As an integrative doctor, I see a lot of people suffering from different medical conditions, where the start of their problems is in the gut. Unfortunately, a lot of degenerative diseases started with the modern diet. Process refined foods and sugars are the major culprits to this. These foods feed the wrong bacteria in our gut, causing fermentation, with production of alcohol and acetaldehyde, both toxic to the gut lining. Small intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO, is something fairly commonly seen in my practice. There is excessive bacteria in the small intestine, causing a range of different symptoms, from mild to severe, like bloating, chronic diarrhoea/constipation, weight loss, malabsorption, etc. This is seen typically in patients where iron and B12 levels are low and possible causes have been ruled out through history, endoscopy and blood tests.
Over the recent years this have been aggravated with the excessive use of antiacids, as unhealthy processed foods and alcohol causes reflux, adding more issues to the problem of an unhealthy gut. From my clinical experience, removing these foods, normally results in symptoms disappearing.
There are studies showing an association between SIBO and lots of medical conditions like coronary artery disease, irritable bowel syndrome, liver disease, to name a few. Add to this the use of common herbicides disrupting the soil bacteria and it is a recipe for disaster. If we poison the soil, we are poisoning ourselves, having an effect on our gut health.
Clean up your diet, use organic, have regularly probiotic foods, (I personally recommend Kultured Wellness) and drink clean water to keep those little bugs healthy and you will save visits to the doctor.
