People have to suffer numerous kinds of diseases. Those diseases can arise due to various reasons from their own genetics to their bad living practices. Anyway, the aim of everyone is to face life in a normal way, though there are hundreds of hurdles. When taking about diseases, some are entangled with main systems of our body. Digestive system, which is the path of producing energy for our life has to face several diseases. It also has to face several kinds of diseases. Around 60 to 70 million of people only in America are suffering from some sort of digestive diseases. Sibo is a kind of digestive disease, engaged in small intestine. It is a controllable and curable disease through medication, changes in diet and life style. Sibo diet is also a kind of treatment for sibo disease. Let’s discuss this deeply.

What is sibo?

Though the name implies some unpleasant to you, the meaning of sibo is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. It is arising when bacteria are colonizing in a place which they do not belong to. Generally, a human being is a host of around trillions of microorganisms in terms of bacteria, viruses and moulds. In a normal condition, we can enjoy the benefits of these types of colonization by helpful microbes, as they are living symbiotically with our digestive tract. Symbiotic relationship means we are providing them a habitat and food; they are providing us natural immunity (probiotics in colon) and making easy digestion. This symbiotic relationship is essential for us in order to have a good health condition.

But; in the case of sibo, this becomes a problem when bacteria begin to colonize in high amounts in a place where they do not belong to. Even the helpful bacteria in the colon and other parts of gut; come to colonize in high number at small intestine. The official definition of sibo is “the presence of an abnormally high number of bacteria (more than 100,000 bacteria per one milliliter) in the upper part of the small intestine”.

Small intestine is the longest part of the digestive tract of human; as it is long as 6 meters. The main functions of small intestine are lined with villi and microvilli to increase the surface area to absorb nutrients and minerals and completion of food digestion. But, the bacteria exist in large quantities than normal condition. Moreover; they make disturbances to absorption of nutrients. With the low absorption of nutrients, nutrients deficiencies, gastrointestinal distresses, inflammation and damages to inner lining of the intestine are occurred. Vitamin B12 deficiency is the main deficiency associated with sibo disease. Other than this, fat soluble vitamins (Vitamin K, A, D and E) can be occurred. A few mineral deficiencies such as magnesium, calcium and iron can be common in this disease.

Symptoms and reasons for sibo disease

Typical symptoms of sibo are including stomach pain after the having meal, cramps, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation, indigestion, always feeling fullness, fatigue and gas.  When the problem increasing, there can be severe symptoms such as the dramatic loss of weight, fatty fecal matters (steatorrhoea), malnutrition, deficiency in vitamin B12, liver lesions, skin rashes or acne, leaky gut syndrome, anemia, swelling of lower margins and sometimes joint pain, depression and nerve pains can be raised. Most of the severe symptoms are involved in malabsorption.

Reasons of sibo can be weakening and disruption of protective mechanisms associated with small intestine. They can be disruption of gateways between small intestine and other gut parts, stress, pH changes, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalance and anatomical abnormalities. Some researchers have found that combination of decreased pancreatic enzymes; bile acid concentration and motility of gut are also reasons for sibo disease. And also taking high carbohydrates diets such as starches, complex sugars and fermentable sugars are also act as causes for sibo disease. People having some diseases such as diabetes, scleroderma, HIV aids and Parkinson’s disease can increase the risk factors of this disease condition. Food intolerances such as gluten, casein, lactose and fructose may indicate a case for sibo disease.

Treatments for sibo

Sibo disease can be controllable and treated with antibiotics and diets. Antibiotics such as rifaximin, metronidazole and ciprofloxacin kill the microbes associated with small intestine. And also, different kind of diet practices called sibo specific diet will helpful for the treatment. Let us find out about what is a sibo diet is?

What is a sibo diet?

Sibo diet is a special kind of diet practice to treat sibo disease. sibo treatment diet should be based on your doctor’s prescriptions. The aim of this is to manage symptoms of sibo disease, stopping the damage, nourishing the intestine and encouraging its ability to heal. It focuses mainly on specific carbohydrate diets (SCD) and GAPS diet (Gut And Psychology Syndrome), which encourages curing of gut through nutrients dense foods- easy to digest.

Elemental diet sibo includes foods with predigested elements. It means foods which contains fatty acids than fats, amino acids than proteins and glucose than carbohydrates. This elemental diet contains nutrients with non-fermentable carbohydrates, which are called as low-FODMAP (Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharide And Polyols). The aim of low-FODMAP diet is to keep intestinal bacteria for starving without providing FODMAPS, in order to stop their reproduction. So, people are using low-carb diet for sibo disease as it may help initially by starving problematic bacteria in their small intestine. Other than restricting FODMAPS foods, this diet includes avoiding snacks, complete chewing of food stuff and keeping specific time intervals between meals.

