Most of your microbiome is in your gastro-intestinal system. Microbial bacteria aid with digestion and protect you from pathogens and disease. At least, that’s what happens when your microbiome is healthy. An unhealthy, unbalanced microbiome can contribute to digestive issues, weight gain, inflammation, auto-immune diseases and more.
Microbiome mapping is a way to identify issues with your microbiome, which we can then treat via changes in diet.
There is a growing body of research linking gut microbiome imbalances to many chronic health conditions. Lifestyle and medications can affect this balance. Microbiome testing presents a non-invasive way to assess gut parasites, bacterial overgrowth, fermentation markers, yeasts and food absorption. It can also assess metabolic markers in the gut, including zonluin (a ‘leaky gut’ marker, inflammatory markers, pH and others.
How does microbiome mapping work?
Microbiome mapping is non-invasive – you simply provide a stool sample which the laboratory analyses.
At Professional Integrative Medicine, we use the Complete Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) test. The analysis includes:
- Microscopy to determine whether blood, food remnants, fat globules or starch grains are present
- Metabolic markers such as pH value
- Assessment of beneficial and other bacteria
- Fermentation markers and yeasts
- Gut parasites
Signs you might benefit from microbiome mapping
Chronic digestive issues of any kind suggest your microbiome may not be well balanced. That includes:
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea
- Flatulence
- Bloating
- Abdominal cramps
- Heartburn
- Bad breath
Depending how severe your symptoms are, how long you have been experiencing them, and what treatments you have already tried, we may recommend microbiome testing.
Gut health is also closely related to overall wellbeing. For this reason we may also consider it if you have chronic fatigue, allergies or skin problems which are not responding to other treatments.
Call us now to discuss whether microbiome mapping could help you.
Restoring the balance of your microbiome
The results of your test give us plenty of information about the current state of your microbiome. The next step is to make it better, usually via changes to your diet.
Our nutritional consultant Dr Nikole Grbin has years of experience designing tailored nutritional plans. She considers not just your results, but also your goals, lifestyle and food preferences. She can give you practical support and advice as well, to make it easier to stick with your plan.
