More and more information is out that stresses the importance of gut health and nutrition. From hormone balance to mood to focus and attention and immunity, our gut flora is responsible for SO much of our health! The issue is, this raises more questions, like how do I know if a problem is from my gut? What do I do about it? How long does it take to heal? Once it is, are all my problems going to be solved? The only way to know is to do, and I am volunteering myself as test subject A.
The one tenant that I live by is to test is to know. I am also a firm believer in practicing what I preach. SO I am going to do both! I have found one of the most accurate and in-depth at-home testing kits for the gut microbiome I have ever seen. Not only that, but they also carry a food sensitivities test as well as a micronutrient test to see if there are any inflammatory sensitivities to 209 different foods (that may not be a full blown allergy) and excess or deficiencies in any vitamins, minerals, cofactors etc. So of course, I ended up doing the test for all 3 because, when in Rome... No actually, because I thought that these 3 tests seemed the most complimentary and informative on what immediate actionable steps need to be taken once I got the results.
So want to know how it went? Well, I'll tell you! Let's start with the testing themselves. Firstly, the test kits are on the pricier side. The microbiome on is called Gut Zoomer 3.0, and it is a home fecal kit. That's right, you have to scoop poop. The food sensitivities and micronutrient ones are blood tests. I ordered them all together and they came in nice neat boxes with clear explanations. One box had the Gut Zoomer, the other was for the 2 blood tests in one box. I did the Gut Zoomer first, and I won't go into too much detail, but you basically have 2 tubes to fill, and the key is not over or under filling, and to send the samples in with the accompanying biohazard bag and prepaid shipping container SAME DAY. I learned that you have to send the samples in before 4pm (at least in California) to get it to the lab in time.
With the blood tests, that was a trip. The micronutrient one is a little tube you have to fill to a fill line, and the food sensitivities test is a series of blood spot cards. So for the tube, it's a microtube, but for an at-home test, you need to get a significant amount of blood dripped into there in my opinion. So for the instructions, it says it is NECESSARY to take a hot shower to increase blood flow, both say drink a bunch of water 30 min prior to collecting, and to swing your arms to get more blood flow too. So me being model patient, I did all those things.. and when I did my first finger prick with the lancet (which took me a solid minute or two because I am a pain weenie), the blood squirted out! I wasn't ready for that, so I mildly panicked, tried to get as much fresh drip into the tube, and only managed to fill 1/2 of it with a big bloody mess by the time the little cut closed on my finger. IN my defense, the instructions also say to wipe away the first drop and THEN start collecting and so after the squirt, I was frantically trying to wipe and then collect, which just spread the blood around my finger to where it was just creating a bloody mess! THEN round 2 on finger 2 was much more compliant and by the book. I was able to fill the remainder of the tube and get my drops onto the spot cards with less mess and less stress.
After I had finished cleaning up and sending in the samples post haste, it took about 3 weeks to get my results. I was notified that the samples were received June 4th, and got my results June 29th... and here they are!
The full results are more in-depth, but I thought I'd spare the dozens of pages and keep it summarized to what is in the yellow and red for me. What I really like about the Gut zoomer is in the summary page, it shows how diverse with the 2 indices in the top left corner, and the pie chart with percentage of types of bacteria found. I also like the gut commensals part, which shows the different categories of health markers that the gut is responsible for, and shows you where you are lacking that can contribute to health concerns. For mine, my diversity is in the yellow, as is my metabolic health and nutrition. I also have 2 pretty high inflammation and malabsorption markers.
For food sensitivity, I have a few in the yellow, which I am interpreting as to eat sparingly, on rare occasions. I'm not mad at these results because I don't like beans and seafood much anyway, but I was sad about the buttermilk, honeydew, and duck. I love duck!! Sardines are kind of interesting, so I have to make sure my fish oil isn't from sardines. The food additive section is interesting too, because stevia is a common sugar replacement, but I can't have that now (I'll just have to stick with monk fruit), and I'm not concerned about the one in red because I avoid chemicals in my food altogether, but it's good to know nonetheless.
The nutrients I thought were also really interesting because I do still take a prenatal daily as well as fish oil, so it's interesting to see so much red! Some of them are a bit more obscure and might need their own supplementation, but I think the ones that were most surprising was that I was low on Vitamin C, which I think is so commonly prolific in foods. But with these all together, it does make sense, since the gut zoomer shows I have inflammatory and malabsorption markers present.
It's a bit nerve-wracking to post my results, but I think it's more important to share my experience with you than it is to hide based on my own ego. Especially because I think of myself as healthy, and I work hard to try and maintain my health! I think that people who know me also consider me healthy comparatively, but it is also important to show there's always room for improvement, and that even if you think you are "healthy," there might be something underlying that is hindering your healing journey. For example, I DO feel like my metabolism is slower than it was, and that I have been struggling with occasional bloating and just my waist size is not what I would like. I also have been having issues with my skin being sensitive to scratches with turning red easily and getting puffy for about 20 min. I have had both those issues since giving birth, with my first (almost 4 years ago), and I have chalked it up to hormone changes from 2 kids and nursing (I'm still breastfeeding my second right now). And if you follow us, you know that I have recently done a month long cleanse, and I feel good, my weight isn't itself an issue, but I still have the skin thing and the waist thing. After the testing, MAYBE it's not because of that, but from my gut being inflamed and having difficulty absorbing the nutrients that I am consuming.
It's really interesting to see where I am lacking, and how that informs what I can do about it. I definitely think that these tests are worth it-- They can be done in the convenience of your own home, they are simple and straightforward, and the analysis is really informative. I think they are especially useful for people who experience symptoms in the categories that involves gut health and who have done other testing and seen doctors with results that are "normal." The great thing about Vibrant labs is that they show you where IDEAL is, and show you how close or far you are from ideal with yellow or red markers.
Next of course is where I enact my plan to address these issues and how that changes things for me! I have already gotten the appropriate supplements through Fullscript and so I have started to take them this month-- a special probiotic with the exact strains I am deficient in, an antioxidant supplement with the nutrients I am missing, and I am continuing with my current prenatal. I am also avoiding all the foods I am sensitive to and I will also incorporate a simple intermittent fast strategy of having a 10 hour eating window per day for now. There is a more detailed method for intermittent fasting for women specifically, but it is around our hormone cycle and while I have been breastfeeding, I haven't had a period so I have no idea where I am in my cycle right now. Until then, I'll do the 10 hour eating window.
I am hopeful, and only a few days into this new regimen (I got the supplements from Fullscript on July 2nd) And if you're interested, let me know and I will update in a month!
Comments