I bet you've tried this and felt worse right? Your gas and bloating flared up. You even had allergy like reactions. That's because you've piled a metric crap ton of albeit "good" bacteria onto an already thriving overgrowth. Here's what the data actually shows, and what to use instead.
Why Do Standard Probiotics Make SIBO Worse?
I bet you've tried this and felt worse right? Your gas and bloating flared up. You even had allergy like reactions.
That's because you've piled a metric crap ton of albeit "good" bacteria onto an already thriving overgrowth,
And you're not the odd one out here:
- Suspected SIBO patients who used probiotics recently were 8 times more likely to actually test positive, the extra bacteria literally made the problem worse
- 100% of patients struggling with probiotic induced worsening of symptoms were found to have SIBO (Rao et al. 2018)
- In inflamed guts patients who took probiotics were 2.59x as likely to experience abdominal pain.
Bacteria + Bacterial Overgrowth = Disaster.
What About Kefir and Histamine Reactions?
58% of IBS patients experiences histamine reactions after taking probiotics,
Raw Kefir is like a super histamine dump due to the histamine producing bacteria.
In a healthy person this is fine, but in bacterial overgrowth and a damaged gut lining,
Your gut lining and bacteria can't produce enough enzymes to break down this excess histamine.
Allergy like symptoms. Sinus issues. Bloating. Skin issues getting worse.
You're dumping excessive histamine. Worsening your bloating. Setting back your progress.
Because someone convinced you more bacteria was the key to clearing a bacterial overgrowth?
It's not bad, but there's so many compounds that get lost when they hyper focus on one compound. A full spectrum approach matters.
What Are the Right Criteria for a SIBO Supplement?
A smarter idea is to use something that is:
A) Not a bacteria
B) Doesn't colonise
C) Actively lowers inflammation, clears toxins and carries out pathogens.
I feel like when making posts like these I have to be a bit broader and mention something that will most likely work for everyone, but may not be as fast as a personalised intervention, I don't think this is a standalone treatment at all.
Why Is Saccharomyces Boulardii the Standout SIBO Supplement?
One microbe that fits all three of these categories?
Sacharomyces Boulardii.
- Average 40% reduction in gas (as opposed to MORE in bacterial probiotic treatments)
- Average 60% reduction in SIBO symptoms
- Can lower circulating endotoxin by up to 60% (instead of making systemic symptoms worse)
- Binds to and carries out pathogens
- Physically degrades toxins making them less damaging.
- Increases your bodies own production of DAO which breaks down histamine
The statistic don't lie. These were tested in IBS patients functionally the same as the ones who had negative reactions to the probiotic bacteria,
Simply switching to a probiotic yeast was a game changer for them. And it likely is for you.
Personally I'd work on the gut lining also whilst doing this to restore DAO capacity too.
How Do You Use the SIBO Soda Method?
My favourite way to consume is the SIBO Soda method in my highlights,
It pairs the benefits of purely probiotic yeast with that of fresh and cooked ginger.
Tailored specifically to support those with IBS/SIBO.
- Source a quality Saccharomyces Boulardii preparation.
- Combine with fresh and cooked ginger as per the SIBO Soda method.
- Allow 24 hours to make.
- Use 4-5 ingredients total.
- Active prep time is 15 minutes.
What If You Want a More Targeted Approach?
If you want to get a better idea of your own issues, so you can use targeted methods that don't make you feel WORSE,
Take the free GutFix assessment. I'll even leave you with some personalised tips from what I've seen work best for YOUR specific gut type.
A big focus of these posts isn't just to contrast misinformation, but more so provide the correct information instead. It sounds subtle but it's a big mindset shift, allows me to be non-emotional around people spreading misinformation when my sole goal is to just provide as good information as possible.
