The Tests & Tools You Need to Monitor Gut Health

Your overall health and how you feel are deeply rooted in the state of your gut. Gut health impacts everything from your immune system, liver detoxification, and weight management to how well your body absorbs nutrients from food and supplements.^1-3

But what happens when your gut health declines? Dysbiosis, an imbalance where harmful microbes outnumber beneficial ones, can significantly impact your health. Numerous factors, including a poor diet, excessive use of antibiotics, and exposure to environmental toxins, can disturb this balance.⁴

6 Tests and Tools to Monitor Gut Health

Testing is crucial for identifying dysbiosis and other gut health issues like leaky gut, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and yeast overgrowth. Here are the tests and tools to consider:

Gastrointestinal Microbial Assay Plus (GI-MAP™)

The GI-MAP™ is a comprehensive stool test that evaluates a wide range of microorganisms, providing a detailed snapshot of your gut health. Key aspects it examines include:

Digestion and hormone Levels: Proper food digestion and estrogen reabsorption.
Inflammation and leaky gut: Detecting undigested food particles, toxins, and bacteria in the bloodstream.
Immune performance and gluten intolerance: Assessing immune reactions to gluten.

The GI-MAP™ uses advanced technology to identify and quantify parasites, bacteria, and fungi by targeting their DNA. You can order a GI-MAP™ test kit online (such as this one), complete it at home, and send it to a lab for analysis.

Comprehensive Stool Analysis

A Comprehensive Stool Analysis examines your stool to identify harmful microorganisms and assesses the levels of beneficial bacteria. This test can uncover the underlying causes of various health issues, including:

Gastrointestinal discomfort
Autoimmune diseases
Joint pain
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Food sensitivities
Nutritional deficiencies
Skin conditions

You collect a stool sample at home and send it to a lab, where they review multiple factors like color, consistency, shape, odor, and mucus content. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for accurate results.

How do you know whether to use the GI-MAP™ or Comprehensive Stool Analysis? While the GI-MAP™ offers detailed microbial insights, the Comprehensive Stool Analysis is more suitable for initial screenings and broader health assessments.

The GI Effects® Comprehensive Stool Profile is a state-of-the-art stool test that delivers immediate, actionable clinical information for managing gastrointestinal health. This test uses the latest technologies and biomarkers to provide valuable insights into digestive function, intestinal inflammation, and intestinal microbiome composition.*

Microbiome Testing

Microbiome testing analyzes the quantity and variety of your gut bacteria to identify potential imbalances. It helps detect potential inflammatory conditions or autoimmune diseases like IBD and celiac disease.⁵

Microbiome tests can be ordered online or through a healthcare provider. After submitting your stool sample, you’ll receive a detailed report on your gut microorganisms. Some tests also offer personalized dietary recommendations based on your microbiome composition.

Microbiome testing and Comprehensive Stool Analysis use stool samples. However, they have different purposes. Essentially, microbiome testing looks at the types of microbes in the gut, while a Comprehensive Stool Analysis evaluates the overall function of your digestive system.

Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) Breath Test

SIBO occurs when there are excessive bacteria in your small intestine, which can lead to bloating, gas, and diarrhea as the bacteria ferment food in the wrong part of the digestive tract.⁶

The most accurate test for diagnosing SIBO is the small bowel aspirate and culture. However, this involves inserting a tube through the nose or mouth into the small intestine, which can be unpleasant.⁷

A simpler and less invasive option is the SIBO breath test. For this test, you drink a glucose solution and breathe into a device that measures hydrogen or methane levels. A rapid increase in these gases indicates bacterial overgrowth.⁸

You can perform this test at home by ordering a hydrogen breath test kit. Genova’s SIBO Profile is a simple breath test measuring the hydrogen and methane gas levels you exhale after drinking a lactulose solution.*

Zonulin Test

Zonulin is a protein that regulates intestinal permeability. High zonulin levels can indicate a “leaky” gut, allowing toxins and undigested food to enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation.⁹

An at-home Zonulin Test measures the levels of this protein in your blood or stool to assess gut permeability and identify potential leaky gut syndrome. This test can help if you’re experiencing digestive issues, unexplained inflammation, or symptoms related to leaky gut syndrome.

