May 15th 2022.

Last Version: June 24th 2022.

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​"My SIBO"

(SIBO= Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)

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I have been diagnosed with a suspicion of SIBO/IMO (Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth) in the winter of 2021. (Addendum, May 24th 22: Additionally to a Gastritis End of May 2022!) {This diagnosis has changed my life, because I was (finally) told what I had (the diagnosis was not made before, although I was tested for it...) (For the insiders: you need to test for methane also in the exhalation-test, hydrogen did not show in a test 9 years ago in my case and generally {for many others!}!) and could start to adjust my diet accordingly, which gave me great relief from many years of suffering and pain. Nobody had told me that I had (-curable-) problems with my stomach/bowel and made a diagnosis of "IBS" (=Irritable bowel syndrome) with the result that I believed this "condition" could not be cured and not looking for further diagnoses/help.

SIBO is - in my case- a severe disorder of the small intestine and perhaps also stomach, which made me suffer tremendously for about 9 years and also much longer since my teenage-time. Common symptoms are bloating, flatulence, cramps, also

skin problems (it made me Akne and very dry skin, that made me itch often).

It´s possible that its cause is an imbalanced and uniform diet, but there are many possible causes.

that may disturb the intestinal tract... When I was diagnosed with SIBO a FODMAP-low diet (FODMAP= Acronym for "fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols") was recommended to me.

Only months later I found out in another country (France and here the South) that a diet "low in acids and high in basal foods" (which means: no fruit juices, milk products e.i.) would be helpful.

And indeed this diet in combination with FODMAP-low relieved me of the enzymes for the monosaccharides (in fruits), disaccharides (in dairy products) and oligosaccharides (e.g. in bread, beans and more), that I could not live without anymore (and gave me great help because I was able to eat everything again with those, whereas I was restricted to FODMAP-low foods before, that sometimes I could still not tolerate {as is typical and rather normal for the FODMAPs} and made life very difficult in terms of nutrition). I attach a list of beneficial/good and non beneficial/good foods and products under this text for the interested reader.

What is SIBO? An imbalance of the intestinal flora with bacteria that feeds of certain foods which creates gas. They are said to come from the big intestine. But I have also heard that they may come from outer sources that enter with foods/in foods and not not belong there at all (even not from the colon).

Common numbers say that 15% of the world population suffer from this 

disease (and 30% suffer from "IBS" (="Intestinal Bowel Syndrome") (Some professionals have told me the numbers are much higher.), which doctors and other medical professionals do not know about much until this day... 

The word "disease" is not often given to this "condition", which shows how untreated and unknown this matter is, although so many people have and suffer from it.

Generally "SIBO" is - as mentioned - very widespread and common, as it describes an imbalance of

the bowel, which happens easily and frequently.

People who are uncomfortable with their gut, might perhaps have a SIBO or a mild form of the latter.

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Beneficial foods (examples):

Nuts, half full grain bread with long rising times (24 hours possibly) (not anymore now as of May 24th 22), tomatoes, potatoes, fruits such as mandarin, red apples (I was told "red fruits" are good), olive oil. Also "red-tea" (Rooibush-tea) has been recommended to me, which I have not tested yet.

Also basal porridge are supposed to be good/helpful/supportive...

 

Note: As the stomach and colon are very "sensitive" in sense that they may "change in a subtle way" the preferred and tolerated foods can change. The amount is also always important. It is not recommended to eat too many nuts, only maybe around "four nuts" and here the almonds are supposed to be good for the intestinal lining! As is the preparation (steamed, fried, seasoning, combination...) (it is often advised to only "lightly fry" or to "steam", which I cannot judge- also not from my own experience).

 

Non-beneficial/good foods (examples):

Fried foods (for my feeling and experience {have fried with olive oil}, onion, garlic, chocolate, fruit juices (it´s acid!), too much of a certain food is also not recommended (i.e. too much tahini, which I had a bad experience with), I have also experienced that too much of avocado for me has shown as harmful.

I do know that everybody has different sensitivities though.

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If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to contact me.

I shall be glad to hear from you.