I am often asked by clients my opinion of stool testing. My opinion on this subject has evolved over the years. Before we began the GAPS diet we did stool testing for my son, Raleigh. We went through the company Viome. It was very expensive and overall didn’t give much insight into anything. But when you find yourself scraping the bottom, and not knowing how to help your chronically sick child, you will do or pay anything with the hope of finding an answer. That was me.
Stool sample testing is a very mainstream approach these days. Over the last decade it has grown in popularity. However, stool testing gives a skewed picture of what is going on in the gut. It is like taking a snap-shot in time and this limits what can be found in the sample.
Dr Natasha actually recommends starting the GAPS diet, pooling your monetary resources into high quality food over these types of tests. She also says there could be some value in testing after spending 1-2 years on the diet if there is still an unresolved issue or ailment. The testing may help you pinpoint something very valuable at that time.
Food really is medicine. It covers a lot of bases. However, sometimes you need other modalities to help round out the healing. Stool testing could be one of these other modalities, serving the purpose of helping you figure out a very difficult and stubborn piece of the healing puzzle.
Overall, it is far better to spend your hard-earned resources on the diet and focusing on food as medicine at the beginning. The body wants to heal and will heal when given the proper nutrition.
What Viome found was not nearly as accurate as what I found in the day-to-day, month-by-month process of Raleigh consuming GAPS foods. I found far more food sensitivities as I began to add foods back in than Viome found in his stool sample. Following the GAPS protocol allowed his body to heal and recover all of his food sensitivities. Overall, it is just better to do the diet and allow the body to do its work for a time. Trust the process.
If you are navigating life with food allergies, sensitivities and intolerance please check out my DIY course designed to help you navigate GAPS with these issues. You can check it out here.