SMALL INTESTINE BACTERIAL OVERGROWTH (SIBO)

SIBO or Small Intestine Bowel Overgrowth is a condition of overgrowth of certain types of bacteria in the small intestines causing various digestive symptoms. Are you feeling bloated? Suffering from offensive flatulence and burping? Having diarrhea? Suffering from irregular bowel movements ranging from constipation, loose stools and diarrhea? Lacking energy, feeling vapors coming up from the esophagus? You could be suffering from SIBO.

HOW DID THESE DIGESTIVE SYMPTOMS COME ABOUT?

Digestive problems can arise for many different reasons – you could start having digestive issues as early as when you are one day old at the hospital and the nurse decided to put you on formula, after you were born via C-section and mum could not breast feed you, or you were breast fed but were also supplemented with formula, and you were colicky as a baby.

Digestive issues may start later in life when you went to school and mum forced you to have your dairy products and other times that made your stomach hurt a lot after eating.

Digestive concerns could have even come up when you started your first year of college or university and your stress levels went through the roof with all the adjustments including dietary changes, and then finally you decided you have been living like this for too long, suffering with all kinds of digestive concerns such as bloating, abdominal gas, diarrhea alternating with constipation, acid reflux, heart burn among other symptoms. SIBO has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years and various diets such as the FODMAP, GAPS and SCD diets have been gaining popularity amongst people suspecting SIBO or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.

SHOULD I BE TRYING THE SCD DIET, GAPS DIET OR FODMAP DIET IF I AM SUSPECTING SIBO?

So you decide to do some research on your own to figure out what exactly is going in with your digestive system and you try all kinds of eliminations in your diet, try to yeast free, dairy free, gluten free diets, you try becoming a vegetarian for a while, then you try a GAPS diet, a SCD diet, or FODMAP diet, but find out that they are maybe helpful for a bit, but then your symptoms return. These diets though sometimes helpful can be quite restrictive, so frustration with how long do you have to eat like this builds up. You try all kinds of alternative supplements from digestive enzymes to probiotics; you try different therapies such as colon cleansing or parasitic cleansing, and hope for the best.

Well, if you have been through some or all of the above, you know it is hard to go through any of this. The problem with all of the above is while you are looking to resolve the issue, you are forgetting about one big thing – what are you trying to resolve? The symptoms that are causing the digestive problems, correct? But will that resolve the underlying root cause of your digestive issues? Probably not!

It is very difficult to go through different diets and trials of various therapies and supplements with limited success and no resolve. So I suggest that you should think about finding out the root cause of the digestive problems before actually starting different treatments (natural or pharmaceutical) based on suggestions of possibilities of what you have based on symptoms you are having.

You may think you have bacterial overgrowth in your small intestine, or Candida / yeast overgrowth, some parasite, or a sugar intolerance because that diagnosis fits the checklist of the symptoms you are suffering, right? Not necessarily - it is very important to establish the root cause of your symptoms first.

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT WHAT THE ROOT CAUSE IS?

At our naturopathic clinic, we believe that getting accurately tested is the key to resolve digestive and other health issues. Our naturopath doctor offers very specific diagnostic testing and has successfully treated lots of gastro intestinal issues before. At the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic, we offer various digestive tests for gastro intestinal testing, which may be recommended to you after your initial consult with our naturopathic doctor.

We offer various types of food and environmental allergy and intolerance testing ranging from individual to over 320 items. We offer one of the most comprehensive intolerance and allergy tests for our patients to determine what foods / allergens may be creating digestive or other health concerns ranging from migraines, ADHD, ADD, brain fog, fatigue, eczema, joint disorders among other symptoms.

We also offer one of a kind stool tests to determine what is going exactly on with your digestion and absorption in the intestines, what type good and bad flora is growing in the gut, or if there is any parasites or yeast overgrowth and we also offer SIBO OR small intestinal bacterial overgrowth test, if you need to get that ruled out.

I strongly urge you to find out what exactly is causing the issue before trying to treat it by trying various diets, supplements and detoxification protocols, it will save you money, time and will get you back to your optimal health faster, with out the angst and frustration of trying different diets with limited success.

If you are suffering from acute or chronic digestive issues and would like to effectively treat them by addressing the root cause, please call us at 416 913 4325 (HEAL) to schedule your initial naturopathic consultation or email us at [email protected].

Please ask your doctor or naturopath before starting on any supplements or diets. Its is better to first identify the cause and then treat it with the right remedies, even though the suggestions mentioned above have minimal side effects.

* DISCLAIMER: The information on this article is the property of Dr. Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, and is not intended to treat, diagnose or cure any diseases or promote any services or products mentioned on the website.