What is SIBO?
SIBO aka Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, it is a form of gut dysbiosis in which there is abnormal overgrowth of bacteria in small intestine, these bacteria are normally supposed to be present in colon which is a part of large intestine.
Let’s deep dive into it:
SIBO There is a typical path that food takes; it starts with the stomach, goes through the small intestine, and then goes through here, the large intestine, and out. In the small intestine, the duodenum is supposed to have zero bacteria.
The duodenum is right below the stomach, and it’s not supposed to have bacteria because the stomach is right here, and you are getting stomach acid, also bile from the gall bladder, and enzymes from the pancreas, all of which should hopefully kill any bacteria that have overgrown in this area, so this is what keeps it sterile.
As we go down, so the jejunum that’s right here. And the jejunum is only supposed to have about 100CFU and CFU stands for colony forming units per millilitre, and a millilitre is about a fifth of a teaspoon, so that’s about only 100 bacteria.
That’s nothing when it comes to bacteria. As we go down, we see ever-increasing amounts. You can see here that it’s about 100 billion colony forming unit per mil in the colon, so you can see the huge difference of populations.
So, you can see normally the small intestine has very little bacteria, but at times the this could get out of balance meaning a huge population is found in the small intestine where it is not meant to. This can lead to inflammation in the small bowel causing gas, bloating and poor digestion.
And hence the cells of the intestine cannot do their job of absorbing nutrients and liquids which can lead to diarrhoea, discomfort and excess gas.
Factors such as high
- carbohydrate foods,
- foods low in fibre, and
- low stomach acid can cause SIBO
Source: Wikipedia
SIBO SYMPTOMS:
- Abdominal Pain and Cramps
- Bloating / Gas
- Nausea
- Indigestion
- Malnutrition
- Malabsorption of Vitamins
- Weakness/ fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Feeling of incomplete evacuation
SIBO TREATMENT:
- Proper antibiotics prescribed by your practitioner will eradicate bacterial overgrowth in small intestine.
- Avoid cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, kale, broccoli as they inherently tend to cause bloating
- Avoid Raw food: Raw foods are a problem for some people, people tend to have more problems with raw foods, so you can lightly steam them or cook vegetables initially. you can sauté’ vegetables instead of having just raw salads, you can try pumpkin fries (air fried) but try to stick with cooked or steamed vegetables initially.
- Practice stress management like yoga, Accu-puncture, Meditation and journaling.
- Medicinal herbs such as caraway seeds, chia and flax seeds are proven to be beneficial for SIBO.
- Nutritional Supplements such as Digestive Enzymes, Magnesium, Zinc helps with SIBO.
Ready to demystify your digestive symptoms? Contact now to get personalized guidance from Karishmma Chawla and learn how to identify and manage SIBO naturally.
