Why you should take a stool test
Why should you take a stool test?
A stool sample reveals all the organisms (the good and the bad) that make up your community of gut bugs, otherwise known as your gut microbiome. Take a stool test to find out whether your gut is inflamed or leaky, and how well you’re digesting and absorbing your nutrients.
What will a stool test tell me?
1) Whether you have a parasite
Parasites can be bacterial, parasitic or viral. Laboratories can confirm the presence of pathogens by analysing your stool with a microscope, or looking for a parasite’s genetic material in your stool.
Parasitic infections in the gut are more common than you would think. They can take residence in your gut and cause symptoms like stomach cramps, watery diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, nutrient deficiencies, fatigue or adverse food reactions.
If you test positive for a parasite, then will need to seek out treatment from your doctor or dietitian.
2) Whether you have dysbiosis
Dysbiosis refers to an imbalance in a community of gut bugs. It happens when there is an overgrowth of harmful bugs or a reduction in beneficial flora.
Signs of dysbiosis can extend beyond gut symptoms like bloating or tummy cramps. An ‘imbalanced microbiome’ can look like unexplained fatigue, brain fog, sleep issues, anxiety, depression, weight gain, hormone issues like PCOS or adverse food reactions.
There are different types of dysbiosis, which can be addressed through tailored nutritional interventions from your dietitian. Here are some to know about:
Yeast Overgrowth
Candida albicans is a fungus that is naturally present in the gut, although many more exist. An overgrowth of fungi typically occurs after the use of antibiotics. Yeast overgrowth may contribute to bloating, diarrhoea, pruritus, psoriasis, rosacea, acne, exhaustion and brain fog.
Opportunistic Bacteria
A stool test screens for a group of bacteria that have the potential to become harmful. In small numbers, they make up part of a ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ microbiome. However, in large numbers, they may be harmful. We don’t want to allow these bacteria to overgrow!
Beneficial Bacteria
We want to test your stool for the good gut bugs. These are the bacteria that send anti-inflammatory messengers to all your cells. They keep your immune system in-check, prevent ongoing inflammation and keep your gut lining healthy (prevent ‘Leaky Gut’).
3) Whether you have high levels of gut inflammation
We can look at many markers to test for levels of inflammation in your gut. Here are the ones that we commonly test:
Calprotectin is a protein that is released by certain immune cells, called neutrophils. The higher the level of calprotectin in your stool, the more inflamed your gut is. If your levels are significantly elevated, then it's highly likely that you’ll need to be referred to a gastroenterologist for further investigation.
IgA and eosinophil (EPX) levels are useful to gauge what the immune cells in your gut are doing. If your levels are too high, then it may point to an infection in your gut or tell us that you’re having an adverse food reaction.
4) Whether you have a ‘leaky gut’
Your stool test can tell us about how ‘leaky’ your gut is. Learn more about ‘leaky gut’ here.
5) Whether you’re digesting and absorbing your food well
To find out how well you’re digesting or breaking down your food, we measure pancreatic elastase levels in stool. These levels give us an idea of how many enzymes are being released into your gut. An enzymes is like pack-man which breaks down foods into sizable parts for absorption. If your levels are low, then you’re probably not digesting your food adequately.
Once your food is broken down, it then needs to be absorbed into your bloodstream. We can test for the presence of proteins, fats and certain sugars (or carbs) in your stool. If high amounts are found to be high in your stool test report, then it’s clear that you’re not absorbing your food effectively.
Read more about gut health here.
