This is interesting, but I'm really concerned as I've been down so many protocol dead ends. I have done full DNA plus other testing, found a path to walk down with a protocol only to find either marginal temporary improvement or just a dead end. The cost is pretty high. I'm always optimistic, but feel very unsure I would find meaningful benefit and outcome...
With this test, have you seen a client find successful outcomes, with gut dysbiosis, sulfur issues, histamine issues, and chronic fatigue like symptoms?
Not specifically, although I did look into autonomic nervous system stimulation through electrical stimulation and exercise. Early on I found that running helped a lot. At this point, I am certain that I had slow motility from birth and H2S which is probably all related to genetic sulfur metabolism issues. Because of large intestine dysbiosis and lacking proper microbiome, I probably have signaling issues on the vagus nerve causing the motility issues. I can mostly manage symptoms with epsom salt baths, bismuth subgallate around meals and molybdenum, but I still have flare ups and I still have histamine issues.
Interesting bc running is a strong inner ear stim. Which indicates yea, you ought to learn how to do more functional neurology testing. Diet and supplements can ofc help a ton, but some problems will never be fixed until you address the ANS directly. The vagus nerve is only one of 12 (possibly 13) sets of cranial nerves. They live so close to one another and affect the function of each other that you should always always test (and often stim too) all of them. Focusing on the vagus alone is often futile.
E.g. it can get entrapped and irritated in the neck and clavicle area. And these areas are affected by how well you can control your eyes and neck - so cranial nerves 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 11 and 12 are at least involved here. But probably the whole ladder (literally from top to bottom)
How intriguing! Do you know how best to find a practitioner that does testing like this? I can imagine some neurologists being dismissive, so curious to see how one approaches this?
Would electrical stimulation on the ear with a TENS unit have any effect on the other cranial nerves? Or are there better ways to stimulate? Of course, understanding the current function would be best.
That's exactly how I feel. I've spent over $1500 on Genova and Vibrant wellness (along with whole genome sequencing) and I am no closer to any answers. Many of the results from Genova conflicted with the results from Vibrant and I took them at the exact same time! Not to mention I got these tests for my wife and children as well. The ultimate cheat sheet with these tests leaves me with more questions than answers. So, it's kind of annoying to have to spend another $700 in hopes that this time it will be different.
You have more questions than answers but I don't see any questions.
Ask in the Masterpass forum. Make them short, sweet, to the point, and not reference to your case but rather as general questions. If you fulfill all of those you can ask as many as you want.
Let's say someone did the Mitome test and then implemented the treatment strategies and made improvements. Would there be benefit from doing the Mitome test again in say, 6 months to 1 year, or some time frame?
I'm wondering if by improving "bottlenecks", do other bottlenecks show up?
Would 1 time of testing essentially give you what your signature bottlenecks are? Or, by opening up those bottlenecks, would other possible issues then become exposed? Could there then be a "next" bottleneck?
The answer is yes and it applies to all testing except whole genome sequencing, though that might be worth repeating to see if any of your main conclusions from it could be errors.
In general most health issues for most people seem to operate with 3-6-month time horizons.
The test cannot discern what is genetic and what is environmental so it addresses both, and it is ALWAYS the case that your key performance indicators should never be biochemical tests and should always be the things you actually care about, which inevitably require you to turn subjective experiences into numbers and track them if you care enough about them to optimize them.
The protocol you get will be partly trying to fix what needs fixing but can also be trying to work around it rather than fixing it. If the "fix" elements were successful you should see the thing that needed improvement on the test improve. If the "fix" were not successful but the "work around" improved your own experience, you would see the test stay stable but you would see the improvements you wanted show up in whatever you are actually trying to improve (energy, sleep, etc).
is that a yes :). Sorry it has been so long since I have been well enough to be on here I couln' couldn't resist. Congratulations. I hope the momentum has carried into '26!!!
I have a curiosity question: as you've discussed in previous articles, environmental toxins (e.g. heavy metals, I think of mycotoxins) can adversely impact the electron transport chain. Do you have examples of patients that followed the Mitome protocol despite these other issues and were able to improve? I'm just wondering if people need to focus on identifying and eliminating environmental toxins before pursuing this test, or if they're less likely to succeed if those sources are unaddressed.
