What is GI Testing and How it Could Help You?
The gastrointestinal tract is one of the primary ways we interact with our environment, through the things we consume. What we put into our mouths plays an important part in supporting or sabotaging our health. And because the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is continually exposed to the outside environment, it acts as the first line of defense for foreign invaders or pathogens entering the body. While some toxins we consume can be neutralized by stomach acid, many make their way farther into our GI tract and can wreak havoc if not addressed. And toxins are just one of many ways our GI tract can become compromised!
Hippocrates said “All disease begins in the gut.” While I have a holistic view of health and believe that you can’t separate out different parts of ourselves or treat individual organs or systems like conventional medicine, I also agree with Hippocrates in that the gut is where most disease or imbalances start. Skin issues? Usually related to gut imbalances. Hormonal imbalances? How’s your bodies detox pathways? The GI tract is one of the main ways the body eliminates toxins & excess hormones. Autoimmune conditions? They now believe intestinal permeability or leaky gut is a precursor to most if not all autoimmune conditions! There are very few diseases or imbalances in the body that don’t correlate in some way to altered gut function.
GI testing reveals imbalances in the GI tract. Not only does it test for pathogens such as dysbiotic bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, and H. pylori, but it also shows imbalances in the microbiome, inflammation in the GI tract, potential autoimmune triggers, and intestinal health markers such as pancreatic enzyme output, gallbladder function, and immune response. A GI test is where I start with MOST of my clients because gut health is so foundational for whole body health.
While there are a few different GI testing options out there, the GI-MAP stool test is one of the most comprehensive and accurate tests available because it uses DNA technology to target & detect even the smallest amount of an organism. Another benefit of the GI-MAP is that the results are quantitative. This means that instead of just getting a positive or negative finding, you get an actual number within a lab range to best know how to proceed and which markers to address.
I took a GI-MAP stool test this spring wanting to get to the bottom of some GI issues I’d been having since a trip to Colombia last fall. While I guessed that I might have a parasite (since I had traveled internationally and had many tell-tale symptoms), I didn’t know for sure until I took the GI-MAP stool test. And while it tuns out I did have a parasite, many of my digestive symptoms were the result of impaired digestive function, which I would not have known if I had not done the stool test. I learned that I had extremely low digestive enzyme output, as well as HCl or stomach acid insufficiency. I had low levels of a parasite that is a common cause of “traveler’s diarrhea” and addressed the parasite, but the thing that has made the most difference for me has been supporting my digestive function with enzymes & HCl. I am not feeling bloated after every meal anymore!!
Feel like GI testing might be right for you? Reach out and lets see if we might be a good fit to work together on your health & healing journey!!
