October 16, 2025 • 23 mins
If you’ve ever looked at a stool test and felt completely overwhelmed by all the bacteria names, numbers, and colors, you’re not alone.
In this episode, Dr. Heather breaks down exactly what your stool test says about your symptoms, from bloating and constipation to hormone imbalance, fatigue, and skin issues. You’ll learn why stool testing goes far beyond “good vs. bad bacteria,” and how it maps out your digestion, detox pathways, immune health, and overall gut terrain.
Dr. Heather explains what it really means when markers like beta-glucuronidase, H. pylori, calprotectin, or secretory IgA are high or low, and how these patterns overlap to reveal the root cause of your symptoms.
You’ll walk away with a whole new perspective on testing and why it’s not about just "treating the test" and more about understanding what your gut is trying to tell you about how your symptoms are connected.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why stool testing is about function, not just “fixing” numbers
- The connection between high beta-glucuronidase and estrogen or histamine symptoms
- How low commensal bacteria can drive leaky gut, fatigue, and skin issues
- Why H. pylori suppresses stomach acid and leads to low iron or reflux
- What low elastase means for digestion, bloating, and nutrient absorption
- How low secretory IgA reflects stress, burnout, and food sensitivities
- The link between fat malabsorption and low sodium or bile flow
- Why calprotectin and anti-gliadin IgA reveal deeper inflammation
- How to interpret patterns instead of chasing isolated markers
Don’t Miss This Sunday’s (Oct 19) Live Training! SIBO Unlocked
You’ll leave knowing exactly why SIBO (or chronic symptoms) keep coming back, and what to do about it so you can find relief for good! Register here
Resources Mentioned:
- Apply for gutTogether: www.guttogetherprogram.com
- Follow Dr. Heather on Instagram: @drheatherfinley
- Want Dr. Heather'e eyes on your case? Purchase a Gut Health Audit
Rate, Review & Follow
If this episode helped you connect the dots about your gut health, take 30 seconds to leave a review! It means the world and helps more women find the show. Plus, when you screenshot and send your review to happygut@drheatherfinley.co you will have a chance to win a free HTMA bundle each month!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Welcome to the Love Your GutPodcast.
I'm your host, Dr.
Heather Finley, registereddietitian and gut health
specialist.
I understand the frustration ofdealing with GI issues because
I've been there and I spent overtwo decades searching for
answers for my own gut issues ofconstipation, bloating, and
stomach pain.
I've dedicated my life tounderstanding and solving my own
(00:25):
gut issues.
And now I'm here to guide you.
On this podcast, I'll help youidentify the true root causes of
your discomfort.
So you can finally ditch yoursymptoms for good.
My goal is to empower you withthe knowledge and tools you need
so that you can love your gutand it will love you right back.
So if you're ready to learn alot, gain a deeper understanding
(00:47):
of your gut and find lastingrelief.
You are in the right place.
Welcome to the love your gutpodcast.
If you've ever done a stool testand felt totally overwhelmed by
the results, or you've wonderedwhat a stool test could tell you
about your symptoms, or wonderedif those numbers.
Actually explain your bloating,your skin issues, or your
(01:09):
fatigue.
You are not alone, and this isthe episode for you.
I can't tell you how manyclients come to us saying, I've
done all the diets, Heather,I've done all the supplements.
I've tried every doctor, I'vedone all the things that the
influencers on Instagram aretelling me to do, and I'm still
symptomatic.
And I, I get it because I'vebeen there too, and I know how
(01:34):
frustrating that is.
Then when we finally run a stooltest, they say something like, I
wish I'd done this years ago,or, this explains so much, even
if they've done one prior.
The stool test that we do is abit different than what you're
gonna get from your doctor, andI have a whole episode, couple
episodes back on the GI Map, soyou can go back and listen to
that if you're curious.
(01:54):
This one is gonna be morefocused on symptoms.
That you might have and whatmight show up on your test, but
here's the truth.
Your symptoms, your bloating,your constipation, your fatigue,
your skin breakouts, anxiety.
They don't really tell the wholestory because those same
symptoms can be caused bycompletely different imbalances
in different people, and that'swhy you're stuck throwing
(02:17):
spaghetti at the wall and notgetting anywhere because you
don't actually know what'scausing your symptoms, and
that's why stool testing is oneof my favorite tools.
It's not just about finding thebad thing or the bacteria or the
infection, it's about seeing howit all works together.
How does your digestion, yourdetox, your liver, your immune
(02:39):
system, your microbiome, how arethey all communicating with each
other and are there possibledownstream effects that are
happening?
So you can think of it likethis.
Your stool test is kind of likea map.
It tells us not just what ishappening, but also why and how
it's all connected.
And then we can create a planfor how we're gonna get there.
(03:01):
But before we dive into themarkers, I wanna make something
super clear.
You cannot just treat a test.
And I talk about that in theother episode, but that is where
stool testing goes wrong, is apractitioner sees h pylori and
they say, here's the protocol,here's the plan.
Follow the plan.
But yet they're not consideringhow you got that.
(03:22):
What else has happened as aresult, a stool test doesn't
tell you which pills orsupplements to take.
It tells you where your bodyneeds support, and I've seen
this mistake over and overagain.
Where someone gets their testback, they freak out about high
markers or red markers.
They just start killing offeverything.