IgG Testing

Your body can react to problematic foods like gluten and dairy through an immune response called immunoglobulin G (IgG). This differs from immunoglobulin E (IgE) testing, which checks for immediate food allergies. IgG responses are delayed, meaning you might eat food in one day and not experience symptoms until days later, such as waking up with a headache two days after eating gluten. These responses are often chronic and low-grade, keeping your immune system on guard without you even realizing it.¹⁰

IgG testing is the gold standard for identifying delayed food sensitivities. This test measures specific antibodies in your blood that your immune system produces in response to certain foods.¹¹

The Food Sensitivity Test Kit – IgG Food MAP With XMAP® Technology assesses sensitivities to 190 foods and also evaluates Candida. This type of yeast is naturally present in your body (usually in your gut, mouth, and skin). However, when Candida grows excessively, it can lead to various health issues, commonly called Candidiasis. This can manifest as symptoms like fatigue, bloating, and skin irritations.*

Elimination Diets: An Alternative to IgG Testing

Most tests, including IgG tests, have limitations—they only show one type of food reaction and don’t tell the whole story. An elimination diet is one of the most effective methods for identifying food sensitivities. This involves removing common problematic foods to allow your gut to heal, then reintroducing them individually to see how your body reacts.¹² This approach can be more telling than tests alone.

Many years ago, I worked with a lab company, teaching doctors how to use a food-sensitivity test in their offices. The test helped patients comply more with their diets and address issues like joint pain, headaches, fatigue, and autoimmune conditions. The results took three weeks to get, and then I reviewed those results with the patients and recommended dietary changes.

I noticed a pattern: The same foods frequently appeared as problematic. During the three-week waiting period for test results, I realized we could start by eliminating the most common problematic foods and then fine-tune the diet based on the specific test results. From that discovery came The Virgin Diet.

On The Virgin Diet, you eliminate seven problematic foods for at least 21 days—though I recommend four to six weeks for better results. After this elimination period, reintroduce each food individually to observe how your body responds. If symptoms like joint pain, headaches, brain fog, and weight loss resistance persist, testing might be necessary.

However, it’s crucial to focus on healing your gut first. Wait about three months, actively working on gut healing, before considering IgG testing. Keep a food journal to track your progress and changes during this time.

If you’re not experiencing significant improvements, you may consider IgG testing. However, it’s crucial to be cautious about testing too early. Doing so could result in a long list of foods to avoid, potentially leaving you with limited dietary options. This understanding can help you make more informed decisions about the timing of your testing.

Simple, Comprehensive Ways to Heal Your Gut

Gut health goes far beyond digestion. An unbalanced or leaky gut can affect your weight, skin, sleep, joints, motivation, and overall health. Symptoms like low energy, joint pain, acne, headaches, bloating, and cravings might be your gut’s way of signaling for help.

I created 5 Gut-Healing Strategies for Lasting Energy & Weight Loss to provide simple, effective solutions. This guide, which includes a symptoms checklist, helps you identify potential gut problems. It offers my five most trusted strategies to boost your energy, eliminate bloating, reduce cravings, and help you feel your best. These strategies form a comprehensive approach to restoring gut health and addressing underlying issues that can create imbalances.

Get your FREE 5 Gut-Healing Strategies for Lasting Energy & Weight Loss guide here.

References:

UCLA Health: If you want to boost immunity, look to the gut
Better Health Channel: Gut health
Pedre, Vincent. Happy Gut: The Cleansing Program to Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Eliminate Pain. HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Pedre, Vincent. Happy Gut: The Cleansing Program to Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Eliminate Pain. HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Healthline: What’s Possible from Microbiome Testing at Home?
Mayo Clinic: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
Lim J, Rezaie A. Pros and Cons of Breath Testing for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth. Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2023 Mar;19(3):140-146. PMID: 37706108; PMCID: PMC10496284.
Healthline: SIBO Breath Test: Why It’s Done, How it Works, the Results
Serek P, Oleksy-Wawrzyniak M. The Effect of Bacterial Infections, Probiotics and Zonulin on Intestinal Barrier Integrity. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Oct 21;22(21):11359. doi: 10.3390/ijms222111359. PMID: 34768787; PMCID: PMC8583036.
Everlywell: IgG vs. IgE antibodies: understanding the differences
Rupa Health: Food Sensitivity Testing: Identifying Triggers in Your Diet
University of Wisconsin-Madison: The Elimination Diet

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. Products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The views in this blog by JJ Virgin should never be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Please work with a healthcare practitioner concerning any medical problem or concern.

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