Gut Tests - What Are The Limitations?

Author's Bio: Marcie Vaske, MS, LN, CNS

Hi, and welcome back to our channel.

Today we're going to discuss the science behind gut health tests,

Common types,

And the benefits of gut health tests,

As well as some of the limitations of a gut test,

And what factors could affect our gut test outcomes,

As well as alternative approaches to gut tests and how to choose the right gut test for you.

[Video Transcript Below Video]

But before we begin, my name is Marcie Vaske.

I'm a functional licensed nutritionist working with Oswald Digestive Clinic at Oswald Digestive Clinics.

I see a lot of individuals with poor digestive health and oftentimes questioning should we do a gut health test.

And if this sounds like you or someone you know, I'll link our website here where you can easily make an initial appointment.

In addition to that, I'm going to link our free guide, which is 5 Ways to Improve Your Gut Health.

So without further ado, let's dig into:

What are gut health tests and do you need one?

So as an experienced gut expert, I see people all day long who are struggling with gut health issues and sometimes wondering should we be doing a gut health test?

And as the world of gut health has opened up and bloomed, research is always coming out on what are good tests, what maybe are going to be some limitations of tests, and how to choose one that is going to be best for yourself.

We know that having a strong digestive system is going to benefit you as your health and your overall wellbeing.

Gut tests have become extremely popular in the recent years and just because as data and research has been emerging, we can see that the benefit of a diverse microbiome is very important.

And gut tests are really looking at your microbiome and picking apart how much you have of the good flora and if you have any opportunistic or even pathogenic flora.

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So by understanding what the composition of your gut is made up of can help direct proper treatment and planning with your treatment.

So first, let's answer the question of:

What is the science behind gut tests?

The human gut is made up of trillions of microorganisms collectively called the microbiome.

And having a vast diversity of your microbiome is going to give you more robust health.

And this complex ecosystem really supports our digestion, our immune system, our moods, and the way that we absorb our nutrients.

And so gut tests really work by analyzing the DNA of those or the metabolic byproducts of your microbes.

And by doing this, they examine the diversity of these microbes or these bacterial in abundance or in relation to the abundance of other bacteria in our digestive system.

And the process of this is begins with collecting a sample of stool and sending it into the lab where they examine it with using bioinformatics.

This bioinformatics and DNA sequencing has really helped to highlight what type of bacteria is in your digestive system and pulling out what might be imbalanced or pathogenic.

So understanding a little bit of the science behind gut tests.

What are some of the common types of gut tests out there?

Comprehensive Stool Test

And number one is going to be the comprehensive stool test.

Now in a comprehensive stool test, this is where you will send in some of your stool and be analyzed to find the types of bacteria that might be lacking or maybe in too much of abundance in keeping your gut imbalanced.

In addition to that, many gut health or comprehensive tests will show what kind of inflammatory responses you're having, how you're digesting food, and really giving a good picture of what your gut is like.

Organic Acid Test

Another test that is popular is the organic acid test.

This test measures the amount of organic acids in your stool, and this type of test gives us information on the metabolic process, nutrient absorption or deficiencies, as well as even presence of other gut related issues going on.

Food Sensitivity Testing

And then we have food sensitivity testing, and this is where we're testing to find out what kind of intolerances you might be experiencing due to your gut.

It's actually measuring your immune response and the way that your gut is tolerating certain foods, giving you some direction on what foods you should take out and what foods you should take in to help reduce inflammation and let some healing happen.

Breath Tests

And then we have the breath tests. And breath tests are most commonly used for testing for small intestinal bacteria overgrowth, which is called SIBO.

This breath test tests the hydrogen production made giving you an indication if you're dealing with too much flora in your small intestinal tract.

Also, breath tests will test for lactose intolerance.

Genomic Testing

And lastly, we have genomic test, which will test the genetic material of your intestinal tract, giving you better example or better clarity on the imbalances or even diversity of flora in your digestive system.

So those are a few of the most common types of gut health tests.

And now let's explore:

What are really the benefits of these gut tests?