(03:42):
Throwing antimicrobials orprobiotics at the problem.
And they're not asking thequestion, why are these markers
off?
And so you still end up playingWhack-a-Mole.
Your stool test is really awindow into your gut function,
and it shows how your systemsare working together or how they
aren't working together.
And that's where the realhealing happens is not just in
(04:04):
chasing different lab numbers ortrying to totally get rid of
something, but understanding thephysiology behind them.
And making targeted changes toyour nutrition, your lifestyle,
and your supplements alltogether.
So let's go through the maincategories I look at on every
stool test and how theycorrelate to how you're feeling
day to day.
So the first one is betaglucuronidase.
(04:27):
This is a big marker forhormones, liver, and detox.
And this one is a big deal andit's often missed because beta
glucuronidase is an enzymethat's produced by certain
bacteria in your gut, andessentially its job is to
unlock.
Compounds that your liver hasalready detoxified and packaged
up for you to eliminate.
(04:47):
So things like estrogen or othertoxins, even histamine.
So for all my rashy, allergic,migraine, insomnia, girlies out
there, this could be a big onefor you.
When this enzyme is elevated, itmeans that your body is
recycling what it's trying toget rid of.
(05:07):
So you can think of it like yourgarbage disposal, just throwing
the trash back into yourkitchen.
We don't want that.
And so what happens is Escherdenominate.
Histamine reactions, sluggishdetox, gallbladder congestion,
even skin breakouts can be apart of this.
So your symptoms might includePMS or heavy periods, breast
(05:28):
tenderness, mood swings,bloating, that gets worse around
your period.
Headaches, migraines,irritability, any histamine
symptoms like flushing, sinuscongestion, or even anxiety
after wine or leftovers orfermented foods.
So why does this happen?
(05:48):
It's often a combination ofdysbiosis or too many bad
bacteria.
That are producing that enzyme.
It can be from poor bile flowand it can be from poor or low
fiber diversity.
And so that's why it's importantto not just look at the beta
Gluc glucuronidase and say, oh,you need this supplement for the
beta glucuronidase.
We gotta look at what else doesyour test say?
(06:11):
And why is this happening?
Oh, well your beta glucuronidaseis high.
Because you have really lowbeneficial bacteria, probably
'cause your diet is really lowin fiber or you have a lot of
sticky stool, possibly some bilestuff.
So we really wanna look at it inthe context and we see this
pattern all the time in ourclients who've been on hormonal
(06:33):
birth control, who have ahistory of constipation or who
have done.
Multiple gut protocols that wereway too restrictive.
So some support strategies thatwe always like to bring on board
is definitely increasing fiber,especially soluble fibers like
flax or chia or cooked oats,focusing on cruciferous
vegetables and phase two liversupport nutrients.
(06:54):
So things that have B six andB12 and folate and magnesium.
Adding in bitters or artichoketo get the bile flowing.
And then calcium deg glucaratecan be helpful, but only when
your body is ready.
So when we address this markerproperly, women will often
report lighter periods, improvedmood.
(07:16):
Less bloating improvement intheir cycles.
We actually see this markerelevated in a lot of clients
that have hypothalamic aamenorrhea.
There is such a distinct patternif you fall into that category
where you have a missing periodor even irregular periods as a
result, and your hormones arekind of wacky, this marker might
(07:39):
be elevated on your stool test.
The next finding that we see islow commensal bacteria, which
really this is the foundation ofgut health.
The largest study done to dateon gut health shows that the
wider variety of foods that youeat and the wider amount of
bacteria that you have, thehealthier your gut is.
That's what it comes down to.
And I mean, it's way morecomplicated than that.
(08:00):
That makes it sound so simple.
But these are your beneficialbacteria, your commensal
bacteria, and these are the goodguys that help to make short
chain fatty acids like butyrate,which feed your gut lining.
They regulate your immunesystem.
They reduce inflammation.
They help to support your gutbrain access.
And when these are low, it tellsme that your gut terrain is
(08:21):
really depleted.
So this can show up as, I can'ttolerate fiber.
Every time I eat fiber, I getcramping, I get bloating.
I'm in pain for days.
It could be skin issues likeeczema or acne.
It could be fatigue or brainfog.
It could be leaky gut or foodsensitivities or intestinal
permeability, or even moodsymptoms like anxiety or
(08:44):
depression.
Then of course, gut symptoms,bloating, constipation,
diarrhea, stomach aches, etcetera.
And the reason for this isbecause your gut microbiome is
the source of.
So many important compounds,serotonin, butyrate, B vitamins,
and even signaling moleculesthat help to calm inflammation.
(09:04):
So if you feel inflamed, the keymay actually be your gut
bacteria.
Low commensals are often theresult of restriction.
Low carb diets, repeatedantibiotic use, chronic stress.
When there's not enough food foryour bacteria, they starve.
So when we see something likethis, we want to gradually
(09:25):
increase diversity, colorfulproduce, herbs, resistant
starches.
We want to add polyphenol richfoods like blueberries,
pomegranates, olive oil, greentea.
We wanna consider spore basedprobiotics, which encourage the
native bacteria to regrow.
And then we really wanna repleteminerals because these are super
(09:49):
foundational to your gut health,and your microbes rely on them
too.
So rebuilding this foundationtakes time, but it's what allows
every other part of yourdigestion to improve.