This is exciting! Would you say this test precedes in importance testing the two ratios you describe in "A PhD's Secret Weapon: The Four Biomarkers..."?
Hello, I contacted MITOME to ask - I am from the UK and have been completely bedridden for eight years since age 24. Unfortunately, the thousands of pounds for the dry ice with no guarantee is too much of a risk. I can’t travel as I can’t even sit in a wheelchair so coming to USA is not an option either.
They suggested that I could order the test from somewhere in Belgium and then just pay for you to do the analysis.? is that something you have actually agreed to do? Is it an option? How much would just the analysis be if I could actually find a way to get the test?
I am interested to see if this might be helpful for my son who has been sick for 12 years, after a viral onset. ME/CFS, POTS, Brain Fog, etc. Nothing has helped. I would like to see a sample report if possible.
Email support@mito.me about sample report. Yes POTS is generally mitochondrial or peroxisomal dysfunction. Peroxisomal dysfunction can be inferred from this test due to interactions with mitochondria. Viral-onset issues are almost always rooted in genetics.
Hi, would appreciate a clearer explanation for what is the place for such test. i.e is wgs still needed genova testing, specifically for mito optimization beyond just standard nutrients deficiency. Thanks
This test is an isolated test of mitochondrial function that does not integrate other tests but gives as much practical advice as possible on the basis of these alone. Almost everyone would benefit from it. Will be covering much more detail about mitochondria through the rest of the year that could shed additional light.
I’m very interested in this test and have contacted the company in Belgium about it (on recommendation by Mitome).
I have some questions about the test though.
1) I don’t understand if it is mainly a genetic test or not. I’m thinking that if it is it might not say so much about the status right now. I guess that when you say you can quantify people in to different types, that makes it sound as a genetic test, be it mitochondrial DNA or not. On the other hand, it seems as you would need the current status in order to be making some of the recommendations you do.
2) I’ve done Genova NutrEval twice with about a year in between. I’ve done this via a doctor in Functional Medicine. It seems as if I have a problem with Oxidative stress and we can’t come any closer to figure out why. Can this test be useful for that?
For clarity, my main interest in this is fertility issues.
On number 2, the test will not be able to resolve chicken-and-egg questions about oxidative stress because the respiratory chain causes oxidative stress and oxidative stress hurts the respiratory chain, but it will tell you whether there is something actionable to be done about your respiratory chain, which could be the cause of your oxidative stress. So you could implement the protocol you get and then retest the NutrEval and see if the protocol fixed the problems showing up there.
The Mitome privacy policy and informed consent information mention, amongst other things: storing the sample in a biobank, participating in research, sharing data for various purposes, information about bruising as a result of a needle insertion for blood samples, and genetic testing.
The policy and information mention choosing settings for the above in the dashboard.
I don't see any such settings in the dashboard; the sample is taken as a cheek swab and not as a blood draw.
Are the policies wrong, perhaps copy and paste from elsewhere? Or should they in fact be taken at face value?
I am posting this here and not only writing Mitome support because I think the topic of data use and privacy warrants your attention, Chris, and the attention of the community.
We made the consent form broad enough that it would cover this product and a more expansive one in case we were to add things to this in the future.
You can email support@mito.me for some of the unanswered questions but it's a cheek swab, not a blood draw, there is no research program but we could ask for specific participation in the future, the only information sharing is between the lab and us and internally to whatever degree is needed to create the report.
Would this test be appropriate for someone with Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia (CLL)? They have not had to start any treatments yet. It seems like it may reveal supportive information.
I understand what information the test delivers, but is this a DNA-only test? I have a Sequence DNA kit I'm waiting on, would that be able to be uploaded to provide the same results without the cost of an additional DNA kit?
The activity of citrate synthase and respiratory chain complexes I, II, II + III and IV, from which the Mitome report generates very unique practical insights.
I have a bit of a hard time understanding how this activity is analyzed. When you read about the test on the site for mitoswab it seems as if only complex I and IV is analyzed, plus citrate synthase. That means more than half of the complexes are not analyzed. How can a conclusion be drawn about all complexes from only 2?
