Digestive Testing
The Digestive System
Digestive Health
The digestive system is often recognised as the foundation for long-term health and well-being.
This is where we digest and absorb nutrients required for every bodily function and provide the building blocks to continuously repair and create each cell of the human body.
Don’t see the test you’re looking for below?
There are simply so many we couldn’t include them all…
Contact us for more options and information!
Stool Testing for Parasites & More
Certain digestive parasites may cause symptoms such as bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, digestive discomfort, flatulence, digestive ‘heaviness’, nausea, digestive pains and typical “IBS” (irritable bowel syndrome) symptoms which may appear to come and go or worsen over the day.
Often our patients describe how they have tried to pinpoint if these symptoms are attributed to different dietary food intakes, such as a trial to restrict lactose, gluten, wheat, or Fodmaps for a period of time without success in resolving their symptoms.
After a thorough discussion regarding the individual symptoms, timing, duration, and distinct nature of our of patient’s digestion system, with our years of clinical experience we can confidently discuss and organise specific digestive testing to find answers and solutions for digestive health.
Multiplex Faecal PCR Parasite Stool Testing:
- Utilising state of the art technology, a faecal Multiplex PCR stool test stands for ‘polymerase chain reaction’; currently the most specific and sensitive DNA-testing for the 10 most common parasites in Australia.
- The Multiplex Faecal PCR tests for Dientamoeba species, Blastocystis species, Salmonella species, Campylobacter species, Shigella species, Yersinia enterocolitica, Aeromonas species, Giardia species, Entamoeba histolytica, and Cryptosporidium species.
- Older style MCS-stool testing is typically far less sensitive and may miss detection of these parasites.
- PCR (polymerase chain reaction or DNA testing) should detect even a single molecule or single cell of these parasites, with sensitivity of the Multiplex PCR between 97-100% depending on the organism; and the specificity of the Multiplex PCR for both enteric protozoans and bacterial pathogens found to be 100% when compared to conventional methods.
- Many of these 10 most common parasites being tested have a shedding cycle of every 7-10 days, which means the older style stool MCS testing may commonly miss their presence and may display a falsely negative parasite test result.
Stool MCS Testing:
- This test is often technically termed a faeces microscopy, culture, sensitivities, and antigen stool test.
- MCS commonly tests for the presence of white blood cells, red blood cells, includes culture testing for Salmonella species, Shigella species, and Campylobacter species, and (if clinically appropriate) for Aeromonas hydrophila, Yersinia species, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae, and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli.
Faecal Occult Blood Stool Testing:
- A faecal occult blood stool test detects tiny amounts of blood that are usually invisible to the human eye in bowel motions.
- Blood detected in a stool test may be due to an array of health concerns such as haemorrhoids, anal fissures, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcers, and a possible sign of early colorectal cancer or bowel polyp, which is a growth on the inside of the bowel that could develop into cancer over time is left undetected.
- We gently reassure there are many reasons for a positive faecal occult blood, and this is usually caused by something much less serious than cancer.
- If faecal occult blood is present, we work proactively with our patient’s doctor and medical team to further assess the possible causes with further, more comprehensive testing, and firmly believe early detection of both digestive and general health concerns are always a positive step for long-term health.
Further Specialised Digestive Testing
National and International Specialised Stool Tests
We offer a wide array of accredited national and international digestive and digestive stool testing options with simply too many to list. Many of these focus on the function of digestive capacity including whether we are able to break down and digest food in its small nutrient building blocks, whether the digestive tract mucosal lining is inflamed, the integrity of the digestive mucosal lining (often termed “leaky gut” online), immunological activation within the digestive tract, wide panels of microbiome and microbiota testing, and so much more!
Just some of these include:
- Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) panels to choose from.
- Microbiome Panels and Complete Microbiome Mapping – broad-ranged bacterial and microbiome panels.
- Zonulin – a marker related with intestinal permeability and gluten dietary difficulties.
- Beneficial bacterias, imbalanced bacterias, opportunistic bacteria, and dysbiotic bacteria.
- Yeasts/fungi – from many species of yeasts, not just Candida species.
- Parasites via PCR polymerase chain reaction DNA testing.
- Antibiotic/natural medicine sensitivities for unhealthful bacteria, yeasts, or parasites discovered.
- Stool/digestive intestinal pH – imbalances in gut pH will influence SCFA production and effect healthful bacterial balance.
- Digestive, absorption and metabolic markers, including protein absorption, pancreatic elastase digestive enzyme, vegetable fibres, meat fibres, food remnants, starch, fat globules, fat malabsorption, and starch among others.
- Beta-glucuronidase – Increased levels of b-Glucuronidase may reverse the effects of Phase II detoxification processes.
- SCFAs (short chain fatty acids including butyrate, acetate, propionate, valerate).
- Pancreatic elastase (PE1) – a protease enzyme produced exclusively by the pancreas to assist the breakdown and digestion of foods as part of healthy digestive function.
- Gastrin – a peptide hormone that stimulates secretion of gastric acid by the parietal cells of the stomach and aids in gastric motility.
- Helicobacter pylori stool antigen – a bacterium which can enter the human body and live in the stomach bag of the digestive tract.
- Transglutaminase IgA – a gluten sensitivity marker/coeliac disease marker.
- Calprotectin – a bowel inflammation marker.
- M2PK – M2 Pyruvate Kinase tumour marker.
- SIgA, secretory IgA Immunoglobulin A – a digestive tract antibody responsible for immune function of the digestive mucosal membranes.
- Tumour/Ulcer markers – a multitude of options.
- Lactose intolerance – a blood test to definitively confirm digestive lactose intolerance.
- Worm examination by PCR – polymerase chain reaction for specific DNA testing.
- Intestinal Permeability Test – otherwise commonly known as “leaky gut”.
- SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) breath tests – a wide range.
- Enteric (digestive) viruses via PCR (DNA testing) – Rotavirus PCR, Adenovirus PCR, Astrovirus PCR, Norovirus PCR.
- Macroscopic & microscopic description of digestive and stool health.
Blood Tests for Digestive Health
Did you know there are an array of blood tests we routinely perform which not only tell us exciting information about our patient’s digestive health but further information on their ability to repair their digestive tract mucosal lining, such as vitamin A, zinc, Manganese, Immunoglobulin A as a marker of digestive tract lining health, coeliac genetics, coeliac serology screen, copper, Helicobacter (H pylori) antibody testing, vitamin D, intrinsic factor antibodies, parietal cell antibodies, pancreatic elastase plus more!
Coeliac Disease Testing
Coeliac disease testing, often termed ‘coeliac disease screen is a specific blood test for autoimmune markers against gluten and gliadin.
This test is recommended for people suspected of gluten allergy who are still consuming a large amount of dietary daily gluten intake (for optimal results, 3 months of 4-6 slices of bread is recommended, however, thankfully we have other options as well!)
"Coeliac Gene" Testing: HLA DR DQ
This genetic blood or buccal cell test displays whether a person has a genetically predisposed autoimmune response, allergy, or sensitivity to dietary gluten.
This can be particularly helpful if a person does not wish to consume gluten prior to the standard coeliac disease serology screen or has already eliminated gluten from their diet.
Contact us today to discuss further digestive tests!