The next one that we see is hpylori.
So this is the stomach acid,iron and energy connection
point.
And let's talk about it.
(10:10):
H Pylori is a bacteria thatlives in the stomach.
It's incredibly common, the mostcommon infection in the world,
but it's not always a bad thing.
But when it overgrows or becomesvirulent, it can suppress
stomach acid production.
And that's the problem becausestomach acid is your first line
of defense.
So it sterilizes food, ittriggers digestive enzymes, and
(10:34):
it allows you to absorbnutrients like iron or zinc or
B12.
When it's low, everythingdownstream suffers.
And that's why you might seesymptoms like reflux or burping
after meals or bloating,especially after protein.
Fatigue or low ferritin thatdoesn't respond to iron
supplements, brittle nails, orhair thinning.
(10:55):
If h pylori is present, itdoesn't always mean that we jump
straight to killing it.
We have to rebuild the stomachenvironment and support
minerals, use bitters, improvedigestion at the top because if
you don't address why itovergrew.
It's gonna come back, and one ofthe reasons that it can come
back is continued exposure, andthat's very easy, especially if
(11:16):
you're sharing saliva withsomebody.
The next one that we see isbacterial overgrowth in
dysbiosis, which can beconnected to sibo, but not
always.
It's not always sibo.
Sometimes it's just lebo orlarge intestinal bacterial
overgrowth.
When your stool test shows highlevels of certain bacteria,
especially opportunistic ones,it's often a sign that your
(11:38):
motility is sluggish or yourmicrobial balance has shifted
because maybe your upstreamdigestion, your stomach acid,
your bile, et cetera, is notworking.
So these bacteria can fermentfood, which produces gas and
bloating, especially later inthe day.
So you might see this as foodintolerances or alternating
bowel patterns or discomfortafter eating certain carbs.
(12:01):
But here's where it gets alittle bit tricky, because the
same bloating could also come.
From low enzymes or low bile orstress-induced slow motility.
And that is why stool testing isso powerful because it helps us
to see the pattern and when wesee overgrowth bacteria, we
really wanna restore normalmotility.
(12:22):
Supporting your minerals, gentlepro kinetics, things like
ginger, sometimes five HTP,sometimes artichoke, whatever it
might be.
We want to support your nervoussystem.
Your gut cannot move properlywhen you're stuck in fight or
flight.
And then we wanna graduallyreintroduce balanced fibers
instead of cutting them outcompletely because we need to
(12:44):
crowd out the bad bacteria.
And just killing things alonedoes not fix the terrain issues,
but we have to rebuild it.
Another one, which is probablythe most common thing that we
see is low secretory IGA.
And this is the immune system ofyour gut.
So secretory, IGA is your gut'simmune coating.
It's kind of like the bodyguardstanding at the entrance to your
(13:07):
gut lining.
And when it's low, it means yourgut.
And your immune system isexhausted.
So the bouncer, the bodyguard,is very understaffed, which is
when you might notice gettingsick more often.
Frequent colds, sinusinfections, especially this time
of year.
Food sensitivities that seem toexpand over time.
(13:27):
This is where you're like, nomatter what I eat, I'm having
symptoms because IGA kind ofwraps food proteins in a blanket
and transports it to tell yourimmune system, Hey, we're good.
There's no need to cause areaction.
But like I said, if the bouncerat the bar is understaffed, then
you're gonna have foodsensitivities.
(13:47):
You might feel really reactiveto what you're eating.
You might have worseningsymptoms during stress.
So stress is one of the biggestdrivers of low IGA.
Even just a week of poor sleepor emotional stress can really
drop these levels, but reallywhat we see is chronic
undereating.
Chronic protocols, like justkilling protocols and killing
(14:09):
SIBO and not leveraging thelifestyle pieces that matter,
your circadian rhythm, thediversity of foods that you eat,
having happiness and joy in yourlife.
Even negative thought patternscan lower this IGA level.
So you really have to not justrely on supplements, we wanna
address stress.
We want to support your mucosallayer, whether that's with
(14:32):
immunoglobulins or lactoferrinor vitamin AA and other
minerals.
We want to also keep mealsconsistent because long fasting
windows can lower this further,and when IGA rebounds, people
often notice that food toleranceimproves dramatically, which
tells us that the gut barrier ishealing.
(14:54):
The next one is low elastase.
So this is where we're lookingat digestive enzymes and how
your body is breaking down food.
Now, low elastase means thatyour pancreas is not producing
enough digestive enzymes tobreak down food, so this can
lead to incomplete digestion,fermentation, and of course
(15:14):
bloating.
Which is why a lot of you I knoware listening to this podcast.
And some common signs caninclude feeling full for hours
after eating, seeing undigestedfood in your stool, floating or
oily stools, cravings for sweetsor crip quick carbs.
'cause your body is trying toget easy energy.
(15:35):
So without enough enzymes, yourgut bacteria will get first dibs
on your food, which leads toovergrowth and inflammation
downstream.
So if this is something thatyou're experiencing, you really
wanna make sure that you arereally emphasizing the cephalic
phase of digestion, chewing,taking your time, not being
distracted while you're eating.
(15:56):
Eating in a relaxed state.
Adding digestive bitters orsomething to stimulate
digestion.
