- Karnataka’s top gastro centre and Bangalore’s most trusted digestive health specialists will now develop a testing kit to analyse the gut microbial composition of patients to help them manage their digestive health and other health conditions better through nutritional and lifestyle modifications customised based on their gut microbial composition.
- Our bodies are home to trillions of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which coexist with us peacefully. The largest number of these microbes are found in our intestines, collectively called the gut microbiome.
- They play a vital role in our body functioning to such an extent that some experts call the gut microbiome a supporting organ.
- They help our body digest food, produce essential nutrients like vitamins K and B, hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters, and promote immunity and mental health.
- Poor lifestyle and dietary habits, mental stress, ageing, and antibiotics could cause imbalances in the gut microbial composition. This imbalance, called dysbiosis, causes chronic digestive issues like inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease, gut infections, liver disease, food intolerances, and colorectal cancer.
- Moreover, building evidence suggests that changes in the gut microbiome composition can also cause obesity, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, depression, anxiety, eczema, and skin allergies.
- The gut microbial composition can reveal so much about an individual’s overall health, health conditions they are suffering from, and nutritional imbalances.
- Over and above that, the gut microbial composition can also predict the health conditions a person might suffer from in the future. Thus, gut microbiome testing has been gaining significant attention in recent years.
- However, lack of accessibility, limited research laboratories, high prices, and time-consuming methods prevented widespread gut microbial testing and its adoption in healthcare settings.
- To overcome these challenges, Bangalore Gastro Centre, a pioneer in digestive health in India and 3BIGS, a pioneer in handling biodata and artificial intelligence, have come together to develop a gut microbiome test kit to bring Indians closer to this innovative and futuristic healthcare option.
- BGC will become India’s first gastro centre to develop this technology, which enables patients to analyse their health condition through gut microbiome test from a simple stool sample.
- On top of that, patients can do all these procedures from home. The collected samples will be QR -coded and sent to research laboratories, where the testing takes place.
- Patients can track the whole process seamlessly and receive real-time updates and test reports on an exclusive Android/iOS application on their phones.
- In the following steps, patients can approach doctors and nutritionists with the generated report to get a personalised treatment or diet plan tailored to rejuvenate or bring about the lost balance in their gut microbiome composition to correct the root cause of their health issues.
- The mobile application will also help patients compare their results before and after the dietary changes.
- The prevalence of digestive disorders, both physiological and pathological, is increasing in India, even in younger people. These rising numbers call for early screening for digestive disorders and effective treatment.
- With this test, BGC hopes to improve the accessibility and affordability of gut microbiome testing and use it as a valuable tool to prevent the onset of gut issues and improve gut health as the first step to boosting overall health.
