the turkey and Christmas pudding when filling our plates but keep the high fibre veggies in sight. Fibre sustains the billions of hungry microbes residing in the gut; winter greens, parsnips, Brussel sprouts, celeriac, swede and beetroot will all be well received.

Tip 2 - Fermented foods

These are a wonderful addition to a Christmas spread. Small amounts of daily fermented foods provide a regular supply of live, friendly microbes for your digestive tract.

A little kimchi or sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) alongside your cheeseboard or boxing day brunch of scrambled egg is a great addition.

Tip 3 – Scaling back on alcohol

Try scaling down the quantity of your alcoholic drinks. Excessive alcohol intake impacts the overall ecosystem of bacteria in the gut ¹, which may lead to bloating, gas, loose stools and other unpleasant digestive symptoms. Moderation and low alcohol options may help to mitigate the harmful effects upon your gut microbes (and save you from a hangover). Why not try kombucha, a naturally fizzy fermented beverage, which makes a great alternative to champagne or prosecco.



Referance

¹ Litwinowicz K, Choroszy M, Waszczuk E. Changes in the composition of the human intestinal microbiome in alcohol use disorder: a systematic review. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2020;46(1):4-12. doi: 10.1080/00952990.2019.1669629. Epub 2019 Nov 5. PMID: 31689142.

17/12/2024

This season’s veggies are great for racking up plant power points, with many easy wins to keep our bodies, guts and microbes happy.

Whether in hearty soups, delicious roasts or all manner of other dishes, Winter vegetables offer plenty of support for us and our microbiomes.

🥦🥕Here’s 5 great examples 🥕🥦

Brussel Sprouts
Boiled or roasted, this cruciferous veg is high in nutrients such as Vitamin C and several other natural antioxidants, Vitamin K, important for blood clotting and bone health, as well as sulforaphane, a phytochemical that has been well researched for its many beneficial health properties, including for the gut.

Parsnips
Bake them, roast them, stew them, mash them - parsnips have many uses, and what Christmas dinner would be complete without them! The best thing about them? They’re packed with vitamins and other goodness, like prebiotic dietary fibres to feed our microbes!

Red cabbage
Whether sauteed or in salads, red cabbage is a great source of vitamins and polyphenols such as anthocyanins, which are responsible for its beautiful colour. As with all the brassica family, it's also a source of glucosinolates (beneficial sulphur-containing compounds).

Cauliflower
Cauliflower Cheese is a controversial choice for a roast or Christmas dinner but consider this - it’s rich in glucosinolates and polyphenols. Cauliflower rice and mash can also be used as a low glycaemic index carb alternative in many dishes.

Cranberries
Ok, so cranberries are fruit, but did you know the different colour pigments in fruit and veg also provide health benefits? Cranberry sauce goes great with turkey and is packed with polyphenols such as proanthocyanidins, as well as being a rich source of the mineral manganese.

All these examples are great foods for us and for our microbes – after all, we are what our microbes eat.

The more plant power points we can get into our diet, the happier our bodies and microbes, so get on the scoreboard this festive season!

11/12/2024

Hi all,

Over the festive season, the Invivo team will be taking some well-earned time out to pause,rest and rejuvenate for an exciting 2025.

Please take note of the following key dates over the festive period:
• Festive capacity – 25th Dec 24 – 1st Jan 25
• For delivery before Christmas order by 1pm, 20th Dec 24
• Invivo is not able to receive test samples between 21st Dec 24 – 2nd Jan 25
• Tests will have normal turnaround times up until 3rd Dec 24
• Tests received after 4th Dec 24 will take 6 additional week days
• Normal service will resume on 2nd January

For full details please click on the link:
https://invivohealthcare.com/festive-operating-times-2024-2025/

Wishing everyone a wonderful festive break.
From everyone at Invivo, we hope you have a nourishing and gentle holiday season and we look forward to working with you in 2025!

Love
Invivo

Over the festive season, the Invivo team will be taking some well-earned time out to pause, rest, and rejuvenate for an exciting 2025 Key dates summary Please take note of the ...

11/12/2024

How alcohol affects your microbiome

Christmas is often described as ‘the season to be merry’. If you are partial to a tipple over the festive season, it's worth being aware of one of the lesser - known impacts of alcohol – its effects on our gut.

