GI Effects + Microbiomix
An expanded gut panel pairing comprehensive stool analysis with deeper microbiome sequencing.
- Digestion and absorption — how well you break down and take up fats, proteins and carbohydrates
- Intestinal inflammation, including calprotectin — the most clinically validated marker in the panel
- Microbial composition with deeper sequencing, plus gut-barrier and mucosal immune markers
Does not on its own diagnose IBS or inflammatory bowel disease. An elevated inflammation marker warrants gastroenterology referral, not a supplement plan.
Indicative price · confirmed after eligibility · prescription treatment
What it measures
If your gut is genuinely bothering you — bloating that doesn't settle, irregularity, discomfort after eating, a pattern that's changed and hasn't changed back — a microbiome profile alone won't explain it. Knowing which bacteria are present doesn't tell you whether you're digesting properly, absorbing nutrients, or dealing with inflammation.
This panel measures those things directly. It's the more thorough option, and it's the one to choose when symptoms are the reason you're testing.
The panel pairs a comprehensive stool analysis with deeper microbiome sequencing, covering four areas. Digestion and absorption: markers indicating how well you're breaking down and taking up fats, proteins and carbohydrates — poor digestion is a common and often overlooked driver of bloating and discomfort, and one of the more directly actionable findings. Inflammation: including calprotectin, an established marker of intestinal inflammation, which is the most clinically validated measurement in the panel. The microbial picture: beneficial organisms, potential pathogens, and the balance between them, plus deeper sequencing of the wider community. And immune and gut-barrier markers, including secretory IgA, which reflects mucosal immune activity.
How it works here
Every plan follows one path. Each step feeds the next. See the All Treatments approach.
- 01
Measure
We baseline your labs, history, and goals.
- 02
Plan
A clinician decides whether this fits — and what else might serve you.
- 03
Act
If appropriate, you start with clear guidance and high-touch support.
- 04
Track
We monitor how you respond on a defined cadence.
- 05
Adjust
Protocols are refined over time. Guided care, not a kit in the mail.
Which gut panel is right for you
ACT 2 offers two gut tests, and they answer different questions.
| Gut Biome Analysis | GI Effects + Microbiomix | |
|---|---|---|
| Core question | “What's living in there?” | “What's actually going wrong?” |
| Microbial composition and diversity | Yes | Yes — with deeper sequencing |
| Digestion and absorption markers | No | Yes |
| Gut inflammation markers | No | Yes — including calprotectin |
| Clinical validity of the markers | Emerging | Stronger — inflammation and digestion markers are established |
| Sample type | At-home collection | At-home stool collection |
| Best for | Curiosity about gut composition; connecting gut to energy, weight and metabolism | Persistent gut symptoms — bloating, pain, irregularity, unexplained changes |
| Relative cost | Lower | Higher |
Scroll the table sideways to compare →
The honest summary: if you have gut symptoms, this is the panel. The microbiome-only option is a reasonable choice for someone asymptomatic and curious, but it can't measure inflammation or digestion, and those are usually where the answer is.
Why the inflammation marker matters most
Calprotectin deserves singling out, because it's the marker that can change the direction of your care entirely.
It reflects genuine intestinal inflammation, and it's used in mainstream gastroenterology precisely because it does one thing well: it helps distinguish inflammatory bowel disease from functional conditions like IBS. Those can present with overlapping symptoms and require completely different management.
If calprotectin comes back elevated, the right response is gastroenterology referral — not a supplement protocol. We're stating that plainly because it is a real failure mode in this corner of medicine. A panel that detects an inflammatory signal and responds with probiotics and dietary tweaks has missed something that needed a colonoscopy.
A clinician who orders this test should be equally prepared to refer you onward as to manage you themselves. That's part of what ordering it responsibly means.
When to skip the test and see a doctor
Some symptoms need proper medical evaluation now, not a collection kit and a two-week wait.
