Olivia
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Tiny Health
@GetTinyHealth
The first gut & vaginal microbiome testing platform for the whole family using advanced metagenomic sequencing. From the first 1000 days to the last 1000 days.
Joined April 2021
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441 Followers
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Top 1% of all vaginas tested!
This is a real Tiny Health vaginal microbiome report.
L. crispatus at 98.7% is linked to lower risk of BV, UTIs, yeast infections, and better fertility outcomes.
This is her vaginal microbiome report. 100/100 score.
Top 1% of all vaginas.
Her sample is dominated by the single most protective bacterial species a vagina can host (Lactobacillus crispatus).
Only about 25-30% of reproductive age women globally are L. crispatus-dominant, and “dominant” usually means above 50%. Kate is at 98.7%.
The lab found nothing bad to report. (no gardnerella, Candida, STIs, opportunistic pathogens, aerobic vaginitis markers, etc.)
This is linked to lower risk of BV, UTIs, yeast infections, HPV persistence, HSV-2 and HIV acquisition, preterm birth, and improved IVF outcomes.
A vaginal microbiome is downstream of everything: sleep, glucose control, stress, gut health, sexual health, immune function, what you eat, and what you put in it.
𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢 has a reputation problem.
64% of healthy people have it in their gut. It's causing no harm or reason to sound an alarm.
But the myths spread faster than the science. Bloating, brain fog, fatigue often get blamed on 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢, when the truth is almost everyone has some, and small amounts are normal. The real problem is what happens when the broader ecosystem loses its resilience.
𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢 lives in the small intestine, but stool tests measure the large intestine. So a trace result on a PCR test isn't necessarily a sign of overgrowth, yet it's often enough to send people into harsh cleanses and antifungal protocols that can disrupt the very ecosystem meant to keep it in check.
But none of this is to say overgrowth isn't real. For some people, it may be a root cause behind exhausting chronic symptoms that haven't resolved any other way.
The good news is that healing doesn't have to mean isolating and attacking one organism. It can mean rebalancing the entire ecosystem so your body can naturally keep it in check again, helping resolve your symptoms now and support longevity down the line.
At @GetTinyHealth, we interpret 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢 in the context of the full gut ecosystem. Our stool test detects 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢 DNA alongside microbial diversity, beneficial bacteria, and inflammatory patterns. If you want an exact quantified level, our practitioners offer a qPCR add-on that measures it with high sensitivity. Either way, you're never looking at one organism in isolation.
We put together a full guide debunking the biggest 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢 myths, how to test for overgrowth at home, and ways to support gut balance naturally. Link in the first comment.
Have you ever done an aggressive gut protocol based on a single test result? What happened? Share it below.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. So many people are struggling, and we've always been taught mental health is a brain problem.
The gut tells a different story.
Around 50% of people we test at @GetTinyHealth show undetectable GABA production capacity in the gut. GABA is the neurotransmitter that quiets your nervous system. It's what regulates anxiety, stress, and sleep.
The microbes in your gut influence how your body produces the compounds that regulate mood, stress response, and sleep. When that balance is off, it doesn't just show up as bloating. It shows up as a version of yourself that feels like everything is so much more difficult to manage than normal.
That said, the gut is one piece of a bigger picture. You can't test your way out of chronic stress. You can't supplement your way out of loneliness. Sleep and genuine human connection are still foundational to mental health in ways no biomarker can replace.
But if you've addressed the obvious things and still feel off, it's worth asking whether your gut is part of the story.
You deserve to feel like yourself. 💛
There's a lot more to this conversation, we dove deeper in a full article on gut health’s link to anxiety and depression. Link in the first comment.
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21 million people just witnessed a @GetTinyHealth vaginal microbiome score go viral on X. I'll be honest, I didn't have that on my bingo card. But it opens up a conversation that actually matters, and I have my own data to add to it.
My TH VJJ test came back 100/100 pre-birth. L. 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 dominant, top 1%. I felt incredible knowing my vaginal microbiome was in such strong shape heading into my 3rd birth.
Then postpartum hit, and my score dropped to 24.
