Very commonly, I will work up patients with a stool microbiology test to assess overall gastrointestinal flora. This is a stool culture test that is unique in that it not only looks to culture disease-causing germs, but also looks to quantify whether or not there are enough of the good bacteria that normally inhabit the intestines, and whether or not there is an excess of normally present yeast.
This can provide useful information as having adequate good bacteria ensures that the environment for proper digestion can occur. Further, there is a plethora of research that shows that adequate good bacteria is protective against certain types of allergies and autoimmune diseases that involve proteins of the immune system. For example, in autism, there can be an increase in antibodies against certain parts of the brain. Thus, in every autistic child I treat, we will look to make sure they have adequate good bacteria, since these children already have digestive problems as well.
There is another way to assess the health and integrity of the digestive tract, and it is most useful in cases of severe atopy (asthma, eczema, skin problems) and cases of autism. Our gut normally only allows fully digested components of proteins to be absorbed into the blood. This is because we have a gut that has many tight junctions, thus acting as a good barrier.
The diagram above shows how larger proteins can “leak” across the gut and get into the bloodstream, whereas in healthy situations the larger proteins “bounce off” until they are fully digested, or they pass into the stool.
The problem is that larger molecules that get into the blood stream will cause the immune system to react to the proteins and become over-active (to grossly oversimplify things). This worsens conditions such as asthma and eczema. In other conditions, such as chronic fatigue, larger molecules such as gluten and casein can cause morphine like actions on the brain causing sedation.
An older test called the lactulose mannitol intestinal permeability test can identify cases of overt “leaky gut”. Two sugars are given in a drink and then urine collected for 6 hours. Normally, mannitol is absorbed into the blood, whereas lactulose should pass into the stool without absorption. Depending on the ratio of mannitol to lactulose in the urine (remember, the urine is a filtrate of the blood), we can assess if an excess of lactulose was absorbed. Since lactulose is not actively absorbed by the intestines, an excess in the urine means it had “leaked” across the barrier.
If you are interested in this test, please email me at drchan@drericchan.com and I can send some information on costs and procedures; I have shipped many test kits to patients in North America.
If a leaky gut is found, then treatments such as ozonated water, glutamine powder, and identification and removal of food allergens can correct the condition.
My son at 24 has severe candida and leaky gut.
On his stool test his level was 5+ on a scale of 1-5.
What will cure it?
He has started to drinkl raw milk. Is it ok to drink?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Lisa,
Best thing to do is have the doctor who ordered the test check into oral antifungals to clear the candida, and recolonize the gut. I haven’t found the typically prescribed candida diet to be much use. Then have the doctor find out why he was susceptible to the candida colonization in the first place. I’d usually check for vitamin D deficiencies, food sensitivities, and old, latent infections.
Take care