Heather -- question about acacia
#33881 - 12/27/03 03:19 PM
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barb n
Reged: 10/14/03
Posts: 65
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Heather -- we are going to give our daughter a stool test this week. It says that you should not be taking any digestive enzymes while taking the stool samples. She is not taking any -- I just was wondering if the acacia fiber would be considered a digestive enzyme in any way since it is a "prebiotic". I'm not too clear on these things, I don't think it would be the same thing -- but i thought I better make sure. The test is from the Great Smoky Labs (they have a website). We have an acupuncturist friend -- she and the doctor she works with use this test alot (called CP x 3) to test for good and bad things going on in the gut -- to get a picture of it (in case anyone is interested). Thank you!!
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Hi - There shouldn't be any worries here. The Acacia is not a digestive enzyme, and doesn't have any enzymes in there. It shouldn't skew the tests results any more than something like soluble fiber from rice or oatmeal would.
I think Shawn might know something about the Smoky Mt. labs - I'll ask him.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Hey there - are you familiar with these guys and their testing?
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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I just wanted to bump this up in case Shawn is around - to see if he knows anything about this lab and their testing.
Thanks.
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I had the same test done (but via a UK institution who actually learned their technique from Great Smoky). I wasn't told anything to avoid, so I don't think it's TOO vital. They test for ova, parasites, excess candida, undigested matter in the stool (which would show if you're not producing sufficient enzymes to digest a particular food) and I think various other things. Unfortunately, the one in the UK is unable to test as extensively as Great Smokies, so they don't test hormones etc in the stool, which can affect digestion.
Mine was clear, except for a minor amount of vegetable matter (normal digestion of insoluble fibre!) and a parasite called 'dientamoeba fragilis'; and I got a little picture of the cutie. After taking an anti-parasite antibiotic from my GP (which gave me diarrhoea and oral thrush!) and following that with an anti-parasite herbal remedy for several weeks, there was NO difference.
Clearly, I have IBS - i fit the classic symptoms and respond to the classic trigger foods. The parasite found is a bit of a controversial one - 80% of those infected have NO symptoms and most of those that do have an acute infection rather than chronic. Nevertheless, my GP was prepared to treat it an eliminate it as a cause of my IBS. And there are other parasites which are guaranteed to cause IBS type symptoms.
I think the test is VERY useful. For me it gave me peace of mind by ruling out a deficiency in digestive enzymes, candida and parasites. Now I know I just have classic IBS and I'm more confident in dealing with that.
I wouldn't think a pre-biotic or soluble fibre would be a problem, digestive enzymes are a different thing entirely as far as I know, but you could just contact the lab and ask them - they'd probably know or be able to bear it in mind in their analysis.
Sorry if I've rambled on here forever!!
Shellsbells
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