When regularly over-indulged, studies show that alcohol can impact the gut microbiome, leading to dysbiosis and gut permeability.

Let’s explore some of the mechanisms behind this.

+ When we drink alcohol, we need to metabolise the ethanol component. This involves our gut microbes, liver detoxification pathways and mitochondrial systems

+ In the process of ethanol metabolism, our microbes produce toxic metabolites such as acetaldehyde, which contribute to oxidative stress

+ Changes to the environment may increase the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Enterobacteriaceae and decrease the abundance of Bacteroides, Akkermansia and Faecalibacterium¹

+ Poor tolerance of Bacteroides to alcohol-induced oxidative stress and the reduction of anti-bacterial signalling molecules such as α-defensins by alcohol may be contributing factors² ³

+ These microbial changes from excessive alcohol may be associated with increased gut inflammation and intestinal hyperpermeability²

Being informed on the link between alcohol and the gut microbiome allows us to acknowledge that moderation around alcohol is important, whilst still allowing ourselves to enjoy a balanced festive period.

Look out for our upcoming post with some simple ways you can help support your gut microbes this festive period.

References-
¹ Litwinowicz K, Choroszy M, Waszczuk E. Changes in the composition of the human intestinal microbiome in alcohol use disorder: a systematic review. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2020;46(1):4-12. doi: 10.1080/00952990.2019.1669629. Epub 2019 Nov 5. PMID: 31689142.

² Keshavarzian A, et al. Evidence that chronic alcohol exposure promotes intestinal oxidative stress, intestinal hyperpermeability and endotoxemia prior to development of alcoholic steatohepatitis in rats. J Hepatol. 2009 Mar;50(3):538-47.

³ Shukla PK et al. Human Defensin-5 Blocks Ethanol and Colitis-Induced Dysbiosis, Tight Junction Disruption and Inflammation in Mouse Intestine. Sci Rep. 2018 Nov 2;8(1):16241.

29/11/2024

Health potentials of secondary metabolites within the gut microbiome of long-lived individuals.

It is increasingly accepted that the gut microbiome plays a key role in healthy aging. Researchers are now seeking to identify the precise mechanisms by which our microbes can help us to live longer.

Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) are groups of genes on the genomes of microbes that encode pathways for the production of natural compounds (metabolites), which play vital roles in our health and disease.
Several studies have previously characterised the gut microbiota of centenarians (people living to 100 years+), but less is known about the role of the metabolites they produce.

In the first large cohort study analysing BGCs using whole microbiome sequencing, researchers sought to identify distinct patterns of BGCs distinguishing long-lived individuals from non long-lived individuals.

Methods:
Researchers included faecal samples from 1029 individuals including extremely long-lived, younger elderly individuals and young individuals, which were analysed using metagenomic sequencing.

Results:
The findings of the study revealed that:
+ Extremely long-lived populations harboured a significantly different pattern of BGCs compared to younger elderly and young people.
+ The metabolite terpene and several other BGCs showed the potential to differentiate long-lived individuals from non-long-lived individuals.
+ There was a positive relationship between terpene BGCs and the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, which was found to be enhanced in the extremely long-lived individuals.

Analysis suggested that A. muciniphila has great potential to produce terpenoid metabolites, especially triterpenoids which may exert antidiabetic, anticarcinogenic, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects on the host.

Conclusion:
This first of its kind research provides insightful results suggesting a correlation between an abundance of A. muciniphila, terpene and several other BGCs and longevity.

Key Clinical Takeaways:
While the link between gut microbes and longevity is ever evolving, this research suggests that an abundant presence of gut Akkermansia muciniphilia in centenarians may be one pro-health factor linked to the pronounced lifespans of these long-lived individuals.

Further research is needed before firm clinical recommendations can be drawn, however, the use of dietary and lifestyle strategies to support and maintain the abundance of A. muciniphila throughout our lives could potentially, in theory, support longevity.

Read more on Linkedin

23/09/2024

Did you see our recent post about the 'The Balanced Plate'? If not, scroll back a few posts to learn about the principles to consider when putting together a plate of food which have your whole-body health in mind, including blood sugar regulation and gut health.