Even just eating bitter foods,maybe using enzymes, rebuilding
minerals to help your bodyproduce more enzymes.
Sometimes you even needglandulars, but you definitely
would wanna check with yourdoctor before you tried
something new.
So this marker is.
(16:19):
Something that improves quicklyonce digestion is supported at
the top.
Kind of along those same lines.
Another one is scr, and this islooking more at fat absorption
and bile flow.
Scrt measures how well you'redigesting and absorbing fats,
and if it's high, it means fatis showing up in your stool
instead of being used for energyand hormone production.
(16:41):
So you might have sticky stool,oily stool, peanut butter,
texture, stool floating stool.
Off colored stool.
You might have fatigue or energycrashes.
You might have low vitamin Dlevels.
Dry skin, hair loss, brittlenails, skin issues.
This is usually a bile flowproblem, and this doesn't just
happen in people without agallbladder.
(17:02):
Your body is either notreleasing or recycling bile
properly, and bile is reallycrucial because it's dishwashing
detergent of your digestivetract, and not only digest fats,
but also helps you to detox.
Estrogen and eliminate toxinsthrough the stool.
So I hope you're realizing here,like this is all connected,
right?
If your scr is high and yourbeta glucuronidase is high,
(17:25):
those are two big flags forestrogen detox.
If your scrt is high and youalso have a low vitamin D and
your elastase is high, and youhave h pylori.
That's more of a pattern of poordigestion in the whole system
kind of slowing down.
We often see high steato root inpeople with low sodium on their
(17:46):
mineral tests because youactually need sodium to make
stomach acid in bile.
So some support strategies wouldbe supporting stomach acid,
maybe using nutrients like toineor choline or artichoke, making
sure your minerals aresupported.
Sometimes you might need bilesalts or bile supports.
And then of course, healthy fatslike olive oil, egg yolks to
(18:07):
help stimulate bile naturally.
Next up is anti glidden, andthis is an interesting one
because if you've listened to.
Any of my podcasts, you know,I'm not a fan of elimination
diets for unnecessary reasons.
So this marker tells us how yourimmune system is responding to
gluten.
And a positive result doesn'talways mean celiac disease, but
(18:29):
what it does suggest is thatyour immune system is reactive.
And that might be because yourgut lining is compromised.
Maybe your IGA A is low, maybeyour immune tolerance is low.
So symptoms can go way beyonddigestion, brain fog, joint
pain, fatigue, anxiety.
So instead of just cutting outgluten forever, the goal is to
rebuild your immune system soit's not on high alert all the
(18:51):
time.
Now, there might be specificinstances where we would
recommend going and gettingceliac testing, maybe.
Anti Glidden is high,calprotectin is high, and or IGA
is high.
In that case, I'm at leastruling out Celiac antibodies to
make sure that that's notsomething we're dealing with.
And fortunately andunfortunately, we have found
(19:13):
Celiac in several clients where.
Their GI doctors just totallymissed it, never tested them,
and years and years had gone byand lots of damage.
And I mean, thank God they knowthat they had it now, but wish
they would've known it sooner.
So when we see anti glide high,we may recommend a short term
elimination of gluten if that'snot gonna cause more stress.
(19:36):
We wanna calm the immune system.
We want to heal the gut lining.
We want to support secretory IGAand just reduce overall
inflammatory load, thinkingabout stress and alcohol and
toxins and all the things.
Next up on those same lines,which I already mentioned is
calprotectin, and this is thegut inflammation marker.
So calprotectin is measuringinflammation from neutrophils in
(19:58):
the gut lining.
If it's mildly elevated, itmight just be from infection or
dysbiosis.
Maybe you have a parasite orsomething.
If it's very high, we oftenthink about inflammatory bowel
disease or if it's coupled withthat anti gladin, possible
celiac or other autoimmunestuff.
But either way, it's telling usyour gut needs calm.
(20:19):
Chronic inflammation can drivefatigue, poor nutrient
absorption, mood changes becauseit affects neurotransmitter
production.
So the support strategies thatwe need here are, why is it high
identifying?
Is it sibo?
Is it an infection?
We need to soothe the gutlining.
We also wanna lower stresssupport and really focus on
(20:39):
things like sleep and stressreduction.
So how do we bring this alltogether?
And this is where stool testinggets really powerful.
When you look at the results asa whole, you really start to see
patterns.
For example, I've alreadymentioned a few, but what if you
have high beta glucuronidase?
High scr?
I'm really thinking aboutsluggish bile flow and poor
(21:01):
estrogen detox.
What if you have low elastase orpancreatic enzyme output and
bacterial overgrowth?
This is gonna be poor digestionleading to that fermentation.
Or what if you have lowsecretory IGA and low commensals
are beneficial bacteria, thenwe're really just looking at a
really weakened gut barrier inimmune system.
(21:22):
And those patterns explain whyyour symptoms overlap and we're
not just gonna slap, oh, youhave low IGA take this.
Oh, you have h pylori.
Take this.
How does it all work together?
Because bloating and fatigue andhormone issues and constipation
and diarrhea and all the thingsare not separate problems.
They're connected through thesame systems.
(21:45):
So if you're listening to thisand thinking, wow, this explains
so much, I've never had thiskind of data.
And you don't know what'sdriving your symptoms.
There's a couple options foryou.