Having a baby changes everything. But inside my vaginal microbiome, the one variable that mattered most was my estrogen.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵. Estrogen is the primary fuel for 𝘓𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴. It thickens the vaginal epithelium and creates the glycogen that L. 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 feeds on. When estrogen drops during postpartum, perimenopause, or menopause, the entire ecosystem can shift dramatically.
A microbiome that looked perfect six months ago can look completely different today. Most women never connect the dots, because the data to do so never existed.
In our Tiny Health data, we see this same arc play out consistently across women's lives: higher 𝘓𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴 pre-pregnancy (though not all women start there), significant “dysbiosis” in the postpartum window, and another shift during perimenopause.
𝗜 𝗽𝘂𝘁 "𝗱𝘆𝘀𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀" 𝗶𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆. We actually think that shift may be a natural child-spacing mechanism, one that's meant to happen until hormones normalize with menstruation or weaning. It's harder to conceive again with low or no 𝘓𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴, and conceiving in that state is associated with a higher risk of preterm birth. So the postpartum vaginal shift may be entirely normal, and for many women, completely asymptomatic.
But for women who aren't postpartum and are experiencing low 𝘓𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴, the downstream consequences are a different story. Bacterial vaginosis (BV), recurrent UTIs, yeast infections, increased HPV persistence, and disrupted immune defenses get chalked up to "𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻."
These imbalances are not inevitable. And when you can measure them, many are avoidable.
A 100 score is worth celebrating, but a single snapshot is just a moment. The pattern over time is where the data that actually changes outcomes lives.
That's the standard of care we're building toward at Tiny Health. 🌱
We don't make the results, we just report them!
We're glad @_katetolo's doing so well. 🧬 And yes, we do have a test for that. https://t.co/6QqjtfZHUV
This is her vaginal microbiome report. 100/100 score.
Top 1% of all vaginas.
Her sample is dominated by the single most protective bacterial species a vagina can host (Lactobacillus crispatus).
Only about 25-30% of reproductive age women globally are L. crispatus-dominant, and “dominant” usually means above 50%. Kate is at 98.7%.
The lab found nothing bad to report. (no gardnerella, Candida, STIs, opportunistic pathogens, aerobic vaginitis markers, etc.)
This is linked to lower risk of BV, UTIs, yeast infections, HPV persistence, HSV-2 and HIV acquisition, preterm birth, and improved IVF outcomes.
A vaginal microbiome is downstream of everything: sleep, glucose control, stress, gut health, sexual health, immune function, what you eat, and what you put in it.
@bryan_johnson Perfect score @Kate! 👏
Interesting insight: my own @GetTinyHealth VJJ test: 100 (L. crispatus) pre-birth, and then going down to 24 postpartum.
Nothing changed except estrogen.
We see similar shifts in perimenopause too - hormones are quietly driving vaginal microbiome state!
@bryan_johnson Happy to help 😉
@ThroneScience Congrats!! 🎉
Yesterday, @WSJ featured @GetTinyHealth in a piece on the rise of baby microbiome testing, alongside our friends @BeginHealth and @MadelineZephyr.
The headline: “𝗕𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀’ 𝗚𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀.”
Yes, we absolutely are obsessed – as founders building in this space and as parents thinking deeply about the world our children are growing up in.
Because nearly 1 in 2 children in the U.S. now has a chronic condition, per the CDC.
Somehow, this has been framed as the status quo. It’s insane.
We cannot accept this.
Eczema.
Food allergies.
Asthma.
Autoimmune disease.
If the immune system is trained in the first 1,000 days of life — and the microbiome plays a central role in that training — why wouldn’t we prioritize getting that foundation right?
The article opens with Brittany and her son Leo, who was struggling with constipation, fussiness, and poor weight gain early on. Like many parents, she wasn’t looking for a trend. She was looking for answers.
As part of their Tiny Health journey, recommendations included outdoor play, pet exposure, and increasing microbial diversity.
That’s not trend-driven advice.
It’s grounded in decades of immunology research. In the first year of life, babies exposed to farms, animals, and pets develop higher levels of beneficial microbes like 𝘉𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 and 𝘈𝘬𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘢 – along with lower rates of allergic disease.