Also, it says on the site for mito.me that 297 genes are analyzed. How can this be done when it’s not a genetic test?
At the European site Redlabs (which mito.me referred me to) they present a scientific article for the test that also only talks about complex I and IV.
The measurements are citrate synthase, C1, CII, CII+III and CIV.
We had some runaway copy writing that made some mistakes in boiling down what I had provided as scientific info into sound bites, and we are now fixing that. This does not measure genes.
I have no idea why any other company is saying whatever they are saying, the measurements are what I wrote above.
Thank you very much for your response! I can see the info is already updated at the mito.me website.
I received some articles from mito.me and if I understand it correctly all complexes are analyzed by exposing each single complex with substrates, not by making assumptions about some complexes based on analysis of just two. Is this correctly understood? (I choose to write this here so others can benefit from the info as well)
For your information, I contacted mito.me and asked if the test could be arranged if you live in Europe. They referred me to Redlabs so it’s not any random company but of course you’re not responsible for what they write on their website.
There are no assumptions made. There unfortunately is no measurement of III outside of the II + III measurement but doing both II and II + III allows some tentative inferences about III.
Hi Chris! I ordered my Mitome test, but have been holding off. I have sample stability concerns and directed my questions to support, but didn’t get answers. I forwarded my question to a few other places (ie other Mitome contact email on website, Instagram DM, a comment on another one of your Substack). I’m hoping you see this! Please let me know where I can direct my questions.
This is interesting, but I'm really concerned as I've been down so many protocol dead ends. I have done full DNA plus other testing, found a path to walk down with a protocol only to find either marginal temporary improvement or just a dead end. The cost is pretty high. I'm always optimistic, but feel very unsure I would find meaningful benefit and outcome...
Understandable there's a lot of dead end material out there. Can't say anything except what I find in the research and what I've found with clients.
With this test, have you seen a client find successful outcomes, with gut dysbiosis, sulfur issues, histamine issues, and chronic fatigue like symptoms?
Yes I just gave you examples in the main article.
Have you ever had the function of your brain stem assessed?
Not specifically, although I did look into autonomic nervous system stimulation through electrical stimulation and exercise. Early on I found that running helped a lot. At this point, I am certain that I had slow motility from birth and H2S which is probably all related to genetic sulfur metabolism issues. Because of large intestine dysbiosis and lacking proper microbiome, I probably have signaling issues on the vagus nerve causing the motility issues. I can mostly manage symptoms with epsom salt baths, bismuth subgallate around meals and molybdenum, but I still have flare ups and I still have histamine issues.
Interesting bc running is a strong inner ear stim. Which indicates yea, you ought to learn how to do more functional neurology testing. Diet and supplements can ofc help a ton, but some problems will never be fixed until you address the ANS directly. The vagus nerve is only one of 12 (possibly 13) sets of cranial nerves. They live so close to one another and affect the function of each other that you should always always test (and often stim too) all of them. Focusing on the vagus alone is often futile.
E.g. it can get entrapped and irritated in the neck and clavicle area. And these areas are affected by how well you can control your eyes and neck - so cranial nerves 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 11 and 12 are at least involved here. But probably the whole ladder (literally from top to bottom)
How intriguing! Do you know how best to find a practitioner that does testing like this? I can imagine some neurologists being dismissive, so curious to see how one approaches this?
Would electrical stimulation on the ear with a TENS unit have any effect on the other cranial nerves? Or are there better ways to stimulate? Of course, understanding the current function would be best.
That's exactly how I feel. I've spent over $1500 on Genova and Vibrant wellness (along with whole genome sequencing) and I am no closer to any answers. Many of the results from Genova conflicted with the results from Vibrant and I took them at the exact same time! Not to mention I got these tests for my wife and children as well. The ultimate cheat sheet with these tests leaves me with more questions than answers. So, it's kind of annoying to have to spend another $700 in hopes that this time it will be different.
You have more questions than answers but I don't see any questions.
Ask in the Masterpass forum. Make them short, sweet, to the point, and not reference to your case but rather as general questions. If you fulfill all of those you can ask as many as you want.
