A stool test is a critical part of a comprehensive gut evaluation. However, not all stool tests are created equal. And unfortunately, your doctor may not know that. Many health practitioners understand that treating the gut is important for many health conditions, but most of them don’t know the best way to evaluate the gut. This article reviews the basics of stool testing so you don’t waste your money on the wrong test.

Butyrate is a really important fatty acid, not just for our gut, but also our entire body. Butyrate is made by bacteria in our gut when they ferment starches.

Maybe you have heard that your gut health may be contributing to autoimmune disease. Maybe you have even heard that your gut bacteria influence your immune system. But how? To answer that, we have to talk about endotoxin and alkaline phosphatase.

You see, conventional medicine doesn't teach doctors how to properly assess thyroid function. They only teach doctors how to detect severe thyroid dysfunction. Because it is only when thyroid dysfunction is severe that conventional medicine can treat it (with drugs and surgery). Conventional medicine is not interested in knowing when your thyroid dysfunction is mild or moderate because they can do nothing to help you. So most doctors are not interested in looking for a problem if they can't fix it. So they don't run the right tests.

But lucky for you, there are doctors, such as myself, that know how to detect and treat all stages of thyroid dysfunction.

If you have been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), chances are that you actually have small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Normally, you have small amounts of bacteria present in your small intestine. In SIBO, the bacteria proliferate in your small intestine where they ferment sugars from your food leading to digestive symptoms.