Those avoiding FODMAP include alliums (garlic, onions etc.), Some brassicas, asparagus, legumes (beans), root vegetables (yams, beets etc.), starchy vegetables, mushrooms, some fruits, jellies, jams, juices, grains, flavored or sweetened dairy products, proceed meat, soya bean oil, chia seeds and anti-caking agents etc.

Sibo diet food list includes foods with low-FODMAPS. They are leafy vegetables, some other non-starchy vegetables (carrots, bell pepper, egg plants, cucumber, spinach, kale, tomato and green beans etc.), squash in limited amounts, some fruits (banana, berry, guava, pineapple, melon and grapes etc.), nuts and seeds in specific quantities, unprocessed meat, eggs, wild fish, organic fats (butter, ghee, coconut oil, organic animal fats, olive oil), bone broth, plain milk or yoghurt, hard or soft cheeses, unsweetened breakfast cereals and honey etc. You can have some sibo diet recipes by following above foods to your daily meal.

Diet for sibo using low-FODMAP foods will be a challenge for your normal diet practices but, following it you will feel a relief within a small period of time. So, please start this diet practice as a trail for about a week and feel the difference of your pains associated with digestive system. First you have to find out a proper list of foods suitable when having sibo, and then cut off all the other food stuff you eat or drink a lot of. If you can not do this at once, please start cutting off concentrated sugars and sweets even. Then you will definitely feel a relief. Then add some recommended food mix at a time.

When you are feeling that you are curing, add back a small amount of food that you used to consume. But, you must wait for three days before adding the second food to the treated gut. If your symptoms are coming back, you have to avoid that kind of food for a long time.

Adding some probiotics, medium chain triglycerides like found in coconut oil are often recommended for people having sibo disease and malabsorption. Correct adequate nutrition, correcting deficiencies corporate with nutrients and maximizing adequate digestion to avoid overfeeding of microorganisms are main aspects to be considered in order to have a healthy digestive system.

The only grain acceptable when having sibo is the plain, white rice. Other rice varieties and grains have a high amount of fiber and macromolecules which sibo bacteria can consume. When following a sibo diet rice plan you can use Jasmine rice variety in controlled amounts. That is because, Jasmin rice variety contains zero fermentation potential value.

Examples for sibo diet meal plan

Let us have a look in to a sample menu for a complete sibo diet plan for main three meals; when you are suffering from sibo disease.

Breakfast time will be a tough time if you are having sibo, because choosing the right breakfast will be a difficult task. Let’s find out some easy breakfasts for you not only to fulfill your hungry; but also, to treat your disease.

24-hour yoghurt with little bit of honey is a blessing food for sibo, as it has cooked for 24 hours. Eggs also can use as a sibo diet breakfast. If you are not tolerating the full egg, please separate egg yolk from egg white. Then try them separately, then you can understand what the non-tolerable part is; then eliminate consuming that part as a breakfast. If you tolerate eggs, it will be a great food friend for you. Then you can have scrambles or omelets adding some leafy vegetables and home-made sausages too.

Please make sure to review the avoided food list before adding some spices and food additives. Banana plus nut butter pancake, smoothies, bone broth, vegetable soup and butter coffee or butter tea will be some alternatives for you breakfast. Oatmeal is also a complete breakfast. When you are following sibo diet oatmeal, you can add some milk alternatives such as soy or almond, to have a preferable taste.

For lunch, you can have ham sandwich with wheat bread with mayonnaise and pickles or baby carrot and cucumber salad with handful of potato chips.  For dinner, you can have poultry, lean meat or fish, half of cup of rice or pasta and some green beans. You can have plain rice cake with unsweetened nut butter with an unsweetened tea or coffee. But, always be careful to not to use avoided food types, when you are preparing your own meal.

Conclusion

Scientifically it has been proved that, it takes about two to five years on average for sibo to be completely cured. This depends according the level of the disease. It is very important to know that, the time consuming is due to exploring to different kinds of treatment options and to find out what is the best method works for you. Unfortunately, there is no single diet is guaranteed to cure sibo completely. That is why you have to follow several sibo diet plans and shifting one by one. Together with antibiotics, these diet plans work in a completely fine manner. Because antibiotics can help to speed your recovery and to eliminate uncomfortable symptoms, while you providing nutritional medicine through your diet. A diet with low carbohydrates and free from refined flours, sugars, alcohol is best combination to keep your gut healthy.

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