Groundbreaking Technology To Help Fix Your Gut Health (And The Top 5 Markers I Analyze!)

Gut health is one of my FAVORITE topics to talk about. And not only because I struggled with it for years and years….. And honestly when I say years I mean I can remember being a little girl with chronic stomach aches. I was constantly constipated and ended up going in between severe constipation and then being up all night with diarrhea. Just because my body was so constipated that it eventually needed to let all of it out. This went on for YEARS! That is why I am so excited about this new test. I wanted to talk about the new technology that is coming out to help us test our microbiome and figure out what the heck is going on inside of us. It is called the GIMAP and it maps out our gastrointestinal genetic code. I want to explain what it is, how it tests this, and then the top 5 markers I look at when I analyze your GIMAP results!

We are made up of genetic DNA and our gut has its genetic makeup because it houses trillions of bacteria. Just think about this for a second, you're basically an ecosystem (your gut microbiome) inside of an ecosystem. You have multiple levels of DNA inside of you:

-Your own DNA

-DNA of some bacteria, yeast, fungus, or pathogen.

There is a lot of DNA and genetics going on and when you put it all together, a lot can happen…...Good or bad. I have recently started to carry the GIMAP in my clinic.. It maps out our Gastrointestinal Genetic Code through PCR testing. Basically what it does is measure the gastrointestinal microbiota DNA through real-time PCR testing. It tests the genetic material of our microbiome. Alongside testing for good or bad bacteria, it also tests for parasites and worms. This is one of the most in-depth microbiome analyses that I have come across.

The GIMAP is going to be useful if you are someone who struggles with digestive issues:

-You have chronic constipation

-Always bloated

-Have stomach aches often

-Chronic headaches

-Achy joints

-Fatigue

Those can all stem from your digestive microbiome. You don't have to only experience digestive issues to have gut issues. If you don't even experience gut issues but you have the headaches, achy joint, the malaise where nothing really excites you and you're just moping through life because you have no spice for it anymore. That can all stem from your microbiome. This is because trillions of bacteria that have their OWN genetic DNA are dictating YOUR genetic material and how your genes are expressed in your body. We are born with certain DNA and genetics and we cannot change that they are simply a blueprint NOT a life sentence. Getting this GIMAP done to see how the trillions of cells are dictating some of your genetic expression can be REALLY beneficial.

Just to put it in perspective for you, there are about 25 billion constellations in the sky…..There are over 100 trillion bacteria in your gut! Think about the vastness you see when you are in the woods and you look up to the sky. That is such a minuet amount than what is living in your gut! Sit and think about that…..

The GIMAP detects microbes that may be disturbing your normal microbiome balance. And those could be contributing to illness. That is what this test looks for and can help us map out your GI Tract. I get back an intense report and it can provide so much information but I pulled out 5 of the markers that I think a lot of us are typically interested in and can wrap our brain around for right now!

1. Calprotectin Levels And Gut Inflammation!

Most of us have some level of inflammation in our gut. This marker helps us determine the actual level of inflammation that is in our GI tract. It is the most studied marker of gastric inflammation so it gives us the best understanding of the inflammation in your gut. This inflammation can mean any number of things:

-It can mean you're eating some of the wrong foods that your body cannot handle

-You may have some form of leaky gut

Calprotectin levels are one of the major markers that I look at to see if there is any GI inflammation going on. If there is, we will need to bring that down because inflammation is going to wreak havoc on your health in every way possible

2. Digestive Enzyme Elastase 1 For Building New Cells

This is a digestive enzyme that is secreted exclusively by the pancreas. This indicates how the pancreas is functioning. The pancreas is very critical in digestion because it releases really important enzymes to break down our food. That then breaks down into the building blocks that can build muscles and continue to help us build healthy cells. Our cells are always dying and needing to rebuild themselves. We want to make sure we have the best building blocks to rebuild them. This marker helps us see if the pancreas is functioning optimally and if it's not then we can take measures to improve it.

