An “ova and parasites exam”, which is a common laboratory test, looks for several tiny parasites that are not harmful to humans and are not caused by bacteria. Infection with Helicobacter pylori, for example, may be detected by stool testing; this is the bacteria that is most well-known for its role in the development of stomach ulcers and other digestive problems. In addition, doctors can use stool tests to detect an elevated level of a protein called faecal calprotectin, which is a reliable marker for intestinal inflammation, to determine if you have (or are experiencing a flare-up of) Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, both of which can be life-threatening conditions.

There are a few things that stool tests are not capable of diagnosing:

The results of stool tests can be helpful in the identification of many conditions; nevertheless, your faeces do not give a full picture of your general health and well-being. In the same manner that tea leaves can be read, faeces have the potential to be read as well. Although different companies and service providers assert that stool tests may reliably diagnose the following conditions, there is no persuasive scientific evidence to support this claim.

To diagnose lactose intolerance, celiac disease, “gluten sensitivity,” or any other type of food allergy or digestive food sensitivity, stool analysis must be performed. However, this is not a scientifically credible approach of diagnosing these disorders. Anyone who argues otherwise is expressing a personal point of view that is not backed up by evidence or facts. So, stool tests are unable to give any evidence-based recommendations about the kind of foods you should consume. Learn more about microbiomes, pathology testing, gut bacteria and much more from pathologytesting.com.au

As an additional point of clarification, while stool samples can provide information about the organisms that live in your colon or large intestine, they are unable to provide information about the organisms that live in your small intestine or whether you have an abnormally high number of them residing there. Anyone who claims to be able to diagnose an illness known as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (or SIBO) based only on a stool sample is engaged in a very unethical practice known as alternative facts in today’s world of information.’Dysbiosis’ is a phrase that is widely used to describe a bacterial inner ecology that is harmful to the gut; you’ll see it cited frequently in the findings of commercially available stool tests, which are available online. However, it is not a scientific expression in the strictest sense, and it may be used for a broad variety of scenarios and circumstances. Examples of outcomes of low levels of diversity include low levels of bacterial species variety in general, low levels of presence of certain species known to promote good health, and high levels of abundance of species and strains linked to illness, all of which are possible outcomes of low levels of diversity.