Rigor matters in emerging science.
At Tiny Health, we ground our recommendations in evidence-based interventions supported by decades of microbiome research. Last fall, we published a randomized controlled trial showing these interventions can reduce the odds of developing atopic conditions by 𝟴𝟯%. (Study linked in the comments.)
And what we hear from families isn’t hype – it’s relief.
Relief as constipation improves, eczema clears, sleep deepens, and resilience builds. Small shifts that make a profound difference in daily life and long-term health.
For families navigating persistent chronic health issues, those shifts aren’t small. They can be life-changing especially when they happen early.
Prevention can look unconventional… right up until it becomes standard of care.
And we’re here to support families with science, data, and care every step of the way.
Read the Wall Street Journal story here – https://t.co/ZjZungqe5q
With my 1 year-old baby in tow, I flew from IHS in NYC to the Bay Area for the Inaugural Stanford’s Consumer Health Summit on Saturday. It’s now Wed and I’m still buzzing from the weekend. It felt like a signal.
Huge congratulations to @ZHTeiger for bringing together one of the most thoughtful rooms in consumer health this year. The caliber of founders, investors, and operators spoke a lot about where this category is heading.
In his opening, Zach spoke about the post-COVID shift: people stopped blindly outsourcing their health. Consumers began asking questions, tracking their own health data, and taking ownership. Several breakout companies have captured this momentum.
That shift is real.
One thing that is foundational for these companies: building trust with the most discerning customers. It’s tougher than one might think, and it takes time.
Ricky Bloomfield at @ouraring was clear: if consumer health platforms want to be taken seriously, they must measure both clinical outcomes and healthcare cost reduction — not just engagement metrics. It can’t be an afterthought.
@geoffcook shared how @noom pairs GLP-1s with resistance training, nutrition education and behavioral change scaffolding. Medication can accelerate progress, but lasting health still requires lifestyle change.
There is no such thing as a “free lunch,” even if you don’t eat any.
The VC panel with @julesyoo, @KGSeidensticker, @hollsmaloney and @ryu_alison predicted a future “super app” aggregating health data, while chronic care remains fragmented by specialty. While “consumer” became uncool just a few years ago, it’s now possible that large DTC, cash-pay businesses can be built — accelerated by growing consumer demand for control and advocacy.
Across the ecosystem, the direction felt aligned.
I also had great 1:1s with Pranitha Patil at @function on diagnostics becoming baseline, @joannastrober at @midihealth on redesigning midlife care around women, and Alex Sundberg at Life Time Inc. on evolving physical spaces into true preventative health hubs..
Most of my conversations ended up pointing upstream – to the gut microbiome.
Hippocrates said “all disease begins in the gut.” Research continues to underscore microbial health’s role in metabolism, inflammation, immune resilience, and chronic disease.
Loved seeing @ScottHickle from @ThroneScience have his “Whoop for Poop” moment on stage to a huge applause. Continuous poop and pee tracking is an exciting frontier.
High-resolution microbiome sequencing still matters. Continuous signals and compositional data are complementary and necessary.
To close, I co-hosted a private dinner with Stanford researcher Vera Prokopieva, co-sponsored by @BainCapital and @GetTinyHealth centered on the intersection of the microbiome and metabolism.
We’re still early. Interoperability is messy. Access isn’t universal.
But something has shifted.
Consumer health isn’t trying to be taken seriously anymore.
It already is.
Last Thursday, I moderated a panel at the @IHSymposium (IHS) in NYC on the microbiome through the lifespan.
The room was full and our discussion ran 30 minutes over. Afterward, clinicians came up to us saying:
“𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀.” Others said “𝗪𝗼𝘄, 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵.”
We were blown away by the reception.
The microbiome is no longer a fringe conversation.
🍼 From early immune programming in the first 1,000 days…
🌸 To fertility and menopause…
🧠 To functional pathways that influence chronic disease decades later…
The tone shifted as we discussed strain-level resolution, functional pathway analysis, and applying microbiome data thoughtfully across the lifespan instead of relying on broad, one-size-fits-all protocols.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲. It was the hallway conversations.
