SUFFERING FROM SIBO?

This puzzling condition could be the reason for your gut troubles

- Amy Hadley

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a gut condition that doesn’t receive much attention, partly because it’s something science and medical communities are still investigating.

Dr Emma Beckett, lecturer in food science and human nutrition at the University of Newcastle shares what we do know about it, and how it could affect you.

CAUSES

“As the name suggests, the condition occurs when too much bacteria grows in the small intestine,” Dr Beckett explains. “The causes are not totally understood yet, but it can occur when people have structural or anatomical abnormalities that change the way contents move through the gut.”

The triggers of SIBO are not fully known, but having other gut conditions, some medications and some surgeries may cause it. “The acid from the stomach reduces bacterial growth at the start of the small intestine,” she says. So when the pH of the gut is too low, bacteria may overgrow.