WHY:
The gut is often referred to as the “second brain”. Gut health impacts your overall health, especially for fertility. Gut dysbiosis, an imbalance of beneficial and pathologic microbes, can significantly affect hormones and is also associated with infertility. GI-Map is a comprehensive stool analysis that will check if there are known or suspected gut issues.
THE GI-MAP + ZONULIN EVALUATES:
Calprotectin– a measure of inflammation in the gut. Can be a sign of Crohn’s disease or IBD
Pancreatic elastase– the level of enzyme activity- how good are your levels of enzymes that digest protein, fat, carbs, and fiber.
Secretory IgA– a marker of the ‘reactivity’ of your gut immune layer. It represents the first line of immune defense of the gut. This is important when evaluating food intolerances
Zonulin– a marker of leaky gut (intestinal permeability)
B-glucoronidase- a measure of re-circulating toxins between the gut and the liver. You’ll see this marker elevated with excess estrogen and in people with poor liver detoxification
Steatocrit- amount of fat in the stool- measures fat absorption
Gliadin IgA– an excellent measure of gluten intolerance
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM GUT TESTING:
There are many connections between gut health and fertility including:
Hormone Balance: Your gut directly plays a role in balancing the levels of estrogen in your body.
Nutritional Absorption: By assessing dysbiosis and intestinal health markers we are helping to optimize nutrient absorption which has a direct impact on egg quality, hormones, and metabolism.
Inflammation: When we work on fertility, we are always wanting to reduce inflammation. If toxins from the GI tract leak into the bloodstream, it causes an immune response by the body, and triggers inflammation. By testing Zonulin, we can find out if leaky gut is playing a factor in fertility challenges.
The GI-MAP +Zonulin allows us to create personalized treatment protocols to address gut dysfunction based on which infections are urgent, which areas of the gut are already optimized, and which areas should be addressed after an infection is resolved.
WHY THIS GUT TEST:
At Blue Ova, we use the GI MAP + Zonulin because we believe it provides the most comprehensive analysis of the gut microbiome compared to any other gut health test on the market. The test looks at the specific genomes of these organisms that reside in the intestinal ecology. It’s a “Quantitate DNA test” – or real-time test – which differentiates this test from other tests on the market.
COLLECTION:
GI-MAP + Zonulin
Testing performed: At home
Specimen type: Stool
Shipment: The test is shipped directly to your home in 2-3 days. Once completed, you drop ship the sample in the provided return envelope.
Estimated Turnaround Time: 14 days
COST:
$595 (current clients) / $700 (new clients) - includes lab, results interpretation, virtual review with our functional medicine practitioner and tailored recommendations. (Note: new clients will have additional time during their review for their health history intake)