Number one is I'm running a freewebinar this coming Sunday on
October 19th, so if you'relistening to this on the day it
comes out, you've got a coupledays to get registered, it's
totally free.
(22:06):
This is a brand new trainingwhere I'm gonna walk you through
exactly how to interpret yoursymptoms and why they keep
coming back, and some successstories of our clients.
And then opportunity to workwith our team.
Or if you're just ready to cutto the chase and get support,
you can do that too.
We will leave the link to applyto work with our team one-on-one
(22:27):
in the show notes, and we canhelp you get to the root of
this.
If you come to the webinar onSunday, it's completely free.
You do need to register if youwant to get the replay.
And I'm gonna walk you throughthe most common root causes that
are not addressed, the mostcommon patterns.
In the step-by-step frameworkthat we use to turn really
(22:47):
confusing symptoms into anactual plan.
So I hope to see you Sunday, orI hope to see your application
come through to work with ourteam.
But either way, I hope that thishas been helpful and encouraging
for you, and I'll see you nextweek on the next episode of the
Love Your Gut podcast.
Welcome to the Love Your GutPodcast.
I'm your host, Dr.
Heather Finley, registereddietitian and gut health
specialist.
I understand the frustration ofdealing with GI issues because
I've been there and I spent overtwo decades searching for
answers for my own gut issues ofconstipation, bloating, and
stomach pain.
I've dedicated my life tounderstanding and solving my own
(00:25):
gut issues.
And now I'm here to guide you.
On this podcast, I'll help youidentify the true root causes of
your discomfort.
So you can finally ditch yoursymptoms for good.
My goal is to empower you withthe knowledge and tools you need
so that you can love your gutand it will love you right back.
So if you're ready to learn alot, gain a deeper understanding
(00:47):
of your gut and find lastingrelief.
You are in the right place.
Welcome to the love your gutpodcast.
If you've ever done a stool testand felt totally overwhelmed by
the results, or you've wonderedwhat a stool test could tell you
about your symptoms, or wonderedif those numbers.
Actually explain your bloating,your skin issues, or your
(01:09):
fatigue.
You are not alone, and this isthe episode for you.
I can't tell you how manyclients come to us saying, I've
done all the diets, Heather,I've done all the supplements.
I've tried every doctor, I'vedone all the things that the
influencers on Instagram aretelling me to do, and I'm still
symptomatic.
And I, I get it because I'vebeen there too, and I know how
(01:34):
frustrating that is.
Then when we finally run a stooltest, they say something like, I
wish I'd done this years ago,or, this explains so much, even
if they've done one prior.
The stool test that we do is abit different than what you're
gonna get from your doctor, andI have a whole episode, couple
episodes back on the GI Map, soyou can go back and listen to
that if you're curious.
(01:54):
This one is gonna be morefocused on symptoms.
That you might have and whatmight show up on your test, but
here's the truth.
Your symptoms, your bloating,your constipation, your fatigue,
your skin breakouts, anxiety.
They don't really tell the wholestory because those same
symptoms can be caused bycompletely different imbalances
in different people, and that'swhy you're stuck throwing
(02:17):
spaghetti at the wall and notgetting anywhere because you
don't actually know what'scausing your symptoms, and
that's why stool testing is oneof my favorite tools.
It's not just about finding thebad thing or the bacteria or the
infection, it's about seeing howit all works together.
How does your digestion, yourdetox, your liver, your immune
(02:39):
system, your microbiome, how arethey all communicating with each
other and are there possibledownstream effects that are
happening?
So you can think of it likethis.
Your stool test is kind of likea map.
It tells us not just what ishappening, but also why and how
it's all connected.
And then we can create a planfor how we're gonna get there.
(03:01):
But before we dive into themarkers, I wanna make something
super clear.
You cannot just treat a test.
And I talk about that in theother episode, but that is where
stool testing goes wrong, is apractitioner sees h pylori and
they say, here's the protocol,here's the plan.
Follow the plan.
But yet they're not consideringhow you got that.
(03:22):
What else has happened as aresult, a stool test doesn't
tell you which pills orsupplements to take.
It tells you where your bodyneeds support, and I've seen
this mistake over and overagain.
Where someone gets their testback, they freak out about high
markers or red markers.
They just start killing offeverything.
(03:42):
Throwing antimicrobials orprobiotics at the problem.
And they're not asking thequestion, why are these markers
off?
And so you still end up playingWhack-a-Mole.
Your stool test is really awindow into your gut function,
and it shows how your systemsare working together or how they
aren't working together.
And that's where the realhealing happens is not just in
(04:04):
chasing different lab numbers ortrying to totally get rid of
something, but understanding thephysiology behind them.
And making targeted changes toyour nutrition, your lifestyle,
and your supplements alltogether.
So let's go through the maincategories I look at on every
stool test and how theycorrelate to how you're feeling
day to day.
So the first one is betaglucuronidase.
(04:27):
This is a big marker forhormones, liver, and detox.
And this one is a big deal andit's often missed because beta
glucuronidase is an enzymethat's produced by certain
bacteria in your gut, andessentially its job is to
unlock.
Compounds that your liver hasalready detoxified and packaged
up for you to eliminate.
(04:47):
So things like estrogen or othertoxins, even histamine.
So for all my rashy, allergic,migraine, insomnia, girlies out
there, this could be a big onefor you.
