Diagnostic testing
Gut Health Panel (GHP)
Bloating, irregularity and food reactions usually have a cause, and it is often further upstream than the food itself.
The Gut Health Panel is a stool-based assessment of how well you are digesting food, which organisms are living in your large intestine, and whether the gut lining is inflamed. It is the panel to run when digestive symptoms are the loudest thing you are dealing with.
Gut function reaches further than digestion. It affects how much of your food you actually absorb, how much inflammation your body is carrying, how your immune system behaves, and how steady your mood and energy are. When people describe doing everything right and still feeling unwell, this is one of the more common places the explanation turns out to be hiding.
PhotographyGut Health Panel collection kit, laid out on a clean surface.
What it measures
Inside the GHP
Digestive and absorption markers
Pancreatic elastase, fat in the stool, and undigested residue, which show whether food is being broken down properly.
Inflammation markers
Calprotectin and lactoferrin, which distinguish an inflamed gut lining from a sensitive but uninflamed one.
Beneficial and commensal bacteria
The organisms that produce short-chain fatty acids, maintain the gut lining, and keep less helpful species in check.
Opportunistic and dysbiotic organisms
Overgrowth patterns that commonly track with bloating, irregularity and gas.
Yeast and parasites
Screened by both microscopy and DNA, since either alone misses cases.
Secretory IgA
The gut immune barrier. High suggests active defence, low suggests a barrier that has been under strain for a while.
Read together these separate a digestion problem from a bacterial one from an inflammatory one, which matters because the three call for quite different plans.
Who this test is for
It may be a fit if you are experiencing
- Bloating, gas or distension, particularly after meals
- Constipation, loose stools, or an unpredictable alternation between them
- Food reactions that keep spreading to more foods
- Reflux, nausea, or a sense of food sitting too long
- Skin problems such as eczema, rosacea or persistent acne
- Fatigue or brain fog that tracks with what you eat
- Low iron, B12 or vitamin D that does not correct despite supplementing
It is also worth considering before a food sensitivity panel. Reacting to a lengthening list of foods is often a gut barrier problem rather than a problem with the foods.
Why stool
What a stool panel shows that a blood test cannot
The organisms and the inflammation are in the gut, so that is where they are measured. Blood can show the downstream consequences, low iron or a raised inflammatory marker, but it cannot show which organisms are involved or whether the gut lining itself is inflamed.
Collection is a single sample taken at home with a self-contained kit and posted back. It is the least pleasant of our panels to collect and the one people are most glad they did, because digestive symptoms are hard to work on without knowing which of the three problems you have.
The lab we use has been trusted for decades by our pharmacist and master of holistic medicine, particularly for complex hormone cases. The methodology is well established, reproducible, and clinically actionable.
How results are used at LivBTR
Your results are never read in isolation
They are interpreted alongside your intake, symptoms, lifestyle, nutrition, movement, and any other findings. From there we build a personalized support plan.
- A structured plan to address overgrowth where it is present
- Targeted support for the gut lining and barrier function
- Digestive support where breakdown rather than balance is the problem
- Food reintroduction sequencing rather than an ever-shrinking diet
- Fibre and fermented food guidance matched to what is actually growing
- Retesting after a protocol to confirm the picture has changed
The aim is a shorter list of restrictions, not a longer one. Most plans built from this panel are about repair and reintroduction.
Gut Health Panel questions
Do I need to change my diet before collecting?
No. Eat as you normally do, because the point is to see your gut under ordinary conditions. Your kit lists the few medications and supplements to pause and for how long.
Should I do this or the Food Sensitivity Test?
If your reactions keep spreading to more foods, start here. A barrier that is inflamed produces reactions to whatever you happen to be eating, so treating the barrier often resolves more than removing the foods does.
Will this diagnose IBS, celiac disease or IBD?
No. It is a functional wellness assessment, not a diagnostic test. Markers such as calprotectin can indicate inflammation that warrants medical assessment, and where that happens you are directed to your primary care provider.
Do antibiotics affect the results?
Yes, considerably. Wait at least four weeks after finishing a course before collecting, or the panel reflects the antibiotic rather than your usual state.
How long do results take?
Usually three to four weeks from the lab receiving your sample, which is slightly longer than the saliva panels because of the culture and DNA work involved.
If digestion has been the persistent problem, this is the panel that tells you which of the three likely causes you are dealing with.
Knowing whether it is digestion, balance, or inflammation is what turns a general gut protocol into a specific one.