Your Precision Gut Blueprint

Sort the shared preparation first, then collect the six samples across a week or two. Book the dietitian consult once your results are in. Only start or stop a medication on your practitioner's advice.

Shared preparation

• Finish antibiotics/antifungals at least 2–4 weeks before, and stop probiotics ~7 days before (where your practitioner agrees).
• Keep eating your normal, varied diet (for the food-intolerance test).
• Keep eating gluten (wheat, rye, barley) in the weeks before your blood test — going gluten-free can make the coeliac result inaccurate.

DNA cheek swab — any time

No fasting; just nothing to eat or drink in the 30 minutes before.

Food intolerance & stool — when convenient

Finger-prick any morning you're eating normally; stool on a collection day (Mon–Wed).

Blood panel — at an affiliated collection centre

Fast beforehand if advised, and keep eating gluten. Take your i-screen request form.

SIBO, then leaky gut — two separate fasting mornings

Each needs its own fasting morning — never the same day.

Dietitian consult — once results are ready

Book your 45-minute session when your dashboard shows results are complete.

Two rules that matter

Keep SIBO and leaky gut on different days (both use lactulose + a fasting morning), and don't go gluten-free before the blood test.

Before you collect

• Antibiotics/antifungals finished 2–4 weeks ago; probiotics stopped ~7 days ago.
• Collect on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday so it isn't in transit over a weekend.
• Don't collect if you have active diarrhoea from a stomach bug, or while menstruating.
• Catch the stool so it doesn't touch toilet water or urine — for example on clean paper laid over the bowl.
• Fill each collection tube as labelled — scoop from a few different spots into the preservative tubes up to the fill line, and use the swab for the swab tube. Replace and tighten every cap.
• Label every tube with your name, date of birth and the date & time, then seal them in the specimen transport bag.

Refrigerate — never freeze

Once collected and labelled, keep your stool tubes in the fridge until you post them, then send the same day. Freezing damages the sample.

Before you post — quick check

• All tubes filled to the line, capped and labelled
• Refrigerated, sealed in the transport bag, posting on a Mon–Wed

Before your test morning

• 2–4 weeks: finished antibiotics/antifungals. 7 days: no laxatives or probiotics.
• The day before: eat only plain foods (plain chicken/fish, white rice, eggs, clear broth); then fast 12 hours (water only).
• 1 hour before / during: no smoking, sleeping, vigorous exercise or toothpaste. Do it on a Sun–Tue morning.
• Brush your teeth and tongue without toothpaste and rinse. Mix the lactulose solution and set it aside.
• Take your baseline breath sample (0 min) into the first tube before drinking, then drink the whole solution within 5 minutes and note the time.
• At each time below, take a sample: fill the bag with a normal exhale, press the tube onto the needle so it fills, remove within ~2 seconds, and bag it. Never open the tube caps.

Sample	After drinking the lactulose	Your time
1 — baseline	before drinking	—
2–7	30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 min	—

Before you collect

• Keep eating your normal, varied diet — including the foods you'd like tested. Do not fast for this one.
• Strictly avoid any food that has previously caused a serious reaction or anaphylaxis.
• Steroids, antihistamines and anti-inflammatories can affect the result — your practitioner may suggest pausing them ~4 weeks beforehand.
• Label the card in block letters (name, DOB, date) to match your request form, and unfold it without touching the circles.
• Wash your hands in warm water, dry, and wipe a fingertip with the alcohol wipe. Use a single-use lancet — press firmly and click.
• Wipe away the first drop, then let a hanging drop fall into each circle, filling every circle so it soaks through. Use the second lancet on another finger if needed, then plaster the site.

Air-dry for at least 3 hours

Prop the card up and let the blood spots dry completely for 3+ hours, away from moisture and sunlight, before you pack it.

Please check this first

Not suitable during pregnancy, or if you're diabetic with a fasting urine glucose over 6 mmol/L. Don't collect while menstruating.

Before you collect

• Fast from about 11 pm the night before — nothing but water for at least 8 hours.
• From the evening fast through the collection, avoid fructose (fruit, juice, honey, corn syrup) and mannitol (cauliflower, mushroom, snow peas, seaweed, watermelon, "sugar-free" gums/sweets).
• First thing, empty your bladder into the toilet and discard it — the timed collection starts after this.
• Add warm water to the brown bottle (~¾ full), shake, and drink it all. Note your start time. (30 kg or under: 2 teaspoons of the mixed solution.)
• For the next 6 hours, collect all urine into the 4-litre bag (don't tip out the preservative fluid).
• After 6 hours, note the finish time, read and record the total volume, then use the dropper to fill and label the sample tube (name, DOB, date, volume, start & finish times).

Keep eating gluten before this test

Your blood includes a coeliac screen. If you cut out gluten (wheat, rye, barley) first, the result can be falsely negative — so keep eating it as normal until your draw.

Before you go

• If advised, fast 8–10 hours (water only) — several markers read best fasting.
• Take your i-screen request form, and check your details on it are correct.
• Go to an i-screen affiliated collection centre — find one near you on the i-screen website. No collection fee at an affiliated centre.
• Take your request form to the centre — there's no kit to prepare, and nothing to post afterwards.
• A trained collector draws your blood; the centre and lab process it and send your results to i-screen.

What the blood panel covers

Measures: Coeliac serology · Nutrient markers · Liver function · Kidney function · Pancreatic (lipase, amylase)

Before you collect

• Don't eat, drink, smoke or chew gum for 30 minutes beforehand.
• Your DNA doesn't change, so this one has no timing constraints — do it whenever suits.
• Wash and dry your hands. Take a swab out without touching the soft tip.
• Rub the swab firmly against the inside of your cheek for 30–60 seconds, rotating it so it collects plenty of cells. Repeat with the second swab on the other cheek.
• Return each swab to its tube (or air-dry as your kit directs), then label them with your name, date of birth and date, and seal them in the transport bag.

What this screens

Measures: FUT2 · HLA-DQ2.5 · HLA-DQ8 · MTHFR C677T · MTHFR A1298C · DAO

Each home kit has its own return packaging — post each one as you finish it. The blood panel is handled at the centre, so there's nothing to post for that.

Send each home kit as it's ready

• Stool — refrigerated, posted on a collection day.
• SIBO breath & leaky gut urine — the same day you collect.
• Food intolerance card — once fully air-dried; DNA swab — any time.
• Blood — nothing to post; the centre handles it.
• For each kit, seal the sample(s) and the completed request form / checklist in that kit's bag, then its reply-paid envelope, and post via Australia Post.
• Make sure every sample is labelled with your name, date of birth and collection date/time.

Your 45-minute dietitian consult

Once all your results are ready, book your virtual session — a qualified dietitian reviews your microbiome, genetics, gut function and food responses together and gives you a personalised gut-restoration plan.