Gut Health & Microbiome Testing in Charlotte, NC

What is functional gut health testing?

Functional gut testing looks beyond a standard GI workup. Instead of only ruling out disease, it maps how your digestive system is actually functioning — bacterial and fungal balance, parasites, digestive enzyme output, inflammation markers, and intestinal barrier integrity.

That data lets your provider treat the cause of your symptoms rather than managing them indefinitely with over-the-counter products or elimination diets that never quite resolve the problem.

Symptoms that point to a gut issue

Bloating after meals, gas, constipation or loose stools, acid reflux, and abdominal discomfort are the obvious ones. Less obvious signals include fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, acne or rosacea flares, eczema, joint aches, sugar cravings, unexplained weight changes, and frequent illness.

Because roughly 70% of immune tissue and much of the body's serotonin production sit in the gut, digestive dysfunction often shows up first as a skin, mood, energy, or hormone complaint.

Tests we use

GI-MAP comprehensive stool analysis (DNA-based) for bacteria, yeast, parasites, H. pylori, digestive markers, calprotectin, and zonulin. SIBO breath testing for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Food sensitivity panels when reactions are suspected. Organic acids testing for metabolic and fungal byproducts.

Testing is ordered through Rupa Health, collected at home, and reviewed with you line by line at your results visit — you keep your full report.

How gut health connects to hormones, weight, and skin

The gut metabolizes and clears estrogen through a group of bacteria called the estrobolome. When that population is off, estrogen recirculates and can worsen PMS, heavy cycles, and perimenopausal symptoms — which is why gut work often pairs with hormone therapy.

Microbiome imbalance also drives insulin resistance, inflammation, and cravings that stall weight loss, and it is a common upstream driver of adult acne and rosacea that never fully respond to topicals.

Your gut restoration protocol

Most plans follow a remove–replace–reinoculate–repair sequence: clear overgrowths with targeted herbal antimicrobials or prescriptions, restore digestive enzymes and stomach acid, reseed with strain-specific probiotics, and repair the intestinal lining with nutrients like L-glutamine, zinc carnosine, and omega-3s.

Nutrition guidance is built around what your testing shows, not a generic elimination diet. Supplements are dispensed through our Fullscript pharmacy so you get professional-grade products at the right dose.

How long does it take?

Most patients feel meaningfully better within 4–8 weeks, with a typical protocol running 3–6 months depending on findings. Retesting at the end confirms the overgrowth cleared and guides a long-term maintenance plan.

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