Blood in the stool, or black or tarry stools. Unexplained weight loss. A marked change in bowel habit that hasn't reverted. Persistent or severe abdominal pain, especially if new. Difficulty swallowing, or persistent vomiting. A family history of colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease alongside new symptoms.
If any of those apply, tell a clinician promptly. Ordering a stool panel is not the wrong instinct, but it should not delay an evaluation that needs to happen anyway.
Delivery
An at-home stool collection kit; results are reviewed with your clinician.
Is it right for you?
This panel fits adults with persistent gut symptoms who want a fuller picture than a microbiome profile can offer, and people whose gut symptoms sit alongside other midlife changes — weight, energy, or hormonal shifts — where the connections are worth mapping. If you're asymptomatic and simply curious about your microbiome, gut biome analysis is the more proportionate choice. If you haven't had standard blood work yet, start there — celiac screening, iron status, inflammatory markers and thyroid function answer a lot of gut-adjacent questions from a single draw.
Often considered alongside
Gut Biome Analysis
Lab-developed testA microbiome analysis profiling your gut bacteria to inform your plan.
View treatmentComprehensive Lab Panel
A comprehensive blood panel establishing your baseline across key health markers.
View treatmentDUTCH® Test
Lab-developed testAn advanced dried-urine panel mapping hormones and their metabolites.
View treatmentProducts marked Compounded are prepared by a licensed compounding pharmacy under a prescription written for you. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved and are not equivalent to or interchangeable with any branded product.
An honest word on the evidence
Worth separating the two halves of this panel, because they don't have equal standing. The stool chemistry is well founded: digestion, absorption and inflammation markers — calprotectin especially — are established measurements with genuine clinical utility and meaningful reference ranges. The microbiome sequencing is a fast-moving field: there is no established optimal microbiome for an individual, findings shift with diet, illness and antibiotics, and the link between a given bacterial pattern and a specific intervention is often weaker than reports imply. Our position: this panel's value sits mostly in the first half. The sequencing adds context; the digestion and inflammation markers are what tend to actually change a plan. Interpreting them together, in the light of your symptoms, is the job — and results are interpreted as context rather than read as a verdict.
Frequently asked questions
Digestion, absorption and inflammation. A microbiome test profiles which bacteria are present; this panel also measures how well your gut is working — including calprotectin, an established marker of intestinal inflammation.
Priced per panel with the indicative figure confirmed at eligibility. It's the more expensive of our two gut options, and generally not covered by insurance.
It can't diagnose either on its own, but it contributes meaningfully. Calprotectin helps distinguish inflammatory bowel disease from functional conditions like IBS — and an elevated result should lead to gastroenterology referral for proper diagnosis, not to a supplement plan.
An at-home stool collection kit, mailed to the lab. Collection instructions matter for accuracy, and certain medications and supplements can affect results, so your clinician will advise on timing beforehand.
If you have persistent gut symptoms, this one — the digestion and inflammation markers are where the answers usually are. If you're asymptomatic and exploring gut health in relation to energy or metabolism, the microbiome analysis is the more proportionate starting point.
Often yes. Probiotics, antibiotics, antacids and some other medications can affect results. Your clinician will advise on timing — collecting at the wrong moment produces a result that misleads rather than informs.
It depends what. Some findings are managed directly with dietary and targeted support. Others — particularly raised inflammatory markers — warrant referral to a gastroenterologist, and we'll tell you plainly which category yours falls into.
There's real research connecting the gut to metabolism, immune function and energy, and it's an active field. But the connection is more complex than most marketing suggests, and a gut panel is one input among several rather than the explanation for how you feel.
See if GI Effects + Microbiomix fits your plan
The right plan begins with knowing where you are. Start with a short eligibility check and a baseline — and we'll tell you, honestly, what fits.
We measure first. Then we act.
ACT 2 Health provides clinician-led care. Treatments described are available only to eligible patients following clinical evaluation and within applicable regulations. This page is educational and is not medical advice. Individual results vary.