When there is an issue in your gut, you will experience bloating, constipation, flatulence, abdominal cramps, nausea etc. This will give you an indication that your gut flora is not at its optimal levels. But research shows that our gut bacteria can affect certain health conditions as well such as diabetes, obesity, eczema, breast cancer etc. However, it should be stressed that poor gut health doesn’t cause these conditions. Simply, there is a connection between these two. So even if your digestion is doing okay, your health still may be impacted by your gut microbes.

Therefore, gut testing can be very helpful if you constantly have digestive issues or any other conditions that may seem unconnected. There are certified companies that can help with the testing and you can visit microbiometest.com.au, to find out more about how you can get tested. Your gut microbiome affects many functions aside from digesting your food such as synthesising vitamins, neurotransmitter production etc. Because this field is still developing and experimenting, there is a lot we don’t know as well. Your gut just doesn’t carry only one type of bacteria. It is a flourishing ecosystem of many different types of microbes and not all of them may be beneficial. The goal is to have a balance between the beneficial and not so beneficial microbes. A gut test will give you an inside look into what exactly is happening inside your body at the micro level.

You can make positive changes to your lifestyle based on the results of the gut test to ensure a balanced and diverse microbiome. You can get a testing by sending your stools to a lab. There are different techniques to find out about the bacteria in the stool sample. One technique is culturing. This is where you see what grows on the stool sample over a period of time inside a controlled environment. This can be a bit of a slow method. Another method is qPCR where a special probe is used to look for bacteria and this can give more reliable results. There is also a method that identifies bacteria by examining their DNA. This will let you know the type of bacteria that you have and also the quantity that is in the stool sample. It is a quicker method when compared to culturing and it provides a more comprehensive analysis. However, you need to have an idea of what you’re looking for. If your doctor suspects that you have SIBO or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, you will be urged to do a breath test.

Gut testing is not widely popular yet. Many doctors will order a stool sample test when they want to look for parasites or blood. The benefits of gut testing are still being explored. However, there are online providers for gut testing that you can use. You can inquire what their testing method is and what kind of a report they will compile. It is better to ask whether they have experts on board to explain the findings to you and make dietary recommendations accordingly.