SIBO Diet Options
If you’ve reached this page, it’s safe to assume that you’ve been experiencing some digestive issues. SIBO is an easy thing to diagnose however it can be a much more difficult thing to treat. Dietary interventions are the best way to start SIBO treatment. This article will cover diet info for SIBO and suggestions on how to make it more successful.
While some doctors will recommend a low-FODMAP diet or antibiotics, here at Atrantil, we prefer a low-carbohydrate diet instead. 
So first things first,
What is SIBO?
SIBO is short for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. The name tells you exactly what is happening. You’ve got an overgrowth of bacteria in your small intestines — a place that should be mostly free of bacteria.
These bacteria can cause difficult symptoms like:
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Bloating
- Unexplained vitamin deficiencies
- Unintentional weight loss
- Malabsorption
- Osteoporosis
- Nutritional deficiencies
Certain bacteria within the small intestine will be methane-producing which leads to constipation-dominant symptoms. While hydrogen-producing bacteria will cause diarrhea-dominant symptoms. These gas-producing microbes are the main cause of all of your problems.
Whether you have hydrogen or methane-producing bacteria, they feed off of the same food types — high-carbohydrate or high-FODMAPs. This is why controlling diet is so important to manage SIBO symptoms.
Diet Options for SIBO
When it comes to managing SIBO symptoms, you want to limit the foods that feed the gas-producing bacteria. If you can starve them, it becomes a more hostile environment for them to grow and replicate. While that is just step one to controlling them, diet is a huge factor in recovering from SIBO flare ups.
Low-FODMAP Diet for SIBO
FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharide, disaccharide, monosaccharide, and polyols. Basically, all of these things are fermentable carbohydrates.
When these non-digestible carbs are being fermented, they release gasses. This is why most doctors recommend limiting foods that contribute to these gasses.
The low-FODMAP diet has been quite successful when treating SIBO.
However, the low-FODMAP diet can be excessively restrictive in what you are allowed to eat, to the point that it can be dangerous. This can put you at a higher risk of having nutrient deficiencies.
You’ll be getting rid of most fruits, veggies, dairy, and grains — all staples of a healthy diet. Some of the foods you’ll be restricting on the low FODMAP diet include:
- Bread
- Legumes
- Nuts
- Artichokes
- Onions
- Garlic
- Milk and milk products
- Apples
- Pears
- Watermelon
- Mango
- Honey
- Sugar snap peas
- Snow peas
- Mushrooms
- Cauliflower
Low-Carbohydrate Diet for SIBO
Long-term use of the low-FODMAP diet can lead to dangerous nutritional deficiencies. Doctors generally won’t use the low fodmap diet for the long term. However, when symptoms flare up as soon as you stop the diet it can feel like the only option.
Fortunately, there are low-carb diets that work just as well as the low fodmap diet and offer you a healthier and more robust dietary option.
The ketogenic (commonly known as keto) diet is a common low-carb diet option. Keto can be easier to follow than most diet plans because it has become so popular in recent years. That means there are more resources and recipes making it easier to stick to. Plus, the fact that people quickly drop weight while on this diet means you might find a partner to keep you on track.
The keto diet is not the only low-carb diet to consider. If you aren’t big on eating fats and meats, you may want to look for another low-carb option. Some other diet options you can look into include:
- Low-carb Mediterranean diet
- Low-carb high fat (very similar to keto)
- Low-carb paleo diet
- A typical low-carb diet that restricts mostly unhealthy carbs
Carbohydrates are starches and sugars found in foods. These are what you will be limited when on a low-carb diet for SIBO:
- Bread
- Pasta
- Potatoes
- Bananas
- Apples
- Lentils
- Milk
- Processed foods
- Oatmeal
- Beans
How to Successfully Use the Low-Carb Diet for SIBO
These tips will help you to feel fuller for longer. Oftentimes, what derails people on the low-carb diet is that they feel hungry all the time. It’s hard to get full when you aren’t eating many carbs considering carbs are what give us energy and keep us full and moving.
Swap High-Carb for High-Fiber Foods
Carbs are really what keep you full for longer periods of time.
Think about when you eat at your favorite Italian restaurant — pasta, garlic bread, wine — you stay full forever after a meal like that!
Think about how you feel when you eat a lot of fresh foods, you feel hungry pretty quickly, don’t you?
Try grabbing foods that are high in fiber.
The fiber will take longer to digest so you stay full for longer.
