Digestive woes are a common fact of daily life for many people. Symptoms like gas, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are often tied to problems with digestion. The FoodMarble AIRE is a digestive tracker that may help you identify the foods that upset your stomach. Customer reviews about this device are mixed. Here’s what you need to know.
Currently, the FoodMarble AIRE is the only digestive tracking breath analyzer on the market.
FoodMarble is a digestive health tech startup based in Dublin, Ireland. Their product, the FoodMarble AIRE, is a pocket-size digestive tracker that syncs to an app. If you’re having gastrointestinal symptoms, a digestive tracker can help you identify foods that are challenging for your body to digest.
Breath analyzers are not the only way to track digestive symptoms. While it may be low tech, journaling is a common type of digestive tracker that doesn’t require an app or device.
Of course, writing down the foods you eat and the symptoms you experience afterward will not provide quantifiable or measurable results. However, keeping a food journal may provide you with enough information to make changes to your diet.
Each kit contains:
- the FoodMarble AIRE device for hand-held breath testing
- access to the FoodMarble app, which you can download from the App Store or Google Play
- a mini USB charging cable
You can also purchase a Food Intolerance Kit and 6-Week Discovery Plan separately that contains four individualized FODMAP tests. We’ll discuss how these tests are done in detail below.
The FoodMarble Aire measures hydrogen output in your breath and sends this information to the app. The app measures and logs your hydrogen output. This is indicated in the app as your fermentation level.
Hydrogen is a byproduct of fermentation in the large intestine. Fermentation is a necessary part of digestion. However, if your system cannot effectively digest certain foods, too much fermentation can occur. This results in a buildup of gas in the gut, and uncomfortable symptoms such as flatulence, bloating, and diarrhea.
For people with specific food sensitivities, this scenario may result from eating foods containing fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs). FODMAPs are a type of carbohydrate that can cause significant gastrointestinal distress in people who are sensitive to them.
People with health conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can be sensitive to FODMAPs. So can many people who don’t have a specific diagnosis, but experience abdominal symptoms such as gas, cramping, and bloating after ingesting them.
By measuring hydrogen levels in the breath and keeping a strict food diary, the AIRE can help you identify the FODMAPs and foods that upset your stomach. This can help you to make changes to what you eat.
The company is currently promoting a new product, AIRE 2, which will measure both hydrogen and methane. Methane overproduction in the gut is another measurable marker of gastrointestinal sensitivities.
There are two ways to use the FoodMarble AIRE.
Everyday use
To use as an everyday tool, log the foods you eat plus any symptoms you have into the FoodMarble app. You also log your bowel movements, sleeping patterns, and stress levels. Since everything is entered manually, this can be an arduous process, especially if you eat several times per day.
The app contains a food database that tells you how high or low in FODMAPs each food is. Users mention that many foods common to a U.S. diet are not included in the database. If you can’t find a specific food, try breaking it down by ingredients.
After logging in what you’ve eaten, breathe into the AIRE device. Your results help track digestion as it is occurring. FoodMarble recommends testing around 10 times daily, around once per hour.
Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes skew the results of the test and are not recommended during testing periods.
FODMAP test
When you buy a FoodMarble AIRE, you can also order a Food Intolerance Kit. The kit contains tests for four FODMAPs:
- inulin, which is found in artichokes, garlic, asparagus, onions, and other foods
- lactose, which is found in milk and other dairy products
- fructose, a simple sugar found in sweeteners, like high fructose corn syrup, and some fruits
- sorbitol, a sugar alcohol used as an artificial sweetener
Each FODMAP comes in powder form and is packaged into individual packets. You test for each substance individually over the course of 6 weeks.
To do the FODMAP test:
- Fast for 12 hours.
- Take a baseline breath test.
- Mix the contents of one packet into boiling water and stir until smooth.
- Let cool to a consumable temperature.
- Drink the entire mixture within 2 minutes.
- Test your breath every 15 minutes for 3 hours.
- Do not eat or drink anything except water during the 3-hour testing period.
The app will record and display your fermentation levels in graph form. This way, you can see if your hydrogen production spiked in response to the FODMAP you ingested.
If your levels are high, you are probably sensitive to that FODMAP. If that’s the case, you’ll probably experience gastrointestinal distress while testing. If your hydrogen levels remain low, chances are your system can easily digest that FODMAP.
Interpreting the data that is compiled by the app is left up to each user. You’ll have to analyze the patterns that emerge from the data you’ve entered, about the foods you’ve eaten and the symptoms you’ve had. Recommendations about dietary changes are not provided.
Since the app breaks down each food in its database by FODMAP levels, you may learn new information about the foods you eat. This can help you make dietary changes.
Users mention that the lack of data-driven interpretation is frustrating. This can be particularly vexing when a low fermentation score accompanies intense gastrointestinal symptoms.
Does the FoodMarble AIRE really work?
The FoodMarble AIRE accurately measures hydrogen levels in the breath. When coupled with the app, this data can provide accurate information. You can use that information to determine which foods cause you indigestion or gastrointestinal distress. However, you’ll do the bulk of the work. If you don’t consistently and accurately input your data, you may not get tangible results.
How does FoodMarble work?
FoodMarble AIRE measures hydrogen in the breath. Hydrogen is produced in your gut during the fermentation phase of digestion. Hydrogen travels from the gut into the bloodstream and lungs, so it can be measured during exhalation. Too much hydrogen in the breath may indicate that your gastrointestinal tract cannot easily digest what you’ve eaten. This information can be used to point to the FODMAPs in food you are sensitive to.
Can FoodMarble test for SIBO?
No. Breath tests, including the FoodMarble AIRE, may indicate SIBO. But they are not tools for diagnosing this condition. The gold standard of testing for SIBO is the small intestine aspirate and fluid culture test. This test is done endoscopically, or down your throat.