I met Dr. Asyia Ahmad (gastroenterology at @DoylestownHlth), who shared that she ran nearly every stool test on the market across her patients – and even had her entire office test them.
𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟱 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 @GetTinyHealth 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁.
Now they’re exclusively using Tiny Health for all patients and may come on as a wholesale client (yes - we offer wholesale rates for larger practices and enterprise clients).
Hearing that directly and unprompted made my day.
I also met Julianka Bell, who has used Tiny Health for years and shared such thoughtful feedback about her experience – and how it has raised the bar for her work as a dietitian. I love the FullWell brand that she works for (one of the most complete prenatal supplements in the industry).
It’s humbling to see how what started as a personal mission has translated into real impact for families and practices.
Trust is hard to earn and in healthcare, it’s everything.
That kind of trust is truly a moat.
Last Friday, we also co-hosted an intimate dinner with SFI Health, where @ElisaSongMD and @drpiperdobner continued the conversation for a room of 50 practitioners on the evolution of the microbiome across the lifespan.
I wasn’t able to attend in person, but the buzz afterward was undeniable. The feedback kept coming in about how thoughtful, practical, and energizing the discussion was.
And finally, we wrapped up the two days with two fantastic book signings with Dr. Elisa (𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘴, 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘴) and @EmeranMayerMD (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘎𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘦). 📚Check out both books if you haven’t yet.
Huge thank you to my team for making these two days happen and carrying the momentum.
All in all, IHS felt like a turning point. The microbiome conversation has entered a new chapter and the appetite for rigorous, precision-driven care is only growing.
Last week, I wrote about why access alone isn’t enough in health. Data without context doesn’t change outcomes.
Violet’s story is a powerful reminder of what happens when someone decides to look deeper.
For 15 years, she lived with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and chronic diarrhea. Her life revolved around symptom management – constantly planning her days around her gut. Migraines, sleep disruption, and mental health challenges layered on top.
She did what many of us do – she adapted and kept going.
Until 2021, when her body forced her to pause.
Instead of accepting this as her baseline, Violet approached her health like a researcher tackling a complex problem. She stepped back from work, partnered with functional clinicians at @ClevelandClinic, eliminated ultra-processed foods, adopted a modified ketovore diet, and began rebuilding from the ground up.
She significantly improved but lingering GI issues remained.
That’s when she decided to go deeper…
Violet took three @GetTinyHealth tests in 2025 and they revealed:
• No detectable 𝘉𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮
• Low microbial diversity (low Shannon index)
• Opportunistic bacteria, including 𝘊. 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧
• A borderline-high antibiotic resistance abundance index
The adult microbiome is an ecosystem 🌱 – when key species disappear, opportunistic pathogens may take reign, and resilience goes down.
What changed wasn’t just the data. It was personalized interpretation and evidence-based protocols.
Through Tiny+, our ongoing support membership (which includes discounted kits, coaching calls, and direct messaging with our specialists), Violet worked closely with microbiome specialists Amy Chapman and Jennifer McDow, layering targeted interventions over time.
• A 𝘉𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 probiotic along with specific prebiotics to help it colonize
• Greater plant diversity, fermented foods and inulin
• Ultimately a spore-based probiotic that she never knew she needed - she credits that as the turning point of her symptoms.
But these same protocols can’t be applied to everyone - it’s truly the personalized aspect of Tiny that helped her pinpoint exactly what she was missing, and where she needed the most support in her gut.
Within weeks, her diarrhea improved. Over time, 𝘉𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 became detectable, 𝘊. 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧 disappeared, and her microbial balance strengthened. Just as importantly, she felt heard by our specialists when others dismissed her symptoms.
At 68, she calls herself “a new person.” ✨
If we’re serious about prevention and longevity, this kind of systems-based, precision care shouldn’t be exceptional. It should be standard.
Violet is a powerful example of what an engaged, informed, and proactive patient can look like.
I’m deeply grateful she trusted the @GetTinyHealth team to be part of her journey. 💛
Check out her before-and-after results below. The full case study is in the first comment.
