Of all the functional gut diets, I have found that the FODMAP diet is the best at helping people manage their IBS and SIBO symptoms. This is an ideal ‘elimination diet’ to help people settle their gut symptoms; then they can start to test foods out (challenging fermentable loads) to see which foods they… Read More >

By Functional Medicine Nutritionist Angela Pifer, MSs, FMN, CN, SIBO Guru Which Diet Best Treats SIBO? In a healthy, balanced gut, eating foods rich in fiber is a very good thing. When these fibers enter the large intestine, they are eaten by billions of organisms. When the organisms consume these fibers, they actually ferment them…. Read More >

A phase 2 clinical trial on humans is currently in progress that sounds promising; evaluating the effect of lovastatin lactone on methanogens and symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. If you recognized the word ‘statin’ in lovastatin, yes, you are correct. This is a statin drug! Statins can inhibit archaeal cell membrane… Read More >

The goal with a SIBO breath test is to identify an overgrowth of microbes in the small intestine, by measuring the production of hydrogen and, or, methane production in response to the sugar solution that is swallowed at the start of the test. The two sugar solutions that are used with SIBO breath testing are… Read More >

Ileocecal Valve Dysfunction Contributes to SIBO By Functional Medicine Nutritionist Angela Pifer The ileocecal valve is a sphincter type valve named for the two sections in the intestine that it falls between – the last section of the small intestine, called the ileum, and the first section of the large intestine, called the cecum. Its… Read More >

Is IBS an Antibiotic Responsive Disease? Dr. Pimentel and his group have just launched a new blood test called “IBS (check)” that they claim identifies an IBS diagnosis and, with this new diagnostic tool, that IBS is now a disease – quote, “IBS is an antibiotic responsive disease.” Here is the announcement on You Tube: HERE IS… Read More >

Is SIBO an Autoimmune Condition or Triggered by One? Gut motility issues are center stage when addressing SIBO (small intestinal organism overgrowth). Food and digestive contents must be kept moving forward through the digestive tract, at a reasonable speed, both during meals and in between meals. This needs to happen to both prevent SIBO from… Read More >

I will say this from the start, if there is a medication out there that will help a patient fix SIBO and the daily, often debilitating symptoms that they are experiencing, I am first in line. I also want people to recover – long term. Though I have seen xifaxan and the combination of xifaxan… Read More >

I have had so many new patients call me after they have been struggling to pull the foods listed on a food sensitivity panel – trying to figure out what they can eat. They come into my office and show me their lab, which is covered in red lines showing reactions to just about everything…. Read More >

Should Probiotics be Part of SIBO Treatment? If you are looking at SIBO, like I am – that SIBO is a symptom of an extreme imbalance in the gut and not a primary condition, or infection, then probiotics must be part of your SIBO treatment therapy. Otherwise there is no way that you will be… Read More >