What is SIBO?

By Kinga | May 5, 2021 |

 

SIBO

Part 1

What is SIBO?

SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.
SIBO occurs when normal populations of bacteria begin to overgrow in the small intestine.
Unfortunately, SIBO can effect our whole digestive system, anything from our mouth to our anus not only the small intestine.
SIBO effects the entire body!
It is hard to diagnosed and difficult to treat.
It can be caused by a number of other underlying cause or an actual underlying cause can be the root cause.

What are the symptoms of SIBO?

-Abdominal bloating and distension
-Gas, belching, flatulence
-Abdominal pain and cramps, funny noises from our belly or lower back
-Constipation, diarrhea, or both, IBS
-Heartburn
-Acid reflux or GERD
-Nausea or feeling overly full after eating
-Intestinal permeability, leaky GUT
-Food intolerances or sensitivities to certain foods such as gluten, diary, legumes, fermented food
-Headaches
-Brain fog
-Fatigue
-Joint pain, popping joints
-Skin irritations, eczema, rosacea, rashes, itching, redness
-Anxiety, depression, insomnia
-Malabsorption
-Histamine intolerance
-Nutrient deficiencies
-Chronic weight loss or resistant weight gain
-Hair loss
-Eye twitching

 

There are about 40 different conditions, including

-Yeast overgrowth

-Parasitic infection

-Large intestine overgrowth or infection

-H. pylori infection

-Celiac disease

-Non-celiac gluten intolerance

-Inflammatory bowel disease

-IBD

-Carbohydrate malabsorption, like lactose or fructose

-Food intolerances

-Histamine intolerance

-Salicylate intolerance

-Hypchlorhydria (too little stomach acid)

-Cancer of the adbomen

-Pancreatic enzyme insufficiency

-Diabetes

-Hypo or hyperthyroid

-Insufficient chewing

-Gastroparesis or stomach emptying

-Bile acid malabsorption

-VIPomas, or Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome

-Any kind of obstruction in the small intestine

-Parkinson’s

-Scleroderma

-Systemic sclerosis

-Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

-Mast cell activation

-POTS

-Lyme and co-infections

-Various immune deficiency diseases

-Endometriosis

as a cause of digestive issues.

To be able to understand how bacteria can overgrow in the small intestine, we need to understand how our digestive system works.

Our digestive system consists of anything from the mouth throughout the Salivary glands, Esophagus, Liver, Gallbladder, Stomach, Pancreas, Large intestine, Small intestine, Appendix, Rectum up to the anus.
In order to our Immune System be able to work properly our Digestive System (from mouth to anus) has to function properly and vice versa.
Our digestive organs work together to produce antibacterial substances including somach acid,bile, digestive enzymes to protect us from those bacterias we constantly ingesting through our nose and mouth via the food we eat and the environment we are in contact with. Our small intestine act as a safety net killing the bacteria managed to escape through the stomach.
What doesn’t get killed by acid, bile, or enzymes must then face our immune system.
At least 70% of our Immune system is housed in the GUT (Gastrointestinal Tract).
IF all else fails and bacteria manage to survive these measures, our body can rely on its own anatomy to at least get rid of them in a timely manner.
The Migrating motor complex (MMC) is our small intestine’s cleaning aid, responsible for clearing bacteria, undigested food and other unwanted substances and after each meal.
Once our small intestine is cleared, our ileocecal valve  a barrier between the small and large intestine allows traffic to pass through in only one way, it prevents any backflow of bacteria from the large intestine.
At least one, but more often several of these protections need to fail in order fro SIBO to occur.
Although low stomach acid, deficient bile, or compromised immune system may be significant risk factors, research points to a defective Migrating motor complex (MMC) or a structural blockage as being the two biggest underlying causes.
It is crutial to adress the root cause of our symptoms in able to treat the exact issue and heal properly.
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