Tuesday’s Super Bowl conversation made one thing clear: proactive health is going mainstream. But access alone isn’t the real shift.
As proactive health becomes more accessible, the real shift is happening somewhere else.
The future of health isn’t more doctor visits. It’s earlier signals – enabled by Health OS (operating systems).
What people call a Health OS is really just this: all your health data in one place, tracked 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
That “over time” part is key.
It’s why getting labs every 6 months is becoming normal, why diagnostics are becoming repeatable, and why “longevity” is moving out of niche clinics and into everyday life.
This doesn’t replace healthcare, it exposes what today’s healthcare actually is: 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲.
The system is excellent at acute problems – broken bones, surgeries, emergencies.
But it’s not built for chronic conditions. By the time people enter the system for eczema, autoimmunity, metabolic issues, IBS, or burnout, those problems have often been developing quietly for years.
That’s the gap.
Health OS platforms make longitudinal tracking possible, but data alone doesn’t uncover root causes. That’s exactly the gap we’re running into as these tools become more accessible.
That’s where Medicine 3.0 comes in – not just proactive care, but people taking more control of their health, often combining a Health OS with a well-trained functional or integrative clinician.
We’re early… insurance will come later (hopefully).
Right now, we’re crossing the chasm.
The direction is clear: From sick care → to an operating layer that supports health long before anyone becomes a “patient.”
Curious how many of you are already tracking labs or biomarkers longitudinally, not just once a year?
A national brand used one of the biggest stages on TV to say: “𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿.”
That health–wealth gap is real 💰➡️🧬. And the fact that proactive health and longevity showed up in a Super Bowl ad tells you how mainstream this conversation has become.
For a long time, this kind of care felt gated – available mainly to those with money, time, and access. @wearehims & @wearehers is clearly signaling that this model can scale beyond the ultra-wealthy.
That matters.
But here’s the real issue ⚠️: 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀.
Yes, Hims & Hers has gone beyond basic testing. Their Labs platform pairs biomarker data with clinician-developed action plans – a meaningful evolution from “here’s your data, good luck.”
Still, three gaps remain unresolved at a system level:
𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 “𝘄𝗵𝘆.”
A flagged biomarker is information, not understanding. Without context – gut health, genetics, environment, lifestyle – you’re treating numbers, not biology. To truly inspire change, we need to tackle root cause issues.
𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Standardized protocols can help many people, but true precision care still requires trained practitioners who can interpret data across systems, not in isolation.
𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.
Accessibility doesn’t mean equitable access. Many of the people who would benefit most from preventive care still can’t afford ongoing testing, clinical guidance, or long-term interventions.
We’re also asking consumers to navigate an increasingly fragmented landscape: functional vs integrative vs holistic vs longevity care vs digital health tools (aka “AI Doctors”). Even for informed patients, that’s confusing. (I’m working on a clear explainer for this.)
The shift we’re in is about distributing better tools at scale. It’s about helping people understand why something is happening, what to do about it, and how to make that path financially sustainable.
Bringing this conversation into the mainstream is progress 🚀. Solving what comes next is the real test.
Seasonal allergies really love to humble me every January and February. 🤧Austin cedar fever is no joke… if you know, you really know.
Before I moved to Austin 4 years ago, I had never had seasonal allergies. Mine hit immediately (apparently you’re supposed to “earn” cedar fever after a couple years). It probably doesn’t help that I live next to a cedar forest. 😭
Someone recently asked me what my “tricks” are for allergies and seemed surprised when I said I still take Claritin sometimes.
I’m human. And allergies absolutely get the better of me.
I’m not trying to win an award for “most disciplined immune system.” When my eyes are on fire and I get so congested to the point where I want to rip my head off, I do what most people do.
But I don’t stop there.
Over the last few years, I’ve shifted how I think about allergies – thanks largely to working with functional medicine practitioners.
Instead of asking: “How do I make this go away today?”
We ask: “What’s driving this immune overreaction in the first place?”