When this enzyme is elevated, itmeans that your body is
recycling what it's trying toget rid of.
(05:07):
So you can think of it like yourgarbage disposal, just throwing
the trash back into yourkitchen.
We don't want that.
And so what happens is Escherdenominate.
Histamine reactions, sluggishdetox, gallbladder congestion,
even skin breakouts can be apart of this.
So your symptoms might includePMS or heavy periods, breast
(05:28):
tenderness, mood swings,bloating, that gets worse around
your period.
Headaches, migraines,irritability, any histamine
symptoms like flushing, sinuscongestion, or even anxiety
after wine or leftovers orfermented foods.
So why does this happen?
(05:48):
It's often a combination ofdysbiosis or too many bad
bacteria.
That are producing that enzyme.
It can be from poor bile flowand it can be from poor or low
fiber diversity.
And so that's why it's importantto not just look at the beta
Gluc glucuronidase and say, oh,you need this supplement for the
beta glucuronidase.
We gotta look at what else doesyour test say?
(06:11):
And why is this happening?
Oh, well your beta glucuronidaseis high.
Because you have really lowbeneficial bacteria, probably
'cause your diet is really lowin fiber or you have a lot of
sticky stool, possibly some bilestuff.
So we really wanna look at it inthe context and we see this
pattern all the time in ourclients who've been on hormonal
(06:33):
birth control, who have ahistory of constipation or who
have done.
Multiple gut protocols that wereway too restrictive.
So some support strategies thatwe always like to bring on board
is definitely increasing fiber,especially soluble fibers like
flax or chia or cooked oats,focusing on cruciferous
vegetables and phase two liversupport nutrients.
(06:54):
So things that have B six andB12 and folate and magnesium.
Adding in bitters or artichoketo get the bile flowing.
And then calcium deg glucaratecan be helpful, but only when
your body is ready.
So when we address this markerproperly, women will often
report lighter periods, improvedmood.
(07:16):
Less bloating improvement intheir cycles.
We actually see this markerelevated in a lot of clients
that have hypothalamic aamenorrhea.
There is such a distinct patternif you fall into that category
where you have a missing periodor even irregular periods as a
result, and your hormones arekind of wacky, this marker might
(07:39):
be elevated on your stool test.
The next finding that we see islow commensal bacteria, which
really this is the foundation ofgut health.
The largest study done to dateon gut health shows that the
wider variety of foods that youeat and the wider amount of
bacteria that you have, thehealthier your gut is.
That's what it comes down to.
And I mean, it's way morecomplicated than that.
(08:00):
That makes it sound so simple.
But these are your beneficialbacteria, your commensal
bacteria, and these are the goodguys that help to make short
chain fatty acids like butyrate,which feed your gut lining.
They regulate your immunesystem.
They reduce inflammation.
They help to support your gutbrain access.
And when these are low, it tellsme that your gut terrain is
(08:21):
really depleted.
So this can show up as, I can'ttolerate fiber.
Every time I eat fiber, I getcramping, I get bloating.
I'm in pain for days.
It could be skin issues likeeczema or acne.
It could be fatigue or brainfog.
It could be leaky gut or foodsensitivities or intestinal
permeability, or even moodsymptoms like anxiety or
(08:44):
depression.
Then of course, gut symptoms,bloating, constipation,
diarrhea, stomach aches, etcetera.
And the reason for this isbecause your gut microbiome is
the source of.
So many important compounds,serotonin, butyrate, B vitamins,
and even signaling moleculesthat help to calm inflammation.
(09:04):
So if you feel inflamed, the keymay actually be your gut
bacteria.
Low commensals are often theresult of restriction.
Low carb diets, repeatedantibiotic use, chronic stress.
When there's not enough food foryour bacteria, they starve.
So when we see something likethis, we want to gradually
(09:25):
increase diversity, colorfulproduce, herbs, resistant
starches.
We want to add polyphenol richfoods like blueberries,
pomegranates, olive oil, greentea.
We wanna consider spore basedprobiotics, which encourage the
native bacteria to regrow.
And then we really wanna repleteminerals because these are super
(09:49):
foundational to your gut health,and your microbes rely on them
too.
So rebuilding this foundationtakes time, but it's what allows
every other part of yourdigestion to improve.
The next one that we see is hpylori.
So this is the stomach acid,iron and energy connection
point.
And let's talk about it.
(10:10):
H Pylori is a bacteria thatlives in the stomach.
It's incredibly common, the mostcommon infection in the world,
but it's not always a bad thing.
But when it overgrows or becomesvirulent, it can suppress
stomach acid production.
And that's the problem becausestomach acid is your first line
of defense.
So it sterilizes food, ittriggers digestive enzymes, and
(10:34):
it allows you to absorbnutrients like iron or zinc or
B12.
When it's low, everythingdownstream suffers.
And that's why you might seesymptoms like reflux or burping
after meals or bloating,especially after protein.
Fatigue or low ferritin thatdoesn't respond to iron
supplements, brittle nails, orhair thinning.
(10:55):
If h pylori is present, itdoesn't always mean that we jump
straight to killing it.
We have to rebuild the stomachenvironment and support
minerals, use bitters, improvedigestion at the top because if
you don't address why itovergrew.
