Alex was 33 years old when he signed up for Quantify, after struggling for years with digestive symptoms—abdominal cramping, bloating, and diarrhea—and not getting anywhere with conventional medicine.
A gastroenterologist had diagnosed him with Crohn’s disease when a colonoscopy showed significant intestinal inflammation, and had prescribed anti-inflammatory medication, a standard first-line treatment for the condition.
When that didn’t work, he suggested that Alex try an immunosuppressive medication, in case his immune system was attacking his intestines.
A software engineer at an early-stage startup, Alex knew that making decisions based on data, rather than intuition, was almost always a more effective strategy for solving complex problems, so he wasn’t thrilled about taking a medication that would suppress his immune system without running any tests to determine that this was the best approach.
What’s more, when he asked his doctor if there were any other factors that might be causing his Crohn’s disease, he dismissed the question, insisting that immunosuppressive medication was his only option.
Reluctant to take such a potent medication without actually having any data as to what was going on, Alex decided to look elsewhere for answers.
In his first appointment at Quantify, Alex’s health coach recommended a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) stool analysis and gluten sensitivity test, to test for parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and evaluate intestinal permeability, inflammation, the health of his microbiome, and immune reactivity to gluten, a protein in wheat, barley, and rye.
Test results
His first time conducting a comprehensive evaluation of his health, Alex’s qPCR stool analysis showed significant dysbiosis, or an imbalance of good bacteria to bad bacteria, which commonly contributes to Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and other chronic digestive conditions.
Providing an additional clue as to what was going on, his results also showed increased intestinal permeability (or, more colloquially, leaky gut), which is when the junctions between the single layer of cells that line your intestines become compromised and widen, ultimately allowing pathogens, toxins, and food antigens into your bloodstream that shouldn’t be there.
Completing the puzzle, Alex’s gluten sensitivity test was also abnormal, indicating that while Alex didn’t have celiac disease, he did have a significant sensitivity to gluten, and that his regular consumption of foods containing gluten was likely compromising the integrity of his intestinal barrier, causing leaky gut, inflammation, and, ultimately, his Crohn’s disease.
Recovery
Like most Americans, Alex had eaten bread, cereal, pasta, and other gluten-containing foods for his entire life, so to learn that a specific protein in these foods was causing his digestive symptoms was quite the surprise.
An avid gym-goer, he knew that he couldn’t get away with a garbage diet, so he opted for whole wheat options whenever he could, convincing himself that by going whole wheat, he was eating healthy.
His “healthy” diet, however, unfortunately couldn’t have been less healthy for him, given his significant sensitivity to gluten that ultimately led to his Crohn’s disease.
Thrilled to finally get answers, Alex started following his health plan closely, checking in with his health coach regularly to help him stay on track.
He eliminated processed foods, sugar, and grains from his diet, increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods, started drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day, and took certain supplements, such as ginger, amla, and oregano oil.
Within a month, the abdominal cramping, bloating, and diarrhea that he had lived with for years started to improve, an encouraging indication that the intestinal inflammation underlying his symptoms was decreasing.
Within a year, his digestive symptoms had completely resolved, his doctor retracted his diagnosis (citing a “spontaneous remission”), and a follow-up qPCR stool analysis showed no indication of dysbiosis or leaky gut, further validating the work he had done to reverse the condition that he was told he would have to live with.