With increased fiber intake, you may be visiting the restroom more frequently, so increase it a little bit at a time to allow your body to adjust.
Pair Fruits and Veggies with Protein
This is a great way to keep your stomach feeling full for longer.
Adding peanut butter to your celery or banana increases your protein for the day and keeps you snacking less while keeping your diet on track.
Plant-based proteins are a better option since they haven’t been linked to organ damage.
How to Make Your SIBO Diet More Successful
Speak With a Registered Dietitian
When suggesting to speak with a registered dietitian (RD) that means speaking with an RD, not your cousin that got their nutrition certificate online. RD’s go to extensive schooling, internships, and state testing to earn that title, which means they really know their stuff.
Your RD will work with you on finding trigger foods and how to correctly supplement them so you aren’t missing out on vital nutrients.
Registered dietitians are also prepared to look out for common issues that go along with restrictive diets including:
- Eating disorders/Fear of certain foods
- Malnutrition
- Anxiety and depression
Look Into SIBO Support Groups in Your Area
Going to group meetings may not be something you want to do, as many people don’t enjoy talking about their bathroom habits.
However, it can be extremely beneficial to have a group to keep you accountable.
Over a period of 8 weeks, 17 patients were studied. 14 out of the 17 patients (82%) reported having gut symptom relief while following the group counseling sessions.
Avoid Making SIBO Symptoms Worse: Plan and Prepare Your Meals and Snacks Ahead of Time
Let’s face it, when you’re hungry you don’t want to be worrying about what to eat. This is why most people don’t end up having successful results with dieting in general.
Low-carb diets really restrict what you can eat, so preparing ahead of time with foods that won’t make your SIBO symptoms worse is crucial to a successful outcome.
Find Your SIBO Trigger Foods: Keep a Food Diary
Food diaries are suggested for everything from stomach issues to migraines and autoimmune disorders.
Our food is incredibly important when it comes to health and disease.
Keeping track of your foods and symptoms on a daily basis will help you to see what might be causing your problems. This can help you to get off of your diet quicker and back to feeling yourself.
Gut Hypnotherapy for SIBO
When tested against a low-FODMAP diet gut hypnotherapy had comparable results. At the 6-week check, gut hypnotherapy actually had a higher level of success than the diet.
This may be a better option for those who have psychologically-derived symptoms. It can also be a great option to pair with your SIBO diet to keep you on track for reduced symptoms.
Natural Supplements for SIBO
The use of natural supplements for SIBO treatment has been scientifically proven to be successful through several studies. Natural supplements work just as well, if not better than traditional medical treatments.
One study pinned Rifaximin up against an herbal treatment.
Both got similar results with the herbal supplement barely trailing the Rifaximin.
Those who failed treatment with Rifaximin went through a washout period and tried the herbal treatment with a 57% success rate.
Atrantil is another herbal supplement that has a fantastic success rate. It is a botanical blend of polyphenols in which the ingredients work synergistically to help relieve symptoms of bacterial overgrowth, such as bloating, abdominal discomfort and change of bowel habits.
- Peppermint leaf relaxes, soothes, and reduces inflammation in your gut allowing for the other two products to swoop in and save the day.
- Quebracho Colorado soaks up all of the hydrogen gas that has been produced and breaks into the cell walls of the archaebacteria.
- Horse Chestnut goes into the cell wall of the archaebacteria and attacks the enzyme that produces methane. It also targets regular bacteria to prevent the production of hydrogen.
These three powerful polyphenols pack a punch on the root cause of your gastrointestinal issues. Atrantil paired with a successful SIBO diet can help you to prevent future flare-ups.
Atrantil has been put up to two trials and passed both with incredible results.
- A double-blind placebo test came out with an over 88% success rate for those who were taking Atrantil.
- People who failed at least 4 other forms of treatment were put to the Atrantil test with 80% of the test subjects showing improvement!
The low-FODMAP diet has had a success rate of anywhere between 50-86% throughout different studies.
Atrantil has been consistent at around 80%.
If you haven’t tried Atrantil, talk with your doctor and see if it might be the best solution for you!
We have some great low carb and low-FODMAP recipes on our website to give you quick, easy, and surprisingly delicious meals and snacks to keep your SIBO diet on track!
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/2/373/htm https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jgh.13687 https://gut.bmj.com/content/63/Suppl_1/A238.1.abstract https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27397586/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4030608/#__sec8title https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390324/