Stool Test: Do You Need One? – [Video]

Stool Test: Know Your Gut Health

Stool tests can provide important information about a person’s digestive and overall health.

Some of the key benefits of stool tests include:

• Detecting gastrointestinal disorders: Stool tests can help detect conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, and infection with parasites.
• Identifying nutrient deficiencies: Stool tests can reveal if a person is deficient in certain nutrients, such as iron or vitamin B12, which can impact their overall health. Screening for colon cancer: Some stool tests can detect blood in the stool, which can be an early sign of colon cancer.
• Monitoring treatment effectiveness: For people with digestive disorders, stool tests can be used to monitor the effectiveness of treatment and detect any potential complications.
• Improving gut health: Stool tests can provide important information about the balance of bacteria in the gut, which can help identify imbalances and suggest ways to improve gut health.

Transcript of the video

by Dr. Vikki Petersen

Have you heard about poop tests? Have you ever thought about doing one? We do them all the time here at Root Cause Medical Clinic and for a very good reason.

When you are doing a stool test, it’s evaluating for different bacteria, parasites, viruses, protozoa. A lot of things are looked at in that are present in your stool — both good guys and bad guys. The good are great of course, but what if there’s not enough good and there’s too much bad?

So these are things that as I like to tell patients: we can’t guess at, we can’t somehow figure out what’s in the stool. And why is that important? If you have conditions such as IBS or IBD, if you have autoimmune disease, if you have skin conditions such as a rash or eczema, if you have depression, anxiety, diabetes, weight issues, and of course digestive problems. Constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas…

So there are a lot of good reasons to take the time, spend some money, and get this in-depth analysis of your stool because 70% of your immune system is housed in your gut and the constituency of your gut — 39 trillion (estimated) organisms. First of all, they outnumber the human cells in your body, which is interesting. But they also very much dictate not just the health of your gut, but the brain-gut connection is very well established.

The importance of that and how what’s in your gut is affecting your mood, your cognitive health, depression, anxiety, symptoms such as that… These organisms actually dictate whether you have a pro-inflammatory response or an anti-inflammatory response.

The reason that is important is that inflammation is the known root cause of most of the diseases you’re trying to avoid: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disease, obesity, and cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

So this is a test truly worth your effort. I would very much encourage you to check it out.

Nutrition and your health

The medical team of Root Cause Medical Clinic counts several registered dietitians and certified clinical nutritionists who act in concert with the doctors to get to the root cause of your health situation. Root Cause Medicine does not address the symptoms of disease, but through extensive lab testing, our multi-disciplinary medical team tailors a program focused on the true cause of your heath situation.

Once this true cause is identified, we can remove the stressors that prevent your body from healing itself. Nutrition is an essential part of this process, as your gut health determines the response of your body to inflammation. Our nutrition team works in close contact with you to help you change dietary habits that are harmful to your health.

Do not wait till things get worse. Book a nutrition consultation with our dietitians. Call us at 727-335-0400

Additional resources:

Why Some Gluten-Free Foods Are Bad For You
Stomach Acid: What Foods Neutralize It?
The importance of stool tests in diagnosis and follow-up of gastrointestinal disorders in children