on The so-called intestinal mucosa is a barrier between whatever is in our gut and the blood circulation. When the barrier is intact, it allows only water and the necessary nutrients to pass into the bloodstream. If it isn’t, however, our gut becomes “leaky” and harmful substances pass unhindered into the bloodstream. As symptoms are quite diffuse, it is important to understand the factors that can lead to a leaky gut.
Background
What can cause a Leaky Gut?
- Intake of antibiotics & cortisol
- Mycosis (e.g. candida overgrowth) and virus infections
- An imbalanced mictobiome
- An unbalanced diet
How it works
How does our test work?
Order the test kit
We offer the diagnostic panel for your health issues. Order online and we’ll ship the test kit to your home or office address.
Collect your sample
Collect the sample from the comfort and privacy of your home – no medical oversight required. Ship it to our lab for the analysis.
Receive results
We’ll have your sample tested and you’ll receive a lab report with detailed explanations about every marker analyzed.
Comprehensive gut analysis
Which markers will be tested?
Candida & yeast infections
Candida are yeast fungi that we usually absorb through food without noticing. If candida spreads and causes a candidiasis (high levels of candida), this can severely harm your microbiome and intestinal barrier, causing leaky gut.
Gut flora
The gut biome (or microbiome / gut flora) contains trillions of bacteria which are our first line of protection. If the bacteria types included in your gut biome (lactobacilli, bacteroides, e.coli, enterococci, etc.) are imbalanced, this can allow harmful bugs and intruders to weaken your immune system and damage your intestinal wall, causing leaky gut.
Alpha-1-Antitrypsin
A protein whose production is increased whenever there are inflammations. Reflects the permeability of the gut during inflammatory processes – a high level of alpha-1-antitrypsin is an indicator for a leaky gut.
Secretory IgA (sIgA)
sIgA is an immune protein, which reacts anti-inflammatory. Low levels of fecal sIgA increase the risk of leaky gut syndrome and of inflammatory immune reactions to undigested food and protein.
Zonulin
Zonulin is a protein that regulates the permeability of the intestinal barrier. A high level of zonulin can open up the the junctions in your intestinal wall, which leads to a leaky gut.
References
What people say about the Leaky Gut Test
Causes of antibiotics
I did the test for my little son. He had to take antibiotics several times as a newborn and had severe indigestion problems afterwards. The test kit came quickly, as did the results. It has actually confirmed what we suspected (a disturbed intestinal flora). Now we gut renovation with probiotics and will test again in a few months to see what has improved.
Regular Candida infections
I often have clients coming to me because they suffer from regular Candida infections. They got the infections treated by their family doctor, but it just keep coming back. In these kind of situations, very likely the Candida infections are only a symptom and not the root cause behind it. That's why I always recommend a comprehensive gut analysis like the leaky gut complete test. In most cases we then find the cause being a damaged mucosa and with that treated, the infections don't come back.
Easy, convenient and fast
I have long suffered from intolerances and intestinal complaints. I even had a colonoscopy, with no result. Still, the foods I could eat got more and more limited. Verisana was the first to diagnose that I am suffering from the so-called Leaky Gut Syndrome. Now I am working on my intestinal mucous membrane together with my health practitioner and I am already able to eat some things I couldn’t eat for about a year. Thank you Verisana!
Sample collection
What’s included in the test kit?
Stool Sample Collection Tubes
Stool Sample Collection Bag
Mouth Swab
Return Envelope
Instructions
Sample dispatch note
The Verisana promise
Reliable Quality
Our diagnostic tests are based on reliable and well-established methods, undergoing regular quality checks.
Simple & Private
No more waiting in clinics or practices, no more unwanted questions and looks – you decide what should be tested and collect samples from the comfort and privacy of your home.
We Are Your Health Partner
We are more than just a lab – we make it our mission to support you throughout the journey of improving your health and well-being. From choosing the right test panel for your symptoms to helping with finding the best specialist practitioner for you – we are your partner in everything related to your health!
Do you have questions?
Here are some of our frequently asked questions. For further questions, please contact us:
I take medication. Can this affect the outcome?
That depends on the test you want to carry out and the medications you are taking. In case of doubt, please ask your doctor regarding the areas that are influenced by the medication prescribed by him and do not stop taking your medication without consulting him.
How long can you store or use stool samples?
Stool samples need to be analyzed as soon as possible after collection, as they only last for a couple of days. To ensure that, please make sure to collect the samples on a monday and post them the same day. You can keep them in the refrigerator on that day until they are shipped (do not freeze). We check the collection date of every sample arriving, making sure the sample is not too old. If, for some reason, the shipping took longer than expected and the sample is too old to ensure correct results, we will contact you immediately and send you a new test kit.
I forgot to put the sample dispatch note in the package when sending the sample back.
Please send us the completed and signed dispatch note, preferably by mail to contact@verisana.com. Unfortunately, we can not complete your sample without a dispatch note.
Can I get advice for my test result? Can you tell me what remedy to take?
For legal reasons, our findings do not include individualized therapy recommendations. If you have any questions regarding the understanding of your findings, please contact our laboratory team.
I take probiotics. Does this affect the outcome?
Taking probiotics means supplying bacteria to your body. In conclusion, carrying out a stool test while taking probiotics will make it unpossible to distinguish the amount of natural and unnatural bacteria in your gut. If you aim to find out about the amount of natural bacteria in your gut, we recommend you to stop taking probiotics two weeks before carrying out the stool test.