What i learned by taking a personal gut health test
I wanted to know what was going on with the little critters in my gut. I mean, I eat my fermented foods, have a diverse plant-based diet and religiously take my probiotic, but still I knew something was amiss. My energy levels were abnormally low and I had been feeling very moody.
I had heard amazing things about Ixcela’s microbiome test and wanted to try it out.
I had anticipated being intimidated taking an at-home blood test as I've never done it before and I still have nightmares of a Nurse Ratched type poking me with a stick when I was a kid. But I was surprised at how easy and painless it was. They have videos, in depth instructions and they make it easy to send the kit back. Plus they got the results back to me expeditiously. Ultimately, despite my slight discomfort at the thought, the process was very positive and easy.
Why is it important to check your gut health?
You can eat well but if you don't know how the bacteria in your gut are performing and if they are doing their job, your body may not metabolize or assimilate the nutrients in optimal ways.
You will want to look for a diversity of strains, of course, to start.
However, gut health is connected to much more than your digestive issues. 70% of our immune system response is in our gut. It can affect food cravings, quality of sleep, mood, your weight and resilience to stress. So getting a gut health check is one of the smartest, most comprehensive measures you can take for your health.
Why I picked Ixcela
I had heard of and even took a stool sample test once from a functional medicine doctor. It only told me what types of bacteria were in my gut.
Ixcela works differently, though. Ixcela’s blood sample test assesses the function of the gut microbiome, whereas a stool sample test determines what types of bacteria are present in the lower colon. By measuring the gut-related markers in the blood, Ixcela can evaluate how well the bacteria are doing their job. This information allows us to make personalized nutrition and lifestyle recommendations.
Stool samples ordered by your doctor can be valuable for detecting invasive organisms such as pathogenic bacteria, parasites, H. pylori, etc. Ixcela tests for metabolites, not just the diversity of strains Metabolites are small molecules involved in or produced during metabolism. Ixcela reviews eleven gut-related metabolites. These metabolites offer insight into the health and diversity of the gut microbiome. They indicate if there's an imbalance of microbes, show how well you’re breaking down and absorbing nutrients, and reflect how well your body is reacting to external factors like stress. The test results mostly reflect long-term habits.
Short-term changes to diet, supplement intake, and lifestyle may cause small changes to the gut and metabolites, but appropriate long-term habits will better support gut health and metabolites—and therefore improve test scores.
What did it tell me?
I learned that despite a healthy and diverse diet, some of my metabolites were at below optimal levels. (Levels for each of the 11 metabolite markers can be in-range, above or below optimal levels.)
Specifically, I was low on what they call "Emotional Balance Markers" that includes tryptophan rich foods and foods with tyrosine. I further learned that when tryptophan is low, it can affect how it is converted to melatonin and serotonin which are both critical for optimal sleep and mood.
I also learned that a lot of the steps that I had taken in the last few years around my health had paid off, as most of my levels were in good range and that was very validating!
What action steps did I take?
Ixcela gave me specific recommendations around nutrition, mindfulness and stress reduction and physical activity suggestions based on my results. I looked at the specific foods listed in the Ixcela database that were rich in tryptophan and tyrosine and included more of them into my diet. (I've been eating a lot of pumpkin seeds!) I added breath work as part of my stress reduction plan.
What were the improvements?
Increased energy, better immunity, fewer food cravings, improved sleep, better stress resilience.
I plan to get re-tested in a month or two to see what the levels are now after 7 months of working on increasing these specific metabolites.
I will keep you posted!
In the meantime, I resonated so much with Ixcela’s method, research and practice that I decided to partner with them and become a certified pro.
This means I get to share all the info with you about how you can get a test done as well, at a special price! Yay.