Sarah was 30 years old when she signed up for Quantify, after struggling for years with digestive symptoms—bloating, indigestion, and diarrhea—and not getting anywhere with conventional medicine.
A gastroenterologist had diagnosed her with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) soon after her symptoms developed, but he didn’t have anything to offer, other than antidiarrheal medication, which had a long list of scary side effects that Sarah wanted to avoid.
In her first appointment at Quantify, Sarah’s health coach recommended a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) stool analysis, to test for parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and evaluate intestinal permeability, inflammation, and the health of her microbiome.
Test results
Like many others with IBS, Sarah’s qPCR stool analysis showed significant dysbiosis, or an imbalance of good bacteria to bad bacteria, likely attributed to her history of taking antibiotics regularly since her teens for recurrent sinus infections.
Her 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.
Antibiotic overuse can certainly cause leaky gut, but her health coach suspected her diet was also a contributing factor, given that she was regularly eating foods that contain gluten (a protein in wheat, barley, and rye), which often causes damage to the intestinal barrier, even in those who don’t have celiac disease.
Recovery
Thrilled to finally get answers, Sarah started making the changes her health coach recommended.
She eliminated processed foods, sugar, grains, and dairy from her diet, increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods, and took certain supplements, such as ginger, marshmallow root, and slippery elm.
Within six months, her digestive symptoms had completely resolved, and a follow-up qPCR stool analysis showed normal results, further validating the work she had done to address the factors that were causing her IBS.