Gut Testing - Understanding Your Unique Microbiome

 
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If uncomfortable bloating, constipation and smelly gas are a part of your daily life, chances are you’ve been looking for relief…

Did you know symptoms such as these often reflect a deeper issue related to your gut bacteria? For this reason, getting to the core of the problem requires an understanding of the complex relationship between the 38 trillion microorganisms living in your digestive tract (your microbiome), and you.

With Microbiome testing you can get to the bottom of your digestive discomfort and receive guidance on how to manage it.

Microbiome 101

Your microbiome has been with you since day one, growing and developing throughout your life. Your microbiome supports your health in many ways, including:

  • Breaking down the fibre from your meals, creating compounds known as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that help keep your gut healthy and allow it to repair itself in cases of damage (e.g. gut infections);

  • Using that broken down fibre to feed other beneficial species (a process known as cross-feeding, performed by certain bacterial species, such as Bifidobacteria species); and

  • Producing essential vitamins, such as folate and vitamin B12, and feel-good brain chemicals, such as serotonin, for your body to use.

At the same time, these mechanisms help to maintain a healthy gut environment that best supports your microbiome, allowing your good bugs to thrive, and continue to nourish you. However many factors, including consuming a low fibre diet, or taking medications such as antibiotics, can negatively influence your levels of good bacteria, causing you to lose their beneficial functions. This usually means less beneficial species are able to take their place, and the resultant imbalance between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ species may be responsible for uncomfortable gut symptoms.

For this reason, testing can be useful. By finding out about the balance of beneficial versus non-beneficial species in your gut, you can discover how your microbiome may be helping, or hindering, your health.

Several microbiome markers can be used to determine the microbial causes driving your symptoms. Let us take a further look at these markers.

Diversity is Key

Having an abundance of different species enhances the health-promoting abilities of your microbiome. In fact, having a large number of diverse, beneficial bacteria is one of biggest factors in maintaining optimal gut health. A high level of bacterial diversity has been shown to reduce the risk of digestive symptoms, whilst a lower level of diversity has been linked with symptoms such as constipation, bloating and diarrhoea, due to a lack of functional and protective gut bacteria.1

A high level of bacterial diversity has been shown to reduce the risk of digestive symptoms, whilst a lower level of diversity has been linked with symptoms such as constipation, bloating and diarrhoea, due to a lack of functional and protective gut bacteria.1

Unlocking Your Very Own Microbiome Secrets

Certain bacteria are associated with gut symptoms, and discovering these bacteria within your microbiome can help guide your treatment. For example, having high levels of sulfide-producing bacteria (e.g. Bilophila wadsworthia) is a common culprit behind smelly gas (specifically, the kind that smells like sulfur), whilst methane-producers (e.g. Methanobrevibacter smithii) have been linked to constipation.

Testing can reveal the compounds your bacteria might be producing. For instance, helpful species will often produce high amounts of SCFAs, such as butyrate, which reduce inflammation, controls appetite and stimulates serotonin production. However, unhelpful species may produce high levels of harmful compounds, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which can damage your gut lining, causing you symptoms such as abdominal pain.

Once you have mapped out the microorganisms in your gut and the compounds they produce, a strategic treatment plan can be used to modify your microbiome. This will enhance beneficial compounds and reduce damaging influences on your gut health, helping restore balance in your microbiome and reduce your symptoms.

Testing Is A Valuable Tool!

Having information about your microbiome is a game changer. As everyone’s microbiome is unique, this information can guide a personalised treatment plan to help you improve your digestive health.

Microbiome testing can provide information about which bacterial species are living in your gut, and how they may be contributing to your symptoms, allowing you to take control of your digestive issues and improve your overall wellbeing. Contact me about exploring your microbiome to resolve bloating, constipation and other gut symptoms. Here are some of the tests I utilise in clinic and why I use them as a powerful tool with my patients.

  • Metabiome microbiome test - this test is incredible when providing an understanding of the functionality of the gut. Certain bacteria are associated with gut symptoms, and discovering these bacteria within your microbiome can help guide your treatment.
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  • SIBO Breath Test - your symptoms may indicate an overgrowth in the small intestine. The SIBO test will provide answers about the type of SIBO present to guide a treatment protocol. ⠀
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  • CDSA Stool Sample - if parasites or yeast are suspected this test will provide information on the microbiological environment of the gut. Understanding this is important before starting a treatment plan.⠀
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  • Intolerance Testing - if you are reacting to certain foods and they aren't the usual suspects it isn’t uncommon for me to order an intolerance test. It is important to note, that I will do foundational dietary and gut work with you before this test is ordered. This test provides an understanding of foods you may be reacting too and this will guide our treatment and dietary plan for the short term.⠀
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  • Blood results - don't underestimate blood results when it comes to gut health. There are key nutrients I test for to ensure there are no imbalances. These tests can also provide additional information on your capacity to absorb nutrients in the gut and guide treatment focus for the short term.
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    If you want answers about your gut health and don't know where to start, get in touch. We can talk through your symptoms and each test to determine which is right for you.

Yours in health,

Roshelle x

1 Durbán A, Abellán JJ, Jiménez-Hernández N, Salgado P, Ponce M, Ponce J, et al. Structural alterations of faecal and mucosa-associated bacterial communities in irritable bowel syndrome. Environ Microbiol Rep. 2012 Apr;4(2):242-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1758-2229.2012.00327.x.

Roshelle Colegrove