Let's say someone did the Mitome test and then implemented the treatment strategies and made improvements. Would there be benefit from doing the Mitome test again in say, 6 months to 1 year, or some time frame?
I'm wondering if by improving "bottlenecks", do other bottlenecks show up?
Would 1 time of testing essentially give you what your signature bottlenecks are? Or, by opening up those bottlenecks, would other possible issues then become exposed? Could there then be a "next" bottleneck?
The answer is yes and it applies to all testing except whole genome sequencing, though that might be worth repeating to see if any of your main conclusions from it could be errors.
In general most health issues for most people seem to operate with 3-6-month time horizons.
The test cannot discern what is genetic and what is environmental so it addresses both, and it is ALWAYS the case that your key performance indicators should never be biochemical tests and should always be the things you actually care about, which inevitably require you to turn subjective experiences into numbers and track them if you care enough about them to optimize them.
The protocol you get will be partly trying to fix what needs fixing but can also be trying to work around it rather than fixing it. If the "fix" elements were successful you should see the thing that needed improvement on the test improve. If the "fix" were not successful but the "work around" improved your own experience, you would see the test stay stable but you would see the improvements you wanted show up in whatever you are actually trying to improve (energy, sleep, etc).
I’m somewhat late to the party, but a hearty congratulations to you Chris and to Mitome team! I wish you all the best with this product launch!
Thank you!
Do master pass members get a discount?
Email support@mito.me for this.
is that a yes :). Sorry it has been so long since I have been well enough to be on here I couln' couldn't resist. Congratulations. I hope the momentum has carried into '26!!!
Just email them!
I have a curiosity question: as you've discussed in previous articles, environmental toxins (e.g. heavy metals, I think of mycotoxins) can adversely impact the electron transport chain. Do you have examples of patients that followed the Mitome protocol despite these other issues and were able to improve? I'm just wondering if people need to focus on identifying and eliminating environmental toxins before pursuing this test, or if they're less likely to succeed if those sources are unaddressed.
A simple thing such as keeping my bathroom door closed has improved my health and mood tremendously.
This is exciting! Would you say this test precedes in importance testing the two ratios you describe in "A PhD's Secret Weapon: The Four Biomarkers..."?
Hello, I contacted MITOME to ask - I am from the UK and have been completely bedridden for eight years since age 24. Unfortunately, the thousands of pounds for the dry ice with no guarantee is too much of a risk. I can’t travel as I can’t even sit in a wheelchair so coming to USA is not an option either.
They suggested that I could order the test from somewhere in Belgium and then just pay for you to do the analysis.? is that something you have actually agreed to do? Is it an option? How much would just the analysis be if I could actually find a way to get the test?
Thanks
Please sort this out with Mitome support and not here. You can trust any answer you get there.
I am interested to see if this might be helpful for my son who has been sick for 12 years, after a viral onset. ME/CFS, POTS, Brain Fog, etc. Nothing has helped. I would like to see a sample report if possible.
Email support@mito.me about sample report. Yes POTS is generally mitochondrial or peroxisomal dysfunction. Peroxisomal dysfunction can be inferred from this test due to interactions with mitochondria. Viral-onset issues are almost always rooted in genetics.
look up RCCX theory
Hi, would appreciate a clearer explanation for what is the place for such test. i.e is wgs still needed genova testing, specifically for mito optimization beyond just standard nutrients deficiency. Thanks
This test is an isolated test of mitochondrial function that does not integrate other tests but gives as much practical advice as possible on the basis of these alone. Almost everyone would benefit from it. Will be covering much more detail about mitochondria through the rest of the year that could shed additional light.
Does this replace the need to test lactate / pyruvate and beta hydroxybutyrate / acetoacetate?
Would this give the same answers?
Would you recommend doing both?
It is best to do both. The report includes a guide about how to use them to fine-tune the protocol.
Hi!
I’m very interested in this test and have contacted the company in Belgium about it (on recommendation by Mitome).
I have some questions about the test though.
1) I don’t understand if it is mainly a genetic test or not. I’m thinking that if it is it might not say so much about the status right now. I guess that when you say you can quantify people in to different types, that makes it sound as a genetic test, be it mitochondrial DNA or not. On the other hand, it seems as you would need the current status in order to be making some of the recommendations you do.