That means looking at things like:
• histamine load via tryptase and IgE blood tests
• hs-CRP and thyroid panel to assess inflammation and energy levels
• nutrigenomics test to determine detox capacity
• gut health test and immune resilience
• stress, sleep, and recovery (especially during high-pollen seasons)
My current routine looks very unglamorous – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲. It’s simply how I personally integrate functional medicine alongside conventional care, with guidance from my doctors.
• occasional Claritin and switching up with Allegra some days (no shame)
• sauna 2-3x/week to support detox - binder before and electrolytes after
• targeted supplements for histamine support (I love the DHist formula)
• nettles tea at night
• XClear or Beekeepers Natural Nasal Spray and Flonase (morning and night)
• neti pot rinses at night
• Texas allergy drops (2-3x/day, starting Oct–Feb)
• Pataday (olopatadine) OTC eye drops for itch
• extra rest + hydration + magnesium glycinate at night
• immune basics like zinc, vitamin C, glutathione
• L-glutamine; consider aloe vera juice for gut lining support
One thing my doctor reminded me that really stuck: When your immune system is already in overdrive from allergies, you’re more vulnerable to everything else… colds, flu, lingering inflammation.
Supporting your immune system during allergy season isn’t indulgent. It’s preventative.
There’s a false narrative that you have to choose:
→ conventional medicine
→ 𝘰𝘳 functional / holistic care
Most of us live in the middle and that’s okay.
If you’re in allergy hell right now 🤝 solidarity.
And if you’ve found things that help beyond “just suffer,” I’d genuinely love to learn – share in the comments 🌿
A few weeks ago, I spent an evening at the @SapienCenter with Rohun Jauhar (co-founder & CEO) and Dr. Vass (co-founder & CMO) of Longevity Health in Boulder.
Longevity Health is operating at the very top tier of longevity medicine — a global destination clinic for people who already take their health seriously and want care that reflects where the science is going, not where it’s been. 🌍Clients fly in from around the world for a one-day deep diagnostic experience, then work year-round with a dedicated physician, trainer, nutritionist, and care team.
A few months ago, they made a deliberate shift away from a conventional qPCR stool test. Dr. Vass was intentionally seeking a solution built on shotgun metagenomic sequencing – the gold standard in microbiome research and the approach cited by @TheLancet (Feb 2025) as the recommended method for clinical practice by international consensus.
Longevity Health now orders a @GetTinyHealth PRO gut test for every client. 🤯
PRO is our clinical-grade stool test, combining shotgun metagenomic sequencing with key stool chemistries like calprotectin and secretory IgA. It’s currently the only practitioner test on the market that offers this level of depth and clinical comprehensiveness into a patient’s gut microbiome.
Hearing Dr. Vass say it was the best gut microbiome platform he’s ever used was a moment of real pride. 🙏
His longevity framework was equally grounded:
• Community and belonging
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Exercise
Only after those foundations do you layer in advanced interventions.
During the Q&A, someone asked what the highest-impact, lowest-cost longevity intervention is. Dr. Vass didn’t hesitate: fasting. ⏳
It’s fascinating that nearly every major religion independently embedded fasting into its traditions. From Ramadan and Lent to Yom Kippur, Ekadashi, and Buddhist fasting practices. Long before we had words like autophagy or metabolic switching, humans seemed to intuit that periods of rest from constant eating were restorative.
Modern science is now catching up. When used correctly, a 30–40 hour fast can trigger autophagy, improve insulin sensitivity, and support metabolic resilience. But Dr. Vass was clear – overly long or frequent fasts can raise cortisol and impair thyroid function – especially if you’re training hard or already lean. ⚠️
Before kids, I used to do an eight-day Ayurvedic fast every year and even built a small community around it. After I’m done breastfeeding my third, I plan to return to it – with even more respect for timing, context, and individual physiology.
For those not ready for full fasting, fast-mimicking diets (like ProLon by L-Nutra) or DIY approaches using soups and fasting bars offer another path.
Longevity is about foundations and personalized protocols, not extremes. 🎯
⚠️ 𝗧𝗠𝗜 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 – 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.
I went to Bali last year and had one day of diarrhea. That was it. Nothing dramatic… and nothing that felt worth worrying about. Stuff happens when you travel.