It's gonna come back, and one ofthe reasons that it can come
back is continued exposure, andthat's very easy, especially if
(11:16):
you're sharing saliva withsomebody.
The next one that we see isbacterial overgrowth in
dysbiosis, which can beconnected to sibo, but not
always.
It's not always sibo.
Sometimes it's just lebo orlarge intestinal bacterial
overgrowth.
When your stool test shows highlevels of certain bacteria,
especially opportunistic ones,it's often a sign that your
(11:38):
motility is sluggish or yourmicrobial balance has shifted
because maybe your upstreamdigestion, your stomach acid,
your bile, et cetera, is notworking.
So these bacteria can fermentfood, which produces gas and
bloating, especially later inthe day.
So you might see this as foodintolerances or alternating
bowel patterns or discomfortafter eating certain carbs.
(12:01):
But here's where it gets alittle bit tricky, because the
same bloating could also come.
From low enzymes or low bile orstress-induced slow motility.
And that is why stool testing isso powerful because it helps us
to see the pattern and when wesee overgrowth bacteria, we
really wanna restore normalmotility.
(12:22):
Supporting your minerals, gentlepro kinetics, things like
ginger, sometimes five HTP,sometimes artichoke, whatever it
might be.
We want to support your nervoussystem.
Your gut cannot move properlywhen you're stuck in fight or
flight.
And then we wanna graduallyreintroduce balanced fibers
instead of cutting them outcompletely because we need to
(12:44):
crowd out the bad bacteria.
And just killing things alonedoes not fix the terrain issues,
but we have to rebuild it.
Another one, which is probablythe most common thing that we
see is low secretory IGA.
And this is the immune system ofyour gut.
So secretory, IGA is your gut'simmune coating.
It's kind of like the bodyguardstanding at the entrance to your
(13:07):
gut lining.
And when it's low, it means yourgut.
And your immune system isexhausted.
So the bouncer, the bodyguard,is very understaffed, which is
when you might notice gettingsick more often.
Frequent colds, sinusinfections, especially this time
of year.
Food sensitivities that seem toexpand over time.
(13:27):
This is where you're like, nomatter what I eat, I'm having
symptoms because IGA kind ofwraps food proteins in a blanket
and transports it to tell yourimmune system, Hey, we're good.
There's no need to cause areaction.
But like I said, if the bouncerat the bar is understaffed, then
you're gonna have foodsensitivities.
(13:47):
You might feel really reactiveto what you're eating.
You might have worseningsymptoms during stress.
So stress is one of the biggestdrivers of low IGA.
Even just a week of poor sleepor emotional stress can really
drop these levels, but reallywhat we see is chronic
undereating.
Chronic protocols, like justkilling protocols and killing
(14:09):
SIBO and not leveraging thelifestyle pieces that matter,
your circadian rhythm, thediversity of foods that you eat,
having happiness and joy in yourlife.
Even negative thought patternscan lower this IGA level.
So you really have to not justrely on supplements, we wanna
address stress.
We want to support your mucosallayer, whether that's with
(14:32):
immunoglobulins or lactoferrinor vitamin AA and other
minerals.
We want to also keep mealsconsistent because long fasting
windows can lower this further,and when IGA rebounds, people
often notice that food toleranceimproves dramatically, which
tells us that the gut barrier ishealing.
(14:54):
The next one is low elastase.
So this is where we're lookingat digestive enzymes and how
your body is breaking down food.
Now, low elastase means thatyour pancreas is not producing
enough digestive enzymes tobreak down food, so this can
lead to incomplete digestion,fermentation, and of course
(15:14):
bloating.
Which is why a lot of you I knoware listening to this podcast.
And some common signs caninclude feeling full for hours
after eating, seeing undigestedfood in your stool, floating or
oily stools, cravings for sweetsor crip quick carbs.
'cause your body is trying toget easy energy.
(15:35):
So without enough enzymes, yourgut bacteria will get first dibs
on your food, which leads toovergrowth and inflammation
downstream.
So if this is something thatyou're experiencing, you really
wanna make sure that you arereally emphasizing the cephalic
phase of digestion, chewing,taking your time, not being
distracted while you're eating.
(15:56):
Eating in a relaxed state.
Adding digestive bitters orsomething to stimulate
digestion.
Even just eating bitter foods,maybe using enzymes, rebuilding
minerals to help your bodyproduce more enzymes.
Sometimes you even needglandulars, but you definitely
would wanna check with yourdoctor before you tried
something new.
So this marker is.
(16:19):
Something that improves quicklyonce digestion is supported at
the top.
Kind of along those same lines.
Another one is scr, and this islooking more at fat absorption
and bile flow.
Scrt measures how well you'redigesting and absorbing fats,
and if it's high, it means fatis showing up in your stool
instead of being used for energyand hormone production.
(16:41):
So you might have sticky stool,oily stool, peanut butter,
texture, stool floating stool.
Off colored stool.
You might have fatigue or energycrashes.
You might have low vitamin Dlevels.
Dry skin, hair loss, brittlenails, skin issues.
This is usually a bile flowproblem, and this doesn't just
happen in people without agallbladder.
(17:02):
Your body is either notreleasing or recycling bile
properly, and bile is reallycrucial because it's dishwashing
detergent of your digestivetract, and not only digest fats,
but also helps you to detox.
