Currently, we are living in a world full of chronic illnesses, the pursuit of good health, and autoimmune disease. Having that in mind, it’s very critical to focus on gut health. The gut is linked to everything in your body, including mental health, immunity, and hormones. Even though there exist various things that you ought to focus on to have quality gut health, you should get tested. Testing will give you a clear picture of what you need to focus on. Discussed below are four ways you can use to test your gut health.

1. Visual Inspection

To determine your gut health, begin with inspecting it visually. Observe your stool keenly, and that will assist you in knowing whether your digestion is functioning properly. Below are some of the things to watch out for.

Color of the Stool

• Red or black stool: If your stool is red or black, it is an indicator that you have internal bleeding. In such cases, visit your doctor for a checkup and treatment.
• Greenish-yellow or pale-yellow stool: Having stool of this color signifies fat mal-absorption or bile duct obstruction, indicating poor digestion. If this persists, visit your doctor, who will advise you on steps to take so that fats can get digested.
• Yellow stool: Having this kind of stool signifies intestinal inflammation or infection and requires a doctor to address it.
• Green stool: if you are consuming many vegetables and your stool is green, then the nutrients are going to waste because you are not absorbing them well.

Physical and Visual Indicators

• Floating and sinking: If your stool floats, that’s an indicator of fats in it. On the other hand, if it sinks immediately, it means your stool contains many underutilized nutrients.
• Physical straining: At times, digestion may vary, and you may strain physically. However, if the straining is persistent, you should see a doctor to figure out if you have constipation issues.
• Analysis of Bristol stool chart: This chart helps to identify gut and digestive health conditions. If the results are closer to one, then it means constipation. If it’s closer to seven, it means diarrhea. If you get anything other than three and four, contact your doctor.

Other Indicators

How severally you visit the toilet per day is another crucial indicator of whether your gut is healthy. If you have chronic constipation, it means you are at risk of getting infections and microbiome imbalance.

2. Lactulose Breath Test

Consider this test if you have serious bloating and you suspect SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth). This test involves altering the diet for around one day, taking samples of breath for some time, and taking a sugary drink. This helps to know whether you have overgrown bacteria in the small intestine.

3. Functional Analysis of the Stool

The best way to have a comprehensive picture of what is taking place in your gut is to have a functional stool analysis. This will involve sending a sample of your stool to the laboratory for inspection. The test varies, so you need to be precise on what you want to be tested. Here are some of the things they test for.

• Parasite infection
• Levels of enzyme
• Mal-absorption of nutrients
• Fungal or bacterial over-growths
• Presence of particular types of micro-flora

4. Beet Test

Beet test is the perfect way to test the time you take to get home. Discovering the period your digestive system digest food will enlighten you on whether you are constipated or your digestion is slow-moving. Also, it might be too fast such that the nutrients do not get absorbed. Here is how to perform the beet test.

• Consume a meal that has beets and record the exact time you ate.
• Take some time and wait for them to pass in the stool. Watch out for purple or red color.
• Record the results and perform a comparison. Generally, between 24 and 48 hours is good timing. If there is a big difference between the two beet tests you have performed, visit your doctor to figure out the way forward.

Get In-Touch With Us Today

Gut health is very vital and testing to make sure it is healthy is one huge step. Discussed above are the ways you can use to test gut health. Are you ready to get started today? Do not hesitate to contact our professionals, and they will advise you on the best test to take. Call us today at 205-352-9141 and talk to a specialist