---
title: I've had a cold, so my diet hasn't been typical lately. Can I still take my stool test?
description: You should follow your usual diet for the week before your stool test.
---

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# I've had a cold, so my diet hasn't been typical lately. Can I still take my stool test?

## You should follow your usual diet for the week before your stool test.

We recommend that you follow your typical diet for one week before taking the test. This will be enough time and will give us an accurate representation of your gut health.

However, if your diet has only been a little different, it shouldn't affect your Gut Health Test.<https://healthpath.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Healpath-Gut-Health-Test-Instructions-0220.pdf>

[Read our Gut Health test instructions](https://helpcentre.healthpath.com/en/knowledge/how-do-i-collect-my-stool-sample?hsLang=en) for more info.

 

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