Vivoo Review Waste Or Worth It?
In this article, I’ll be reviewing the Vivoo at-home Urine test strips to give you a comprehensive Vivoo review. The ads for these urine test strips kept littering the feeds of my online platforms and my social media Instagram pages. I thought it would be useful to put them to the test and see if they actually give back any valuable insights that can be useful to help improve overall health.
This is not a sponsored post, I bought these with my own money and this is my full and honest review of this product from my own personal experience.
Peeing on a stick, I know so glam. But I did it so you don’t have to.
You can read on if you prefer to read or watch via the video below.
What Is Vivoo & Why Would You Pee On A Card?
Vivoo are home urine test sticks that claim to give you personalised nutrition and lifestyle advice based on your body’s needs so that you ‘can listen to your body’s voice’ according to their website and marketing material.
The strips are designed to test hydration, magnesium, vitamin C, ketones, PH, Sodium, Free radicals and protein all from the comfort of your home.
Using the test strips and their app they then give recommendations based on your results giving advice on how you can improve your score and ultimately improve your health using their nutritional advice via the free vivoo app. The at-home wellness test is designed to become your new wellness assistant and personalized wellness platform, or so they say. But is it as good as their marketing material will have you believe?
I really like the concept of this product and a lot of the public reviews are generally pretty positive. The more we know about our bodies’ needs, the better we can work on supporting it. Aiming to give your body the nutrients it needs and hopefully live a long and healthy life. At least that’s the goal, right?
I’m always a big supporter of eating as many natural whole foods as you can, lean meats, fruits and vegetables and of course always making sure that your body is fully hydrated, it’s your responsibility to take control of your wellness.
But I’m also a supporter of having balance in your life. I enjoy a bit of junk food here and there, I have a ridiculous sweet tooth that I’m always trying to keep under control.
With all of the balance we like to include in our lives and on our individual wellness journeys, you can sometimes feel like you are doing the right things, yet you can never really know if you are getting all that your body needs without actually testing for it. So I was excited to see what my results would come back as and if there was anything I could be doing to help ensure that my body gets all that it needs.
The strips come in a subscription-type model but I choose to just purchase the 4 pack of the Vivoo test strips. The weekly urine tests for a month costs €30
How To Use It
The process of doing the test is pretty simple. First and foremost make sure you download the app from either apple store or the google play store. The app has walk-through instructions of how to complete the test directly from the home screen within the wellness app.
Though I did find that the app was lacking some essential information. It was only afterwards when researching some more on the product I found some of the answers on the website, it would have been useful to have this information inside the app. Questions such as:
What time of day is best to perform the test?
Is it first thing in the morning or can you do it any time of day?
Do you need to perform the test at the same time of day each week? (I did later find the answer to this on the website, and yes they advise to take the test at the same time of day, which lead me to more questions, but more on that in the round up)
The process itself is fairly simple.
- Download the app
- Urinate on the strip and scan via the app after 90s
- Get your result in the app and follow the recommendations
Vivoo test results state that it will give you real-time body data from the urine information. It can also link to apps such as apple health and wearable devices such as your smart watch to give you an overall view of the state of health. Your wellness score is determined but the colored boxes on the strips to give detailed feedback and then links you to wellness articles to help you make improvements on your overall wellness score.
The Results
Test 1
Upon the completion of the first test I felt pretty optimistic about this product. My score was pretty high and it told me that my oxidative stress, calcium, magnesium and vitamin C levels were all optimal. It did however say that I was over-hydrated, had low levels of sodium and that PH levels were a little too alkaline only scoring a 6/10.
It was interesting to read that I was over hydrated, however I did put this down to the fact that I took the test mid-morning and immediately after my dog walk. I tend to drink a lot of green tea in the mornings and having just walked the dogs for an hour was desperate for the toilet.
I have always been a person who drinks a fair amount of water and also a lot of herbal tea. I generally drink water according to thirst cues and measure hydration by looking at the colour of my pee, aiming for that pale straw colour, which it usually is.
Test 2
This time the test came back with completely different results. This time I was showing low vitamin C, Low score for oxidative stress and low sodium, but everything else showed 10/10.
Test 3
Showed low calcium, low magnesium, low vitamin c and low sodium.
Test 4
I actually gave this one to my husband to see what his would show was. He generally has a far more relaxed (possibly less healthy in my eyes lol). Of course, his score came back with top marks in everything apart from showing slightly low in vitamin C.
I questioned the results as my diet stays pretty much the same from week to week, so what could cause such a drastic difference in results if they are thought to be accurate?
Conclusion
I had high hopes for this product and the app, and was open to welcome suggestions to lifestyle changes provided by the very personal data but was left with the feeling that I had to question the results.
There was so much variability from one test to another that maybe one pack of test strips was not enough to get reliable data. The one that was showing most consistently was the low sodium, possibly caused by drinking too much water. So I considered trying not to drink as much water. I just felt thirsty and that massively affected my energy levels and I just felt sluggish. I, therefore, resumed my normal fluid consumption.
As for adding more salt to my diet, well I feel that I do already have a fair amount of salt in my diet and didn’t feel like it was something I wanted to start loading up on.
Whilst I see that a urine test is an essential tool for medical professionals, is it really something we need to be taking if we feel ok? It made me question and maybe even a little fear of drinking too much water.
I think that’s the thing with many self-tests. Could they potentially create a fear or anxiety about our health and highlight issues that may not even be there. I eat a generally healthy diet, I take a multivitamin daily along with magnesium and vitamin D and I feel pretty good.
The app itself states that the results “are not intended for medical use, including self-diagnosis or consultation with a doctor, and are only designed for general fitness and wellness purposes”
I also had questions about the use of the app itself and it’s scanning ability. It says to scan the strips in good lighting on a white background. Whilst I tried to do this in front of a window so that it could be supported by natural lighting, I also have downlights in my house and so getting it at a place where there were no shadows was a challenge.
What if the lighting was slightly off? How would this affect the results?
When your scores are low they will make recommendations on how you can make adjustments to your diet or lifestyle to try and improve your score. Suggesting foods that are higher in that vitamin or mineral you are deficient in. But then on the other side of that, they also provide you with their supplement recommendation too.
So whilst I can see how this product could have potential uses for some people, is it something that I would recommend who are already consciously working on their health??
The answer honestly is a no!
It’s important to know and listen to your body and its intuitive cues as much as possible. Check in with how you feel on a daily basis, assess your energy levels and if you feel at all ‘off’.
Be intentional about eating a diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals, and monitor your hydration levels by the colour of your pee. If you do feel ‘off’ then go and speak to a medical professional rather than self testing. It’s really the best and only way to get results that you can trust.
I hope that you found this review and my vivoo results helpful in supporting you in making the right health decisions for you.
Emma x
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