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ISSUE 5
Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter
17 April 2002
CONTENTS
Editorial - I'll Try It Out On Myself First
Featured Test - Expanded Gastrointestinal Health Panel
Editorial - I'll Try It Out On Myself First
ISSUE 5 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 17 April 2002
I enjoy introducing practitioners to tests that are new to them. The doctor I am thinking of was getting pretty good at using the Female Hormone Panel and the Short Post Menopause Hormone Panel to help her patients.
When we discussed one of her patients with other symptoms besides hormonal, I said, "She probably needs to run the GI Panel." The doctor said, "I have never run one before. I think I'll try it out on myself first."
Many practitioners do just that: try a new test on themselves or on a family member. Then they call me to discuss the results and get a little conceptual training. Only then do they feel confident to order the test for their patients.
A couple of weeks later, I was talking to her again. We were looking at her GI test results, hitting the highlights, and discussing a profitable course of treatment.
The test had revealed a few aspects of her digestive tract that needed attention. First, she had a parasite: the ameba that causes dysentery. Her digestive enzymes were low, and her immune response in her gut was low. The combination of the parasite, the partially undigested food, and the inability to fully ward off other invaders also had allowed a fungal organism to grow.
Well, she was shocked. She had pretty much assumed her test would not show much out of the ordinary. She was not experiencing the horrible diarrhea that some with the ameba suffer. However, the test showed that her body was producing antibodies against the ameba. It was held in check, but it was there.
She went on to treat by first using a pharmaceutical to kill the ameba. Then she started taking a digestive enzyme, boosting her immune response with supplements, and flooding out the fungus with human microflora.
She was pretty healthy to begin with, but the parasite and other problems were taking a little bit of a toll each day. Her need was not as obvious as some of her patients' needs.
However, many people I know complain about abdominal cramping, gas, diarrhea, bloating, and other common GI symptoms. When a doctor tells me about a patient with any digestive complaint, I urge them to order the Expanded Gastrointestinal Health Panel.
For anyone with digestive symptoms at all, I have never seen a test come back where everything was normal. The panel always seems to reveal one or more areas that need attention.
Featured Supplement - Replete
ISSUE 5 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 17 April 2002
True human microflora. Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidus. These are the good bacteria that should inhabit our intestines. When they are not there in abundance, we suffer.
When their numbers get too low, we will often see other harmful bacteria take their place. It's kind of like weeds in the lawn. When the grass is not healthy enough, the dandelions grow.
Something that many people (including doctors) do not know is that antibiotics quite often kill the good bugs with the bad. So I recommend replenishing the gut with Replete after any antibiotic use.
Featured Test - Expanded Gastrointestinal Health Panel
ISSUE 5 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 17 April 2002
The Expanded Gastrointestinal Health Panel is non-invasive, like all of our other tests that patients can do in their own homes. The patient will collect two stool samples and some saliva to mail to the lab.
This panel is thorough (19 individual tests). Most of the doctors are amazed when I tell them what is included. We start out with fungal and bacterial cultures. Then a pathologist looks at stool samples under the microscope for any visible parasites or their ova.
We also test for the presence of specific parasites by the presence of their toxins, the presence of protein fragments from their bodies, or a patient's immune response against them. We look at the patient's ability to mount an overall immune response in the gut.
Then we look for chemical markers to help isolate sources of inflammation (i.e. whether the small intestine or colon or both are inflamed).
Next we check the level of digestive enzymes to see how the pancreas is doing. We check to see if the person is losing any blood in the stool, and we check to make sure the pH is normal.
Finally, we test to see if a person is genetically incapable of properly digesting gluten, soy protein, dairy protein, and egg protein.
Now you know why we can help so many patients improve their GI health.
Warm regards,
Dr. Mark Rhodes, Ph.D.
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