Freeze your poop and mail it to Texas!
In all seriousness, a stool analysis can offer vital information about your body’s absorption of fat and nutrients, and today the Gluten Free RN explains the significance of knowing your fecal fat score and other baseline labs that can offer clues about how gluten has adversely affected your health.
Nadine outlines recommended labs for celiac disease and gluten intolerance, discussing how each test can inform the way you tweak your diet or add necessary supplements to your health care routine. She also reviews the importance of follow-up labs to track how you are healing and help you get better, faster!
What’s Discussed:
The importance of standardization in celiac testing and follow-up labs
Things to consider re: the results of a celiac panel
- 70% produce a false negative
- A positive test guarantees intestinal damage
- Lab to lab variability can be problematic
- Must include total IgA and IgG
- Interpretation can be problematic
- Ask for a hard copy of your results
Why a “gluten challenge” is dangerous
- No medical or social reason to do so
- May cause organ damage
Additional tests that can offer valuable information
- Fecal fat score (ask for #, over 300 indicates malabsorption)
- Complete blood count
- Comprehensive metabolic panel
- Vitamin D3 level (below 40 ng/ml is critically low)
- Vitamins A, E & K levels
- Vitamin B6 & B12 levels
- MTHFR gene test
- Magnesium RBC test
- Zinc level
- Iodine level
- B9/Folate level
- Ferritin level
- Iron level
- Thyroid panel
- Bone density test
- Lipid panel
- ANA test (autoimmune issues)
- ESR test
- CRP test
How to obtain reimbursement for labs
Why a diet change is preferable to medication in lowering cholesterol
- Statin drugs don’t treat the underlying cause of chronic inflammation
- Still at risk for heart attack and stroke
What a stool analysis can tell you about your microbiome
Why you should avoid food allergy testing in the first year of a gluten-free diet
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Nadine:
Books by Nadine:
Dough Nation: A Nurse’s Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism
