Testing the gut microbiome – establishing a baseline and improving your overall health for the gut

Testing your gut microbiome may seem like the next trend in conscious health circles, but there’s actually a massive amount of science supporting its importance in disease prevention and nutritional recommendations.

What is the Microbiome Test?

A microbiome test provides data about our existing gut health, analysing the various types of bacteria present in the microbiome alongside the proportion of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ types.

The test provides robust information about your propensity to certain diseases, levels of inflammation as well as the various functions of your overall gut bacteria and what vitamins they synthesise.

In addition to this, a microbiome test also provides insights and recommendations into which foods can be added to your diet to combat various ailments and improve your current health.

The role of bacteria on our health

Many people have questioned the role that bacteria plays on our overall health.

To date, there has been over 20,000 scientific articles published about the gut microbiome over the past decade. Research has sped up exponentially in this field, as scientists consistently draw parallels between the inverse relationship of bacteria and health.

Research has shown that microbes influence health based on their proportion in the gut microbiome as a whole, and their abundance in the overall gut is often more significant rather than qualifying ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacterial organisms.

The gut microbiome test, therefore, aims to provide recommendations based on the findings of scientists and researchers as to what constitutes positive gut health.

How the test works

A simple stool sample is collected to determine the overall condition of the gut microbiome. No dietary changes need to be made in advance. In fact, it’s recommended to maintain a normal diet as to maintain an accurate portrayal from the test of your overall health and the impact your current dietary habits may have on your gut microbiome.

It should be noted that people who have recently undergone a course of antibiotics, been on NSAIDs or recently taken surgery should avoid taking the test. People experiencing gastrointestinal distress can have significantly different results than what they would usually produce in their ‘normal’ state of health.