But when I later looked at my TH gut microbiome data over time, I realized that single day changed far more than I felt in the moment.
The chart below tracks one marker – 𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪 – across years of my own testing.
Before that trip, my baseline had undetectable levels of e coli.
𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗶, 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗮 𝗧𝗛 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟵%!
If I had only tested once – when symptoms were more obvious – I would have had no context. No way to know if this was new or something I’d been carrying for years. No clue what triggered it.
Because I had baseline data, the inflection point was unmistakable. And since then, I’ve had skin flares and signs of a possible autoimmune condition, which I can now associate with that event as a clear turning point.
What’s been both fascinating and frustrating is that more than a year later, I still haven’t fully cleared it. I’ve tried a lot (including an unreasonable amount of cinnamon and SBIs, a story that probably deserves its own post), but this particular strain has been stubborn.
One thing that helped explain why is something we measure in the @GetTinyHealth test called the 𝗚𝘂𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 – a marker of how much beneficial redundancy you have in your gut. If resilience is high, most people can bounce back quickly from things like a travel bug, illness, or surgery. Mine was low going into that trip.
That difference became clear when I looked beyond just my own data. My entire family had the exact same bout of diarrhea in Bali. I tested everyone at the same time afterward. Their 𝘌. 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪 levels were normal. Mine wasn’t.
This experience is why I care so deeply about baseline health and longitudinal tracking. Without seeing your own data over time, you’re often guessing – even when you feel “fine.”
A single incident of food poisoning translated to a year of downstream effects.
Healthcare shouldn’t be guesswork and yet, for most people, it still is.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗗𝗔 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲.
As of this month, consumer devices can now surface physiological metrics like blood pressure and glucose estimates, as long as they stay wellness-only (no diagnosis, no treatment claims).
Last year, @WHOOP got a warning letter for launching blood pressure tracking without authorization. This new guidance finally draws clearer lines.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗲𝘆𝗲:
This isn't just about wearables. The guidance covers any non-invasive wellness tool – including ones that analyze biological samples like stool, saliva, or blood – as long as they're validated and stay in the wellness lane.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀:
Your @ouraring ring tells you your HRV tanked and you slept terribly.
But it can't tell you why.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿.
Connecting wearable signals to deeper biomarkers (gut microbiome, metabolic markers, hormones) to help people understand the root drivers behind what their devices are showing them.
Wearables capture the signal. Biomarkers could explain the source.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀.
They'll figure out how to connect the dots across systems to give people actionable insights, not just more numbers.
More metrics ≠ better health outcomes.
𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀.
What wellness tools are you watching in 2026?
Official FDA announcement here:
https://t.co/KgoPpPbR7x
We keep calling the gut the “second brain,” but biologically… it seems to be the reverse.
Your gut sends ~80% of the signals to your brain.
Your brain sends ~20% back.
So which one’s really in charge? 😅
I talked about this on the Bountifull Podcast with @SianSimpson and our discussion worked to reframe a lot of how people think about gut health.
One fact we talked about that always stops people – most serotonin isn’t produced in your brain, It’s produced in your gut.
Which helps explain why gut issues often show up as:
• mood changes
• anxiety or low stress tolerance
• brain fog
• poor sleep
Not just digestion issues.
Another nuance we rarely talk about but got into during our convo: not all fiber is equal and following the suggestion of “just eat more fiber” without context misses really important biology.
At a high level:
• Small intestine: digests protein, carbs, fats → feeds you
• Large intestine: ferments fiber → feeds your microbes
Fiber isn’t really for you… it’s food for your gut bacteria.
When the right fibers are fermented, they support gut function. But if you eat a lot of protein without enough fiber, some protein ends up reaching the large intestine – where it can feed the wrong microbes and contribute to gut inflammation over time.
It’s balance and timing.
When digestion, microbes, and the gut barrier are supported in the right sequence, the system becomes resilient.
And that same principle shows up across the lifespan. The microbiome you build – or don’t – helps shape immune health, resilience, and mental health for decades to come.
p/s: I also talk about my family a lot in the episode, given that I was only 4 months postpartum with my 3rd baby at the time of recording, which makes this episode in my office extra special :)
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