3. Gut Health And High Amounts Of Fat In Stools

The amount of fat in your stool gives some indication of whether or not you have some maldigestion or malabsorption going on. It’s very likely that if you are on something like the keto/high-fat diet craze, you are going to find some fat in your stool because your body is so overwhelmed by all of the fat…...It takes a lot of effort to digest that amount of fat. But in general, if we do see fat, it’s going to indicate that you aren't absorbing it and your digestive fire isn’t strong enough to handle it. Even if you believe that you don’t eat a lot of fat, if you have it in your stool then that's a high indicator that you are not absorbing that good healthy fat AND you aren’t reaping the benefits of it. Once we know this we need to figure out how to help it and it usually goes back to the liver and the gallbladder. They may be overworked and cannot break all of those fats down.

4. Anti-Gliadin Might Show You That You Have A Gluten Sensitivity!

Gliadin is a component of gluten and if there's any presence of this then it can show that you have an immune response to gluten. I know gluten, gluten-free, and gluten blah blah blah has been around for quite some time now. People are still curious about whether it's just a fad or not. It's not a fad but I'm not saying everyone needs to go gluten-free. The people who are having an immune response to it need to. You do not want your immune system to be responding to the foods you are eating. You want it to deal with problems like pathogens, bad bacteria, and overall protection. You don't want it to be responding to foods you're eating because that is just going to create INFLAMMATION. This will create chronic problems and diseases down the line. When we look at this we want to see if you're having any sort of an immune response to gluten. This can help immensely because once you take out the gluten your body can start to repair itself.

5. Zonulin And Leaky Gut Syndrome

This marker gives us a good indication of any barrier permeability or leaky gut that might be going on. If you have any gut permeability, that allows food particles and toxins to seep out into your bloodstream that are not supposed to be there. When you are suffering from leaky gut, you might eat something as simple as a cucumber and have a reaction. Because when those cucumber particles are broken down they are not supposed to be in your bloodstream so your body is going to trigger an immune response.

Even something as non-threatening as a cucumber can trigger your body into thinking that it has an invader. That is an immune response and that is going to trigger inflammation. We do not want any permeability going on because that is only going to set you up for failure with everything that you eat. If you're someone who chronically has stomach aches or doesn’t feel good after they eat you might have some leaky gut issues. We need to address those. It is very simple to address you just need to know what to do. This gives us great insight into what to implement.

Those are the top 5 markers that I look at! The microbiome is so complex. We can pull every measure out of the handbook and try to figure out what is going on and:

-What is making you not feel great

-What might be causing your digestive issues

-What is causing your lack of energy

But we are basically throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks unless we do some sort of GI test or lab testing to give us a better indication of what is going on.

I know that this is not always feasible for people. Sometimes we may need to go a more lengthy route of trying different things, elimination diets, adding in certain gut-healing foods, and this can be helpful but it may take a little bit longer. But now we have amazing technology that helps give us some really good insight. I am excited to announce that I offer this at my clinic! This will get you on your gut healing journey. You don't have to suffer from these issues all your life. I felt like that when I was younger and I thought it was just what my genetics gave me, and that doesn't have to be your narrative.

I ship the sample to your house and you take it from the comfort of your own home, (t's not that creepy and weird.) Then you ship it to the lab, it takes around 14 days for the results, we jump on a call, and we go over your results and we come up with your personalized protocol. It is so simple and easy but can be SO impactful for your health. You can find me on instagram @detoxingwithdani and if you want deeper info on this test you can email me at contact@detoxingwithdani.com. Let’s get these markers tested and have you on your way to your best gut health ever!

Ever feel like you are just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks when it comes to your gut healing journey? I know I did for a longggg time and I wish there was something like this that was around back then to help guide me on my journey. Today I am sharing one of the most innovative and ground breaking technologies we have to help us map out the gut microbiome to create a clear road map towards healing.

To order the GI Map please email: contact@detoxingwithdani.com

For questions DM Dani on IG @detoxingwithdani

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GUT HEALTH | Groundbreaking Technology To Help You Fix Your Gut Health_065