Gut tests can really offer a wealth of benefits, and specifically if you're looking to optimize your gut health or trying to better understand what's going on, gut health tests might be an option for you.

So one benefit is obviously what I've been saying for a few times here already is identifying the imbalances in your digestive system.

Understanding what your microbiome is really made up of.

Gut tests can also offer personalized insights.

So by having a better understanding of what your gut is made up of, we can then make a better treatment plan specific to what's going on as well as understanding.

Maybe you just need to have some more support around absorption. Gut tests can also help with just monitoring changes.

So you may have done a gut test initially and then months later after you've maybe done a treatment plan, been on specific supplements, you can find out then how well that was working and what other things may be underlying or if your gut is looking really good.

And one of the best things about a gut test is really understanding what your gut looks like.

It can be exciting and it provides so much data in helping us as a practitioner really tailor not only your treatment plan, but also the foods that you may need to include or even exclude.

But of course, with benefits of the gut tests, there's also limitations to gut tests, as with most tests. And one of them is going to be the variability in the sample collection.

Typically, when you do a gut health test, you'll be sent a kit at home.

And so by reading the directions and following them very closely, you'll probably get the best sample that you'll be able to send in.

However, sometimes there's things that get in the way such as if we didn't read the instructions properly and we ended up eating something that should have been off the list for a couple days, or if you're taking enzymes and forgot to stop them and did the test anyway.

So there's going to be different kinds of variables that get in the way for just the stool collection itself.

Another limitation of the stool test or gut tests is just going to be interpreting the test itself.

You'll send in your sample, you'll get your result back, and sometimes it can really look like Greek.

And so this is where a practitioner that has an expertise in gut tests and guts really comes in handy and can put it into more layman terms for you so that you can understand what you're really looking at and what are the next steps.

And of course, there's also the cost and the accessibility of the gut test as well to think about.

Most functional gut health tests are not covered by insurance and can oftentimes get a little bit spendy. And so sometimes the cost outweighs what the result might be.

But if you're really struggling with gut health, and I always think about if you've had gut health issues for years and everything continues to stay the same or even just get worse year by year, really investing in a gut test might be the best way to go as well as working with a healthcare practitioner like myself to help support your journey to gut health.

So if you've been dealing with gut health issues for a long time and the cost is just too much or you just want to do more alternative approaches to it, one thing would be just to do symptom-based assessments.

And oftentimes this is again, best working with a practitioner like myself who has an expertise in gut health and has been doing this for many years.

A lot of times by just asking a lot of questions, I can understand what may be going on and we can begin with that. It is often said, and I say it a lot, that symptoms are really the gold standard.

And in addition to understanding your symptoms, it's also understanding your lifestyle. Things that might be creating more stress in your life could also be creating more gut health issues.

So really taking a look not only at what you're eating or what your symptoms are, but also how your lifestyle is, how much exercise are you getting, how much sleep are you getting?

And in addition to lifestyle and symptoms and foods that you might be consuming, we also want to look at just you, right?

Because sometimes just physical appearance and certain things can give more indication about nutritional deficiencies, and that can indicate that maybe your gut is not absorbing very well.

So if you're just starting to think about working on your gut health and looking for a practitioner at Oswald Digestive Clinic, like I mentioned earlier on in the video, I see people every day with some pretty severe gut health issues to even just kind of gut health issues that are bothersome and they want to get rid of it.

And so this is then where we can decide what type of gut health tests may be best for you.

And looking at symptoms and foods and lifestyle and physical appearance can all help me decide what gut health tests may be best for you.

So in conclusion, knowing that gut health tests are out there, they're very supportive, they can be, give us a lot of data to really help make a very specific treatment plan as well as dietary plan.

It's a resource, it's a tool to use when we're with gut health that we're just tired of the symptoms.

So if this sounds like you, please use this link to make an initial appointment and let's see where we can take your gut health because I'm pretty sure we can make it a lot better.

Thanks for watching today.

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If you'd like to explore any of this information further or obtain an individualized nutrition plan, you can schedule an initial appointment at our clinic. We also take insurance and some of our clients get full coverage, which is great.