SIBO is a condition in which normal GI bacteria grow in abnormal amounts in the small intestine. The small intestine should be relatively sterile in comparison to the large intestine where there should be a variety of bacterial strains in large volumes, however in SIBO, these bacteria find their way to the small intestine and set up home there.
These bacteria, although often considered to be healthy strains of bacteria, can interfere with digestion and absorption of nutrients, simply by being in the wrong place. When we ingest foods, certain compounds are broken down and absorbed in our small intestine (e.g. most of our B vitamins) with many being left to be further broken down in our large intestine. Fermented foods and some types of carbohydrates help to feed the bacteria of our large intestine as they are broken down, these bacteria then help keep the cells in this area healthy. However when these bacteria exist within the small intestine, they ferment and break down foods too early creating gas, bloating and inflammation within the SI whilst robbing the LI of these nutrients.
The result is both parts of the intestine not having access to the nutrients they need which can lead to a variety of poor health symptoms.
Dr Alison Siebecker, an authority on SIBO, lists the potential symptoms of SIBO on her informative website as:
Other symptomsThere are different forms of SIBO that can be detected using a breath test – methane dominant, hydrogen dominant and sulphide dominant. Typically hydrogen-dominant SIBO patients experience loose stools, pain, cramping, weight loss and malabsorption symptoms whereas methane-dominant patients experience chronic constipation, bloating, pain, possible weight gain from inflammation and malabsorption symptoms, however this is not always the way.
SIBO has been shown to be present in 84% of IBS patients, therefore is often thought of as an underlying cause to a general ‘IBS’ diagnosis.
Many SIBO sufferers find relief by eating a low FODMAP diet and for some combining this with GAPS, AIP or SCD diets can help too. It is important to note that these diets are great for short term symptom relief but don’t fix the underlying issue and if followed too long, can actually cause issues for the large intestine and other parts of the body too.
Treatment plans usually consist of a temporarily restricted diet, herbal or pharmaceutical antibiotics, visceral manipulation work on the gut, nervous system regulation and strengthening the migrating motor complex however, as always, treatment plans will need to be personalised and address the underlying issue leading to the SIBO in order to be successful in the long term.
There is a direct connection between gut health and mental health. Being in a chronic state of sympathetic dominance (fight/flight/freeze fawn) which can be caused by many factors, can lead to many symptoms including digestive issues. The theory is that when we are in a sympathetic dominant state, digestion is not the most important function so blood moves away from the digestive organs and towards the extremities in case we need to run. This slows down gut motility and means that food can stay in the small intestine longer than is should causing fermentation and gas. Also, a lot of our guests who have SIBO are taking oral probiotics, we don’t have proof of this but our theory is that the probiotics are being deposited in the small intestine due to slowed gut motility which causes bloating.