Healthy Living: Is it IBS or SIBO?

Digestive discomforts are the most common reasons people visit my clinic.

The sufferers have usually gone down the root of basic investigations with their GP, might have had colonoscopy and deemed with the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – meaning there is no known cause for your symptoms that we can see, take some symptom relief medications and try to relax. But IBS can be caused by many different microbes that live in our gut, the imbalance in these microbes lead to intestinal hyperpermeability – better known as leaky gut.

The cells of your gut wall kept tightly together by gate-like structures, called tight-junction proteins. These may open and close as needed – but need to be closely regulated. If the gates remain open, excessive amounts of toxins and undigested foods make their way through them, into the underlying tissues and blood stream, provoking an inflammatory response. This may result in local gut sensitivities but may spread to the rest of the body and cause aches and pains, excessive mucus production, skin disorders – depending on your genetic makeup.

If bloating is the most common complaint, the reason behind it could be SIBO. It stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. As with most of our chronic diseases, it can result from our Western lifestyle. The ever-favoured caesarean births, lack of breastfeeding, extensive use of antibiotics coupled with a refined – preservative loaded diet and stress are the perfect recipe for digestive and inflammatory conditions. Symptom relief for early signs of the troubles, such as antacids and more antibiotics can further aggravate the fine microbial balance that was supposed to form the base of the digestive system.

Failure of the gastric acid barrier in the stomach either due to stress or acid blocking medications can also allow for the overgrowth of opportunistic bacteria. Interesting to know that it works the other way around as well; a diet induced microbial overgrowth can interfere with the hydrochloric acid levels in the stomach, leading to indigestion, bloating, belching and absorption problems.

The hydrogen breath test is an established non-invasive test for assessing malabsorption of sugars in the small intestine. However, there are patients who can suffer from the same spectrum of digestive issues but who produce little or no hydrogen, instead producing relatively large amounts of methane. These patients will avoid detection with the traditional test. And what if there is yeast overgrowth instead or parasitic amoebozoa infection?

The best way to find out exactly what is growing in your internal environment is a comprehensive stool test and a combined breath test to measure both gases produced. (For more information on testing, visit my website www.evahillnutrition.com) Depending on the results, tailor-made antimicrobial interventions and specific dietary changes can set you on the road of healing. So don’t put up with it or suppress your symptoms – take charge of your health.