2) I’ve done Genova NutrEval twice with about a year in between. I’ve done this via a doctor in Functional Medicine. It seems as if I have a problem with Oxidative stress and we can’t come any closer to figure out why. Can this test be useful for that?
For clarity, my main interest in this is fertility issues.
Sorry, I read through your previous responses I can see that my first question is already answered :)
On number 2, the test will not be able to resolve chicken-and-egg questions about oxidative stress because the respiratory chain causes oxidative stress and oxidative stress hurts the respiratory chain, but it will tell you whether there is something actionable to be done about your respiratory chain, which could be the cause of your oxidative stress. So you could implement the protocol you get and then retest the NutrEval and see if the protocol fixed the problems showing up there.
Thank you for your response!
The Mitome privacy policy and informed consent information mention, amongst other things: storing the sample in a biobank, participating in research, sharing data for various purposes, information about bruising as a result of a needle insertion for blood samples, and genetic testing.
The policy and information mention choosing settings for the above in the dashboard.
I don't see any such settings in the dashboard; the sample is taken as a cheek swab and not as a blood draw.
Are the policies wrong, perhaps copy and paste from elsewhere? Or should they in fact be taken at face value?
I am posting this here and not only writing Mitome support because I think the topic of data use and privacy warrants your attention, Chris, and the attention of the community.
We made the consent form broad enough that it would cover this product and a more expansive one in case we were to add things to this in the future.
You can email support@mito.me for some of the unanswered questions but it's a cheek swab, not a blood draw, there is no research program but we could ask for specific participation in the future, the only information sharing is between the lab and us and internally to whatever degree is needed to create the report.
Would this test be appropriate for someone with Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia (CLL)? They have not had to start any treatments yet. It seems like it may reveal supportive information.
Yes there is evidence that CLL involves mitochondrial dysfunction.
I understand what information the test delivers, but is this a DNA-only test? I have a Sequence DNA kit I'm waiting on, would that be able to be uploaded to provide the same results without the cost of an additional DNA kit?
There is no DNA analyzed here, it is enzymatic activity.
What data does the Mitoswab test return? Couldn't wind clear details on that.
The activity of citrate synthase and respiratory chain complexes I, II, II + III and IV, from which the Mitome report generates very unique practical insights.
I have a bit of a hard time understanding how this activity is analyzed. When you read about the test on the site for mitoswab it seems as if only complex I and IV is analyzed, plus citrate synthase. That means more than half of the complexes are not analyzed. How can a conclusion be drawn about all complexes from only 2?
Also, it says on the site for mito.me that 297 genes are analyzed. How can this be done when it’s not a genetic test?
At the European site Redlabs (which mito.me referred me to) they present a scientific article for the test that also only talks about complex I and IV.
https://catalog.redlabs.be/en/search/177-mitoswabplus.html
The measurements are citrate synthase, C1, CII, CII+III and CIV.
We had some runaway copy writing that made some mistakes in boiling down what I had provided as scientific info into sound bites, and we are now fixing that. This does not measure genes.
I have no idea why any other company is saying whatever they are saying, the measurements are what I wrote above.
Thank you very much for your response! I can see the info is already updated at the mito.me website.
I received some articles from mito.me and if I understand it correctly all complexes are analyzed by exposing each single complex with substrates, not by making assumptions about some complexes based on analysis of just two. Is this correctly understood? (I choose to write this here so others can benefit from the info as well)
For your information, I contacted mito.me and asked if the test could be arranged if you live in Europe. They referred me to Redlabs so it’s not any random company but of course you’re not responsible for what they write on their website.
There are no assumptions made. There unfortunately is no measurement of III outside of the II + III measurement but doing both II and II + III allows some tentative inferences about III.
Hi Chris! I ordered my Mitome test, but have been holding off. I have sample stability concerns and directed my questions to support, but didn’t get answers. I forwarded my question to a few other places (ie other Mitome contact email on website, Instagram DM, a comment on another one of your Substack). I’m hoping you see this! Please let me know where I can direct my questions.
I will take a look at the email thread and you will get an additional response there if I can improve the quality of the answer.