There seem to be a massive number of microbiome (stool analysis) tests available online and recently more clients have come to me with results of a stool test they have ordered themselves. Unfortunately, these tests often don’t give us much actionable information, just broad information on the commonly found bacteria in the gut and advice around ‘increasing microbial diversity’, increasing fibre and using prebiotics (such general advice can cause a flare up of symptoms if there is a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth present).
Microba Stool Test (via Invivo Clinical)
Whilst this in itself can sometimes be useful, if you are going to spend money on a stool test, it is much better to choose one that will give you proper insights into what’s going on. Invivo recently released their ‘Microbiome Explorer’ range of tests which look at the entire microbiome (around 28,000 species) instead of just a list of 30-40 as offered by some other labs.
The Explorer tests also group the microbes by the chemicals that they secrete for example histamine, inflammatory substances, methane (linked with constipation & gas) or hydrogen sulphide producers (inflammatory gas, linked with SIBO). This helps us to see the root cause of various issues even if those organisms are not classified as ‘pathogenic’.
The Explorer range of tests also directly measure inflammation in the gut for example Calprotectin, Secretory IgA and Lactoferrin which is extremely useful when trying to understand whether this is just a microbial imbalance or whether there is also inflammation involved. Calprotectin helps us to disguish between IBS and IBD (inflammatory bowel disease e.g Crohn’s)
If you are interested to know more about testing or even how to improve your digestion without testing, please book a 15 minute free consultation here:
