SIBO: Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth
SIBO, do you have it?
Before you stop reading - it is the most common cause of IBS & is much more common than you think. As you know we all have good bacteria in our gut, but this should be only in the large intestine. Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth is when some of this bacteria overgrow and settle into the small intestine. This bacteria then feeds on carbs, fermenting them & producing methane or hydrogen sulphide gases.
This causes symptoms like cramping, bloating, gas, insomnia, GORD (reflux/heartburn), insomnia, constipation, diarrhoea. This occurs after eating, and at most meals (depending on what exactly you eat). If you’ve tried to increase your fibre intake, or taken probiotics and they have worsened rather than bettered your symptoms this might be why - they are feeding the bacteria in your small intestine and helping them grow. In the long term this can cause chronic iron deficiency, and give you food intolerances/allergies/auto immune conditions you didn’t have before - a common example is the development of a new histamine intolerance.
What are the causes of SIBO? Chronic stress, PPI (omeprazole, the medicine for reflux/heartburn) use, poor oral hygiene, antibiotic use, hypothyroidism, opiate/painkiller use. Or It might come about after a bout of bad food poisoning/salmonella.
The good thing, testing for SIBO is simple, you drink a solution and do a breath test which measures the bacteria in the small intestine. Nowdays they have at home tests you can order. If you have IBS that veers towards diarrhoea its likely the hydrogen sulphide producing bacteria you have, if its consitpation then the methane producing.
What to do if you have SIBO? You’d need to go onto a short term diet plan which would include initially starving and killing that bacteria, and then repopulating your large intestine only with good bacteria. It’s not as scary as it sounds, and it could be the permanent end to your dodgy stomach, endless flatulence and mass of food intolerances.