Gut Health Testing
Gut Health Testing
If you suffer from gut health or digestive problems you will be aware of how much it can impact your life.
Symptoms of conditions such as IBS or bloating and digestive issues after eating can have an impact on not only your health but your day to day life.
At Total Health West Berkshire we offer a range of tests and appointments to help you get to the root cause of your digestive and gut problems so that you can get your digestion back on track and stop it from interfering with your everyday life.
Home Testing
Once purchased our tests will be delivered straight to your door so you can complete the tests at home. Once you have completed the test you post it back to the lab and the results and a full report will be emailed to you once they are available.
Home Gut Health Testing Kits
GI360 Comprehensive Stool Profile [GI3] – £420
Type of Test: Stool sample at home test.
This is one of the most comprehensive stool sample tests available. Testing not only for pathogens, parasites, viruses and bacteria but also analyses your gut bacteria.
If you have long standing gut or digestive issues such as constipation , intermittent diarrhoea and bloating and want a detailed insight into the health of your gut this is the test for you.
The test will also give you an insight into inflammatory markers which could indicate sensitivity to gluten or other allergens along with details on how well your gut is digesting and absorbing your food.
About the test
The GI360 Profile is an innovative, comprehensive and clinically-applicable stool profile, utilising multiplex PCR molecular technology coupled with growth-based culture and ID by MALDI-TOF, sensitive biochemical assays and microscopy to detect and assess the status of pathogens, viruses, parasites and bacteria that may be contributing to acute or chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and disease.
Microbiome Abundance and Diversity: The GI360 Profile is a gut microbiota DNA analysis tool that identifies and characterises the abundance and diversity of more than 45 targeted analytes that peer-reviewed research has shown to contribute to dysbiosis and other chronic disease states.
The GI360 can identify the presence of pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and parasites using multiplexed, real-time PCR. Viruses are the primary cause of acute diarrhoea, and the least commonly tested. The identification of pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites improves treatment strategies and patient outcomes.
The results of the test will give you a Dysbiosis Index.
The Dysbiosis Index (DI) is a calculation with scores from 1 to 5 based on the overall bacterial abundance and profile within the patient’s sample as compared to a reference population. Values above 2 indicate a microbiota profile that differs from the defined normobiotic reference population (i.e. dysbiosis). The higher the DI above 2, the more the sample is considered to deviate from normobiosis.
Additional stool chemistry markers are included to assess digestive efficiency, inflammation and resulting pathology and short chain fatty acid levels reflecting fermentation of fibre.
Samples are referred to Doctor’s Data Inc. for analysis.
Test results with a full report will be emailed to you with recommendations to improve your gut health.
Results in: 18 days
GI360 Stool Microbiome Profile [GI5] – £193
Type of Test: Stool sample at home test.
This is the ideal test for anyone curious about the health of their microbiome.
About the test
The GI360 Microbiome Profile is a gut microbiota DNA analysis tool that identifies and characterises the abundance and diversity of more than 45 targeted analytes that peer-reviewed research has shown to contribute to an imbalance of gut bacteria and other chronic disease states.
The results of the test will give you a Dysbiosis Index.
The Dysbiosis Index (DI) is a calculation with scores from 1 to 5 based on the overall bacterial abundance and profile within the patient’s sample as compared to a reference population. Values above 2 indicate a microbiota profile that differs from the defined normobiotic reference population (i.e., dysbiosis). The higher the DI above 2, the more the sample is considered to deviate from normobiosis.
Samples for this test are referred to Doctor’s Data Inc..
Test results with a full report will be emailed to you with recommendations to improve your gut health.
Results in: 18 days
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) – £175
Type of test: Breath samples at home test.
If you are a sufferer of irritable bowel syndrome then this test can provide you with useful insights into the health of your small bowel.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms lasting for days, weeks or months occurs in up to 13 million UK residents, the majority of sufferers of IBS are women.
A small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) test, also known as a hydrogen breath test, is a non-invasive way to check for an excess of healthy gut bacteria in the small bowel:
If an overgrowth of bacteria is discovered then it can be treated with antibiotics or natural antimicrobials..
How It Works
The SIBO test works by analysing your breath for hydrogen and methane, fermentation products of intestinal bacteria post-ingestion of carbohydrates (lactulose for this test). This analysis is a well-proven method for screening patients for SIBO (and carbohydrate intolerances), enabling both rapid diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
This SIBO test uses 10 samples (at 20-minute intervals) which gives a higher degree of reporting accuracy compared to tests that use fewer samples.
A report with a full breakdown of the findings and suggestions for treatment will be emailed to you.
Results in 48 hours
Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) – £60
Type of test: Stool sample at home test.
This test is used to test for blood in your stool. It can be used to screen for colorectal cancer and for other conditions as well.
The quantitative faecal immunochemical test we offer (OC-Sensor) is one of the FIT tests recommended for suspected colorectal cancer in people with or without rectal bleeding or who have unexplained symptoms.
It is useful if you do not meet the criteria for testing via the NHS.
How It Works
The FIT test will be sent to your home.
Just follow the instructions provided in the testing kit.
Stool samples should be collected by the patient in the OC sensor sample tube as soon as possible after the stool has been passed.
Results will be sent to you 8 days after the sample is received by the lab.