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Writer's pictureKathy Ozakovic

Get The Whole Picture Of Your Microbiome

Updated: Jul 12, 2022

Did you know I am a Microba Informed Practitioner? What is the Microba Inisights test and how can you use it? Discuss your Gut Health with an informed healthcare professional.


Individuals with disease show significantly different gut microbiomes compared to healthy individuals! It is not yet known if the disease causes changes in the gut microbiome OR if a change in the gut microbiome causes the disease. Research has shown correlations between gut health and cancer, cardiovascular disease, Irritable Bowel Disease, Neuro-Degenerative Diseases, Metabolic Diseases, and Mental Health.


The relationship between the gut and other organs is described as an ‘Axis’. Several have been identified including the Gut-Brain Axis, Gut-Kidney Axis, Gut-Liver Axis. It is all connected. Your gut bacteria influence heart disease. Bacterial substances can influence appetite, blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. Your bacteria can influence motility and help in the absorption of nutrients. Bacterial substances can interact with immune cells to influence inflammation. Your gut and brain can influence each other and what we eat affects our mental health (and vice versa!).


The good news is, we can change our gut microbiome. The microbiome reacts to stress, food intake, sleep, baseline conditions. While we can’t control all the factors that go into maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, we can manipulate the balance of our bacteria by paying attention to what we eat.


The Microba Insight is the most comprehensive home gut microbiome analysis in Australia. You receive an in depth report on the functional potential of your microbiome with nutrition-based interventions to help support clinical outcomes for health. It tells you what your gut microbiome looks like and what it is capable of! For example, I had a client who's gut microbiome showed she is likely to experience some hormonal changes. After telling her this, she shared with me that she has had to laser her face because of hormonal changes causing facial hair growth. The test was spot on!


The test helps us understand how diverse your gut microbiome is. Discover how your gut microbiome compares to others. Although we can't for sure say what a healthy gut microbiome looks like given genetic, environmental and other varieties we know that the more diverse a microbiome the greater its potential for health benefits. The report gives food ideas to fuel your beneficial gut bacteria. Get key insights relating to health, what your microbes are capable of. Get a prebiotic food list that tells you more about each food and their prebiotic content.


Once you have your results, take action! If you are interested in finding out what your gut microbiome looks like, send me an email and I will pass on the referral to you from Microba. This will make sure your results are sent directly to me for interpretation. The test costs $350 and is not subsidized by private health or Medicare. It is a financial investment you would be making on your own.


I don't recommend the test to everyone mainly for financial reasons. Being an informed Microba practitioner and gut health specialist, I can tell if your microbiome is looking like the Great Barrier Reef at its prime, or a bleached coral reef system. I can't however pick up on parasites! Interestingly, I did the test for myself almost 2 years ago and learnt I live with a parasite. It is thought to be harmless but not enough research is out there. I will be repeating the test to check if I have successfully eliminated it!


What if you find a harmful pathogen in your gut microbiome?

We work to remove it! Depending on what it is there are different protocols to help eliminate gut pathogens. I work with Metagenics natural products, especially useful for people with an already sensitive gut lining and existing disease. However, sometimes it is easier and recommended to wipe everything with antibiotics and start from scratch! Antibiotics don't discriminate. They get rid of the good and the bad - think bleached coral reef system. Our gut microbiome is a bit like our fingerprint. It has a tendency to gravitate towards what it was before the antibiotics. We can help build it back up quicker and stronger with the help of probiotics, prebiotics and herbs which help strengthen the gut lining.



Did you find this blog helpful and informative? Tag & Share with your friends who would love it too! Sign up for my Free NuFit Wellness Newsletter to stay in the loop. Attend my Wellness Workshops. I help clients Achieve & Maintain Wellness through Nutrition for Gut Health so that they can thrive in life. Wellness Dietitian & Holistic Nutritionist, Health Coach, Health Presenter, Gut Health Specialist - Kathy Ozakovic.

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