From a gut perspective, these principles are inherently supportive for the balance of your gut microbiome, with the focus on wholefoods (minimally processed food) and consuming a variety of colourful plants at each mealtime, including wholegrains, leafy greens and other vegetables, and fruit such as berries.

Some factors mean that extra focus might be needed to make a meal even more microbiome nurturing. These include high exposure to disruptors of the gut microbiome such as antibiotics and pesticides, a particular sign, symptom or condition, and an individual's unique gut microbiome balance evidenced by a private stool test.

As a next step, you might consider adding some of following to your plate too:
+ A portion of fermented food e.g. kefir, miso, sourdough, fresh kimchi and sauerkraut.

+ Prebiotic fibre rich foods e.g. onions, garlic, leeks, pulses.

+ Brightly coloured polyphenol rich foods e.g. berries, pomegranate.

+ Other polyphenol rich foods, such as cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and walnuts

Just be sure to:
+ Go low and slow when increasing your intake of fibre or fermented food, especially If your intake is low.

+ Keep hydrated while increasing fibre.

+ If you have a chronic condition, a complex health picture, or are looking for personalised dietary recommendations, it can be advisable to seek the advice of a nutrition healthcare professional, such as a Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.

30/08/2024

“Evidence of Lactobacillus strains shared between the female urinary and va**nal microbiota” published in Microbial Genomics 2024.⁠
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Background: ⁠
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Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are prevalent and with the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, a significant health risk for the future. Researchers are therefore trying to better understand their causes and how to prevent them. ⁠
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Attention has turned to the urinary, gut, and va**nal microbiome, and how microbes (both beneficial and disease-causing) living in the gut and va**na may travel to the urinary tract and influence urinary health. This study sought to deepen our knowledge of the interconnectedness of urinary and va**nal beneficial Lactobacillus colonies. ⁠
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Methods: ⁠
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The female urinary tract and va**na contain many of the same Lactobacillus species, including L. crispatus, L. iners, L. gasseri, and L. jensenii. This study examined whether Lactobacillus species isolated from the urinary tract and va**na of 16 women with overactive bladder undergoing oestrogen treatment were also identical at strain level. ⁠
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Results: ⁠
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Identical strains were identified in 50% of the paired urinary and va**nal samples from each individual. ⁠
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Conclusion: ⁠
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This study provides the first evidence that identical Lactobacillus strains can be found in the urinary tract and va**na. While this study has some limitations, including small sample size, it adds to a growing evidence base indicating the interconnectedness of these microbiome sites. ⁠
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Key Clinical Takeaways: ⁠
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It is evident that urinary tract health needs to be viewed within the context of va**nal as well as gut health. Not only can the va**na be a potential reservoir of UTI-causing microbes, but it may also influence the abundance of protective Lactobacillus in the urinary tract. Therapeutic interventions for UTIs should consider support for the Lactobacillus colony in the gut, urinary, and va**nal microbiomes to improve the resilience of these ecosystems to infection. ⁠
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For tailored advice, you might like to seek out the advice of a Healthcare practitioner. ⁠

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Read more on our Linkedin 🔗

Online at: https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001267
**nalmicrobiome

22/04/2024

See how we’re minimising plastic use ⬇️⁠
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Earth Day 2024 is titled ‘Planet vs. Plastics’. These materials, while incredibly useful, are a major risk to human, natural and planetary health. We fully support of the EarthDay.org call for a 60% reduction in ALL plastic production by 2040.⁠
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So today, we’re reflecting on all the initiatives we have in place to drive down our plastic use:⁠
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+ While we’re already low plastic with glass and aluminium packaging, we’re prototyping new compostable pouch refills combined with a reusable all-aluminium tin, which lives at home. This would mean even fewer carbon emissions and less landfill waste, as well as minimal plastic.
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+ In the lab finding new solutions for decontaminating and cleaning consumables and equipment for reuse, wherever it’s safe and effective to do so⁠
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+ Constantly reviewing our suppliers and service providers, reducing plastic waste or moving to more recyclable and plant-based plastic where possible⁠
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+ Invivo minimises plastic use wherever possible across wider activities, including avoidance of plastic-containing marketing materials and provision of plastic-free menstrual products to staff⁠
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Join us in signing the EarthDay.org Global Plastics Treaty petition, which calls on the UN to adopt a range of transformative plastic reduction policies worldwide. 🌎️
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