What is the FoodMarble Aire 2 Device?

If you’re - like me - absorbed in the world of digestive health and SIBO, you might have heard of this at-home breath testing device you can use everyday to track your fermentation (gas) levels, mainly Hydrogen and Methane.

I personally purchased the Aire 2 when it first came out, but have never tried the first generation Aire, which measures Hydrogen gas only. The company describes its pocket-sized device as a helpful tool to measure fermentation levels after meals for people experiencing IBS symptoms. The device connects to an app in order to give you real-time data that is easy to understand.

What Were My First Impressions?

Right from the start, I loved the device and connected app that goes along with it. The whole design is sleek, the app and device are both easy to use and the results came through user-friendly reports. I would use it every day, multiple times a day before and after my meals to try and see the effects of specific foods on my gas production and eventually figure out what foods could be causing digestive symptoms.

Now at that point in my journey I had reincorporated many more foods in my diet compared to previous years so I was more liberal with what I ate and the quantities. I was curious to see the effects on my fermentation levels and determine if I could actually access some new findings thanks to this device.

Did the Aire 2 Work for Me?

Sadly, the short answer is no. I really hoped this device would be able to guide me (and patients) through elimination diets and food sensitivities but, after many months of using it, I had to come to the realisation that the technology was unreliable.

I contacted the company asking questions about my specific data (odd numbers showing up randomly, no consistency of data) to try and figure out if it was me or the device. They kindly offered to replace the device, in exchange of me shipping mine back to their facility based in Europe so that they could do some investigation on it. I thought that was very generous and professional on their part. I have to say, through all this, they have some of the best consumer service I have encountered in the past years.

I received the new device within a few weeks and was able to track my fermentation levels again. Things seemed normal, and I would adapt my diet and protocols based on the data I got from the new device. This is where things went wrong. I was taking action on unreliable data and consequently lost quite some time and money on protocols that simply didn’t work. How do I know this? I did my own experimentation.

SIBO testing with the Aire 2 device

In the first year following the launch of the Aire 2 device, it became recommended as a way to be able to repeatedly test for SIBO, at home and at a fraction of the cost. Only thing missing was the substrate, for instance Glucose or Lactulose, which you can easily get over-the-counter in many countries such as Canada and Australia (unfortunately Lactulose is available through prescription-only in the US).

There is a section in the app called “Challenges” which helps you prepare and do the testing by providing you with detailed instructions step by step, including the prep diet. This is fairly standard and well done on their part.

At that time, when I was first working with the device, I knew I still had SIBO so instead of testing once more through a lab (which I had done quite a few times already over the past years - thanks to my chronic severe SIBO), I decided to use the Aire 2 device to get the results instantly.

I used Lactulose as I usually would and the testing went very well. The device even turns on just before each breath sample you need to take during the 3-hour period of the test. They really thought of everything. I got my results, which showed Hydrogen gas only, and thus proceeded to build my treatment plan for Hydrogen only. It was surprising to me however, as I have always had relatively high Methane gas on my previous tests. I emailed the company and they insured me that my device was working correctly (they can apparently test the sensors from a distance).

Ultimately after a year of not seeing any improvement, I went ahead and ordered a SIBO Lactulose Breath Test from a reputable Laboratory, and completed the lab test alongside testing with the Aire 2 device. The data did not match up.

I was shocked. I indeed still had Methane gas levels and the device did not pick it up. This was my second Aire 2 device and once more, the data proved to be unreliable. The Hydrogen levels were more-or-less similar, so perhaps the Aire device (first model) is more accurate while the Aire 2 still needs some fine-tuning.

Did I Get Some Answers From Using the Aire 2 Device?

Again, sadly no. I was not able to extract any new information from my daily habits and correlate them with my fermentation levels and symptoms. There was no pattern I could identify, and that says a lot as I do this as a job. I have been trained to look at food journals and symptoms and be able to extract information from them. The data from the Aire 2 device was just all over the place and even confusing at times. Some people seem to have more success than others, so it could be hit or miss.

Talking of the device with other users and clients, I’ve found that this is the consensus for most people: it is a “fun” and well-thought tool, but it did not give us any useful information that we could act upon. For example, one day X food would give low fermentation levels and the next, the same X food would give moderate or high levels, while everything else being the same.

I am science-driven and would isolate any variable that could potentially impact on the gas levels (sleep, exercise, other meals beforehand, phase of my menstruation cycle, etc.)

I made sure to replicate every aspect as much as possible other than the food I was testing for. I was not able to get any significant result. Obviously this was a single experimentation and collection from others’ anecdotal stories, so it has no scientific evidence, but it’s enough evidence for myself to draw a conclusion that I use in my practice as a SIBO practitioner.

Do I Think the Aire 2 Device is Worth it?

In the future, possibly. At the moment there are still some areas that need to be tested and improved, in my opinion. There were talks of having a third gas - Hydrogen Sulfide - added to the detectable fermenting gas by the sensor, but at the date of publishing this article, it is still only talks.

(Edit on Oct 2025: hydrogen sulfide gas readings are still unavailable for this device).

All in all, if you have IBS but no SIBO, this could potentially help you clarify some of your symptoms, but I don’t think it is worth the investment just yet.

I believe in FoodMarble as a company and appreciate the work and effort that has been extended to come up with such an innovative device, and I’ll be on the lookout for what they come up with next. I think the future is very promising.

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FoodMarble: My Honest Thoughts on the Aire 2 Device