Gut Microbiome

Michelle is fiercely passionate about her patient’s overall health, and Gut Microbiome, and stool DNA testing are important to optimize the health and wellness of your immune system.  This test allows her to look at data and see what is going on within your gut which gives a good picture of your overall immune system health.  This lab prepares a report, and Michelle is highly trained to interpret this report. Once done, you will be scheduled to return to go over your testing results and will be set up on a treatment protocol, that is tailored very specifically to your Gut Health issues.  Michelle will passionately protect your gut microbiome health and not likely use any pharmaceuticals that could potentially harm your gut flora. Michelle utilizes very well-proven protocols, and supplements to completely restore the health and integrity of your gut Microbiome.

DNA stool microbiome testing utilizes cutting-edge, Quantitative PCR technology to provide a true DNA/PCR-based stool test. This technology has high sensitivity, specificity, and a rapid turnaround time.

The GI Pathogens section includes Bacteria Pathogens, Parasitic Pathogens, and Viral Pathogens.

Continuing with this platform, the test measures:

• H. pylori & Virulence Factors
• Commensal/Keystone Bacteria
• Opportunistic/Overgrowth Microbes
• Fungi/Yeast
• Viruses
• Parasites
• H. pylori

The test also looks at immunologic markers for GI health and function including SIgA, Elastase, Calprotectin, Eosinophil Activation Protein, and Anti-gliadin testing. Zonulin is also available as an add-on.

This test allows me to see the health of your Gut Microbiome, see overgrowth, deficiencies, infections, yeasts, parasites, and more, and to be able to tailor a treatment protocol that is both safe and proven effective in correcting your gut microbiome for optimal health and wellness.

Your gut microbiome is a distinct ecosystem characterized by its environment and its inhabitants. Your gut — inside your intestines — is  a  populated by trillions of microscopic organisms that are unique only to you. These microorganisms include over a thousand species of bacteria, as well as viruses, fungi, and even parasites. When testing the DNA of your gut microbiome we are looking at numbers and specifically looking at all of the organisms that can impact your health.

Your gut microbiome is unique to you. Infants inherit their first gut microbes during vaginal delivery or breastfeeding. Later, your diet and other environmental exposures introduce new microbes to your microbiome. Some of these exposures can also harm and diminish your gut microbiota as well.

Aids in Digestion:

Bacteria in your gut help break down certain complex carbohydrates and dietary fibers that you can’t break down on your own. They produce short-chain fatty acids as byproducts. They also provide the enzymes necessary to synthesize certain vitamins, including B1, B9, B12, and K. Gut bacteria also help to metabolize bile in your intestines. Your liver sends bile to your small intestine to help you digest fats. When that’s done, bacteria and their enzymes help to break it down so that the bile acids can be reabsorbed and recycled by your liver.

Immune System:

Beneficial microbes in your gut help to train your immune system to be able to distinguish the good bacteria from the unhelpful, pathogenic bacteria. Your gut is your largest immune system organ, containing up to 80% of your body’s immune cells. These cells help to clear out  pathogens that pass through it every day.

Some of the chronic bacterial infections that can affect your GI tract, including C. difficile and H. pylori, are directly related to having a diminished gut microbiome as well as low stomach acid.

Inflammation is a function of your immune system that can malfunction, becoming hyper-reactive. Chronic inflammation is a feature of autoimmune disease and may have a role in many other diseases, including cancer. Short-chain fatty acids appear to suppress these types of inflammatory reactions. Autoimmune bugs do show up and are also measured within the test, which allows treatments to specifically target and eliminate unwanted colonies.

Gut-Brain Connection/ Nervous System:

Gut microbes can affect your nervous system through the gut-brain axis — which is a network of nerves, neurons and neurotransmitters that runs through your GI tract. Certain bacteria actually produce or stimulate the production of neurotransmitters (like serotonin) that send chemical signals to your brain and have a huge impact on mood.

Your gut is involved in various neurological, behavioral, nerve pain and mood disorders.

Endocrine System:

Gut microbes also interact with endocrine cells in your gut lining. These cells (enteroendocrine cells) make your gut the largest endocrine system organ in your body. They secrete hormones that regulate aspects of your metabolism, including blood sugar, hunger, and satiety.

Many hormones are made in your gut, both sex hormones as well as neurotransmitters.

What Health Conditions are directly related to gut dysbiosis include:

• Infections: Invasive pathogens (disease-causing organisms) can cause temporary or chronic infections in your gut. They can cause diarrhea, inflammation (colitis), and toxic damage to your gut lining. Some types even directly invade your gut barrier, threatening to escape into your bloodstream and go systemic. Dysbiosis weakens your gut’s defenses against these pathogens and have a real impact on your health..
• SIBO: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is dysbiosis in your small intestine. It means certain types of bacteria  are overgrown.  In some cases, bacteria from your large intestine have migrated and settled in your small intestine, where they don’t really belong. This can be a result of slow gut motility.
• Inflammatory bowel disease: IBD is a collection of autoimmune conditions in your gut that includes ulcerative colitis, microscopic colitis, and Crohn’s disease. Gut dysbiosis is one of the criteria for diagnosing IBD. Researchers know that the two conditions are related and that each contributes to the other, making it worse.
• Atherosclerosis: Certain bad gut bacteria contribute to your cardiovascular risk by producing a byproduct called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This byproduct builds up in your arteries, contributing to atherosclerosis (hardening of your arteries). It’s one of the substances that cardiac blood tests check for when determining your risk of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Other conditions that may be indirectly related to gut dysbiosis include:

You come in for two 1-hour long appointments, you take home a stool kit, send the kit and when the lab is done processing your test, they send me a report.  Once I get this report it will take me several days to a week to interpret the test and write up your treatment protocol, which is tailored specifically to you.  The lab takes about 2 weeks to process your test and issue a report.  I then call you and get you in for your second visit, to go over treatment.

This is a completely separate test but is often paired with Gut Microbiome testing.

Many gut issues can be from food sensitivities, so by doing this test, you will know what foods that you are eating are causing gut sensitivities such as bloating, gas, etc.  If you don’t look, you are only guessing, or you have to do elimination diets to get the answers, and knowing is very important if you have digestive health concerns.

StoolOMX is an add-on additional testing ooption to the Stool DNA testing, which evaluates 25 bile acids (total concentrations, percents, and ratios) and 9 short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), delivering advanced insights into your patients’ gut health.

This innovative panel gives you the tools to identify the root causes of IBS, IBD, bile acid diarrhea, altered motility, microbiome imbalances, and more, so you can craft targeted, effective gut‑healing protocols that make a real difference.

StoolOMX Provides Unmatched Insights Into Gut Health

• The GI‑MAP is already a cornerstone of gut health diagnostics, helping thousands of practitioners optimize outcomes for their patients. Now, StoolOMX broadens the net, offering even deeper insights into the drivers of common GI conditions.

Select the StoolOMX Add‑On To:

• Evaluate bile acid metabolism and its critical role in fat digestion, gut motility, and microbiome health
• Analyze SCFA production for insights into dietary patterns, inflammatory balance, and gut barrier integrity
• Design personalized treatment plans backed by precise, actionable data for complex digestive conditions