Gut health.
The first checkpoint for everything else.
My main gut test is a stool test you collect at home. It shows how well you digest food, how calm or inflamed your gut lining is, and which bacteria live there.
A free, 15-minute call with Dr. Tagge.
Your gut handles much of what you eat, swallow and absorb before the rest of your body sees it. That is why I often start there.
What it measures
Six things one sample can show.
Digestion
How well you break down and absorb food, including a marker of pancreatic enzyme output.
Inflammation
Markers of inflammation in the gut lining.
Gut immune activity
How active the gut’s immune defenses are.
The microbiome
Which bacteria live in your gut, measured by DNA, and how balanced they are.
What the bacteria make
Short-chain fatty acids, which feed the cells that line your gut.
Infections
Parasites and other organisms that should not be there.
This test describes the state of your gut. It is not a test for a single disease.
Is it right for you
Who it tends to help.
- Bloating, gas, reflux, loose stools or constipation
- Several courses of antibiotics over the years
- Fatigue, low mood or skin problems alongside digestive symptoms
- Wanting a baseline of gut health as part of a long-term plan
Probably not for you if
- You have no digestive symptoms and no question the test would answer.
- You are looking for colon cancer screening. This is not one.
- You want a food sensitivity test.
See a gastroenterologist first if you have blood in your stool, black stool, unexplained weight loss, trouble swallowing, or a change in bowel habits that does not go away.
How it works
From a conversation to your plan.
A free call
We talk about where you are, what you want, and whether testing makes sense.
Your Assessment
A gut test is one option inside the Precision Health Assessment, never a package.
Collect at home
A stool kit with prepaid return shipping. In the Charlotte metro I can pick it up at a home visit.
Your plan
I read it with your symptoms, history and other labs, and any gut steps go into your Precision Health Plan.
- Lab
- Genova Diagnostics, GI Effects
- Sample
- Stool, collected at home with a kit
- Results
- Usually a few weeks
- Cost
- At cost, no markup. You see it before you decide.
Questions
No. It looks at digestion, inflammation and the microbiome. I do not use IgG food sensitivity panels to make decisions.
Start with a conversation.
We talk about where you are and what you want. If a gut test would change your plan, I'll tell you. If it wouldn't, I'll tell you that too.
A free, 15-minute call with Dr. Tagge.