Estrogen and eliminate toxinsthrough the stool.
So I hope you're realizing here,like this is all connected,
right?
If your scr is high and yourbeta glucuronidase is high,
(17:25):
those are two big flags forestrogen detox.
If your scrt is high and youalso have a low vitamin D and
your elastase is high, and youhave h pylori.
That's more of a pattern of poordigestion in the whole system
kind of slowing down.
We often see high steato root inpeople with low sodium on their
(17:46):
mineral tests because youactually need sodium to make
stomach acid in bile.
So some support strategies wouldbe supporting stomach acid,
maybe using nutrients like toineor choline or artichoke, making
sure your minerals aresupported.
Sometimes you might need bilesalts or bile supports.
And then of course, healthy fatslike olive oil, egg yolks to
(18:07):
help stimulate bile naturally.
Next up is anti glidden, andthis is an interesting one
because if you've listened to.
Any of my podcasts, you know,I'm not a fan of elimination
diets for unnecessary reasons.
So this marker tells us how yourimmune system is responding to
gluten.
And a positive result doesn'talways mean celiac disease, but
(18:29):
what it does suggest is thatyour immune system is reactive.
And that might be because yourgut lining is compromised.
Maybe your IGA A is low, maybeyour immune tolerance is low.
So symptoms can go way beyonddigestion, brain fog, joint
pain, fatigue, anxiety.
So instead of just cutting outgluten forever, the goal is to
rebuild your immune system soit's not on high alert all the
(18:51):
time.
Now, there might be specificinstances where we would
recommend going and gettingceliac testing, maybe.
Anti Glidden is high,calprotectin is high, and or IGA
is high.
In that case, I'm at leastruling out Celiac antibodies to
make sure that that's notsomething we're dealing with.
And fortunately andunfortunately, we have found
(19:13):
Celiac in several clients where.
Their GI doctors just totallymissed it, never tested them,
and years and years had gone byand lots of damage.
And I mean, thank God they knowthat they had it now, but wish
they would've known it sooner.
So when we see anti glide high,we may recommend a short term
elimination of gluten if that'snot gonna cause more stress.
(19:36):
We wanna calm the immune system.
We want to heal the gut lining.
We want to support secretory IGAand just reduce overall
inflammatory load, thinkingabout stress and alcohol and
toxins and all the things.
Next up on those same lines,which I already mentioned is
calprotectin, and this is thegut inflammation marker.
So calprotectin is measuringinflammation from neutrophils in
(19:58):
the gut lining.
If it's mildly elevated, itmight just be from infection or
dysbiosis.
Maybe you have a parasite orsomething.
If it's very high, we oftenthink about inflammatory bowel
disease or if it's coupled withthat anti gladin, possible
celiac or other autoimmunestuff.
But either way, it's telling usyour gut needs calm.
(20:19):
Chronic inflammation can drivefatigue, poor nutrient
absorption, mood changes becauseit affects neurotransmitter
production.
So the support strategies thatwe need here are, why is it high
identifying?
Is it sibo?
Is it an infection?
We need to soothe the gutlining.
We also wanna lower stresssupport and really focus on
(20:39):
things like sleep and stressreduction.
So how do we bring this alltogether?
And this is where stool testinggets really powerful.
When you look at the results asa whole, you really start to see
patterns.
For example, I've alreadymentioned a few, but what if you
have high beta glucuronidase?
High scr?
I'm really thinking aboutsluggish bile flow and poor
(21:01):
estrogen detox.
What if you have low elastase orpancreatic enzyme output and
bacterial overgrowth?
This is gonna be poor digestionleading to that fermentation.
Or what if you have lowsecretory IGA and low commensals
are beneficial bacteria, thenwe're really just looking at a
really weakened gut barrier inimmune system.
(21:22):
And those patterns explain whyyour symptoms overlap and we're
not just gonna slap, oh, youhave low IGA take this.
Oh, you have h pylori.
Take this.
How does it all work together?
Because bloating and fatigue andhormone issues and constipation
and diarrhea and all the thingsare not separate problems.
They're connected through thesame systems.
(21:45):
So if you're listening to thisand thinking, wow, this explains
so much, I've never had thiskind of data.
And you don't know what'sdriving your symptoms.
There's a couple options foryou.
Number one is I'm running a freewebinar this coming Sunday on
October 19th, so if you'relistening to this on the day it
comes out, you've got a coupledays to get registered, it's
totally free.
(22:06):
This is a brand new trainingwhere I'm gonna walk you through
exactly how to interpret yoursymptoms and why they keep
coming back, and some successstories of our clients.
And then opportunity to workwith our team.
Or if you're just ready to cutto the chase and get support,
you can do that too.
We will leave the link to applyto work with our team one-on-one
(22:27):
in the show notes, and we canhelp you get to the root of
this.
If you come to the webinar onSunday, it's completely free.
You do need to register if youwant to get the replay.
And I'm gonna walk you throughthe most common root causes that
are not addressed, the mostcommon patterns.
In the step-by-step frameworkthat we use to turn really
(22:47):
confusing symptoms into anactual plan.
So I hope to see you Sunday, orI hope to see your application
come through to work with ourteam.
But either way, I hope that thishas been helpful and encouraging
for you, and I'll see you nextweek on the next episode of the
Love Your Gut podcast.
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