Master Your Microbiome | The GI MAP test
If you suffer from gut issues like constipation, slow bowels, diarrhea, bloating, gas, stomach pain, and food intolerances, you are undoubtedly feeling frustrated by the lack of answers to these problems in conventional medicine.
Chances are you have done some basic tests or even an endoscopy and or colonoscopy to only be told you have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and just to avoid your ‘trigger foods’. Maybe it’s stress or ‘all in your head’.
I adopt the strategy ‘Test, don’t guess’ when it comes to your gut health.
This is the missing piece to resolving gut health and many other issues. Understanding your gut function and microbiome and addressing the imbalances is key to recovery.
I recommend gut microbiome testing to clients who suffer from:
Digestive problems like IBS/IBD, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, reflux, poor digestion, food intolerances, stomach pain, SIBO
Mood disorders: depression, anxiety, PMS
Skin conditions: eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, acne
Autoimmune conditions: Rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s, Lupus, Thyroiditis, etc
Metabolic and hormonal issues: overweight or heavy and painful periods
Fatigue, brain fog
Chronic Pain/Inflammation
The gut microbiome influences SO MUCH of our health.
Gut Microbiome Testing
The GI-MAP at-home stool test, is a functional testing option that gives us a comprehensive picture of what the inner workings of our digestive function looks like at a given time.
This is the stool test I use with my clients in my 1:1 program the “Master Your Microbiome Gut Health Intensive”.
I love this test because it provides insights into multiple aspects of gut health from viral pathogens, to bacteria (both beneficial and opportunistic flora), parasites/fungus, digestive function, immune function, and more. It can give us quantitative data about what is happening in the gut so we don't have to guess about why a certain symptom like gas, bloating or heartburn might be occurring.
These markers give us insight into whether our digestive secretions are working for us optimally, whether there is inflammation in the gut, and more. Once we have this information, I work with clients to create a protocol uses natural methods of rebalancing the gut:
Nutrition and food choices
Lifestyle and habits
Herbs and supplements
Let’s take a deeper look into the information provided in the GI-Map test
Pathogens
The first page of the GI MAP stool test measures for various pathogens: bacterial, parasitic, and viral. These are pathogens that would generally make someone very sick if they were infected. Things you might’ve heard of, like salmonella, E. coli, C. difficile. Generally, if you’re infected with one of these bugs, you would usually be headed to the hospital or your doctor. Often if these pathogens do come up, we will bring their doctor in for collaborative care.
While these pathogens generally come back negative, individuals can be asymptomatic carriers of certain bacteria like C. difficile, so while there may not be an active infection, it could be feeding on undigested amino acids.
H. Pylori
H. pylori is a bacteria that can colonize the stomach. This particular bug has a corkscrew-shaped “tail,” which is used to actually burrow itself into the cells of our stomach lining. As you can imagine, this can wreak havoc on the cells of our stomach lining and ability to secrete stomach acid.
H. pylori has been known to contribute to conditions like acid reflux/GERD, gastritis, stomach cancer, and even thyroid disease. While it’s important to eradicate H. pylori for those reasons, when it’s present, it’s also important as H. pylori infections can impact stomach acid levels.
Normal Bacteria Flora
These are the good bugs that provide us with health benefits. They play roles in our metabolism, immunity, the health of our intestinal lining, producing short-chain fatty acids, manufacturing and modulating neurotransmitters, impacting our mood, in producing vitamins, and so much more!
Too few good guys can cause gas, and bloating and even contribute to intestinal permeability or "Leaky Gut."
When we see imbalances in these normal beneficial flora on the GI-MAP, whether it be a deficiency in these good bugs or an overgrowth of them, we can better direct recommendations moving forward to rebalance their numbers, so they can continue to support us and our health.
Opportunistic Bacteria
Think of the opportunistic bacteria here like the “weeds” in our garden. It’s fine to have some of them hanging around in manageable numbers (in our gut, these bugs help to keep our immune system on top of its game!), but when things start to get out of hand, and they overgrow, it can become problematic.
Overgrowths in these bugs, especially specific inflammatory species, can contribute to many digestive symptoms. They can cause things like diarrhea, bloating, gas, distention, and inflammation.
Certain bacteria overgrow because of low stomach acid and will rebalance themselves once we address imbalances like H. pylori. Other bugs, though, can trigger inflammation and autoimmune diseases unless eradicated. Using the GI-MAP, we can see which specific species are overgrown in the microbiome, and are then able to better target them specifically to rebalance numbers.
Fungi/Yeast
Fungal overgrowths can contribute to skin issues, yeast infections, and digestive symptoms like bloating and altered bowel movements.
Parasites & Worms
Parasites by nature survive at our expense, depleting us of nutrients and energy, and creating stress on the body. They can contribute to altered bowel movements, fatigue, skin concerns, nausea, weight loss, and more. Whenever we see parasites on a GI-MAP, this is something we want to eradicate.
Intestinal Health Markers
Calprotectin: a measure of inflammation in the gut. This can be a sign of Crohn’s disease or IBD.
Pancreatic elastase: the level of enzyme activity- how good are your levels of enzymes that digest protein, fat, carbs and fiber. Your pancreatic function.
Secretory IgA: a great marker of the ‘reactivity’ of your gut immune layer, which represents the gut’s first line of immune defense. This is important when evaluating food intolerances.
Zonulin: a marker of leaky gut (intestinal permeability)
B-glucuronidase: a measure of re-circulating toxins between the gut and the liver. I often see this elevated with excess estrogen conditions and in people with poor detox function.
Steatocrit: the amount of fat in the stool - measures fat absorption
Gliadin IgA: an excellent measure of gluten intolerance
