SIBO Treatment Los Angeles—A Functional Medicine Approach to Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

Bloated? Feeling full and uncomfortable soon after eating? Or do you snack mindlessly throughout the day? Together, these could be signaling or causing a larger gut health condition called SIBO or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. 

Ideally, the stomach and large intestines are home to trillions of bacteria, while the small intestines are comparatively cleaner and run free of it. It is the site of digestion, absorption of nutrition, and sweeps away bacteria and waste products towards the large intestines for excretion. Certain gut issues, such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), cirrhosis, scleroderma, Parkinson's disease, and obesity, are related to an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, resulting in SIBO. SIBO long-term treatment must go beyond traditional medicine and demand holistic therapy like that offered by functional medicine to restore gut health. 

What Causes SIBO

The functional medicine treatment for SIBO involves analyzing the root cause of the disease.  These include:

Low motility of the small intestine due to poor MMC support: The migrating motor complex (MMC) is a cleaning wave of high-frequency contractions in the smooth muscles of the small intestines. It removes bacteria from the small intestine throughout the day, leaving 98% of gut bacteria in the large intestine and only 2% in the small intestine, preventing bacterial overgrowth. Dampened MMC functions can trigger SIBO.

Other causes involve:

• Post-gut surgery scars, fistulas, and structural abnormalities that weaken the sphincters between the intestines causing bacterial movements toward the small intestine.
• Low production of stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, and bile after long-term use of proton pump inhibitors and other acid-blocking drugs can trigger SIBO.
• Food-borne illness causing food poisoning that affects the gut barriers, allowing bacterial growth.
• Suppressed immunity reduces immunoglobulin A production in the gut and increases the risk of SIBO.
• Food sensitivities, poor dietary choices, processed and GMO foods, and frequent use of antibiotics lower the number of gut-friendly bacteria causing dysbiosis and triggering SIBO. 

 

 

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Do You Have SIBO? The Signs and Symptoms

The typical symptoms of SIBO are perpetually feeling bloated, feeling uncomfortably full soon after eating, belching, the formation of wind and gas post meals, and heartburn.

 

The more advanced symptoms include the following:

• Pain and cramps in the abdominal area
• Exhaustion
• Brain fog and fatigue
• Nausea
• Diarrhea or constipation

 

SIBO Long-Term Treatment—The Functional Medicine Method

The best functional medicine doctor Los Angeles has 3 key goals for reversing SIBO from its roots. These are:

• Treat SIBO with a ‘whole person’ approach. This ensures that gut health is integral and perhaps the starting point of multiple diseases in the body
• Curbing the bacterial overgrowth in the small intestines and restoring normal gut functions
• Treating other dysfunctions of the gut that coexist with SIBO

 

Conventional Treatment and Functional Medicine Approach to Heal SIBO—They Differ

Traditional gastroenterologists will approach the treatment of SIBO USA with prescribed courses of rifaximin or metronidazole; essentially a short-sighted roller coaster ride of antibiotics. 

 

You start taking them, go off them, and eventually need them again when symptoms recur. 

 

SIBO treatment Los Angeles also recommends a strict low-FODMAP ((Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols), which, no doubt is advised, but is difficult to follow forlong and hampers quality of life. 

 

The potential downsides of conventional SIBO long-term treatment:

 

• High recurrence of SIBO after the medicines and diets are stopped.
• Having a FODMAP diet for a long time heightens the risk of developing certain nutritional deficiencies.
• The typical SIBO tests that do not refer to the functional ranges overlook the messenger molecules produced by the gut bacteria. These are critical to identifying the predominant species of bacteria, evaluating the condition of the intestinal wall, and deficiencies if any.

 

Functional medicine treatment for SIBO involves 2 parts:

 

The Tests and Investigations

 

The most common SIBO test USA is the Breath Test. It can be easily done at home with a one-day preparatory diet. You are asked to drink a glucose or lactulose solution and after a prescribed time, the gases in the breath produced by the fermenting bacteria in the gut are noted. It also involves direct imaging—anatomical issues in the small intestine can be directly visualized through ultrasonography scans (USG), endoscopy, colonoscopy, antroduodenal manometry, and barium follow-through images. 

 

Certain additional tests that are a must at the SIBO treatment center looking to treat the gut holistically are:

 

• Stool test: Critical to SIBO overview, this gives the fecal biomarkers related to different bacterial strains, enzymes, and dysbiosis patterns.

• Vinculin & CdtB Antibodies: This test detects the presence of antibodies to vinculin and CdtB that are markers of post-infectious IBS. This confirms the issues of intestinal motility and a higher chance of coexisting with SIBO.

• Nutrient and sensitivity profiling: Ee must identify deficiencies in iron, vitamin D, and zinc and food sensitivities/allergies. They have a synergistic effect on SIBO and worsen the chances of healing the gut.

• Thyroid Panel: Low thyroid hormone could be the reason for poor motility in the intestines and low gut enzymes. 

• Cortisol Testing: High stress levels producing cortisol can be an underlying cause of SIBO.

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c): Neuropathies from diabetes can cause gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying).

To get started you can click here for a free 15 minute evaluation call.

 

The Personalized Treatment Plan

Based on the symptoms, a complete gut history, and the tests, the functional medicine doctor Los Angeles starts with Patient Education. It is imperative to understand the gut and your body physiology to be able to follow the treatment plan for SIBO diligently. Based on the results and body types, the functional medicine for SIBO Los Angeles is modified to suit the person. 

Diet

‘What you eat’ and ‘what you should eat’ form the foundation of the Functional Medicine Approach. 

Elimination diet: Cut back on foods that are not indicated in gut issues, SIBO, or are not compatible with your body type. Some of the recommended diet plans are:

Low-FODMAP diet—for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a coexisting condition of SIBO. This includes, meat, fish, and eggs are examples of low-sugar, high-fiber foods; gluten-free grains like rice and quinoa; vegetables like spaghetti squash, leafy greens, and carrots; and tiny amounts of blueberries, grapes, oranges, and strawberries.

Specific Carbohydrate (SCD): Suggested by Dr. Sidney Haas in the 1920s, it reduced many grain varieties, sugars, and processed foods.

Bi-Phasic: Designed by Dr. Nirala Jacobi, it merges low-FODMAP and Specific Carbohydrate diets in two structured phases.

GAPS—Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet—by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is based on links between gut imbalances and both physical and mental health.

Cedars-Sinai diets—by Dr. Mark Pimentel—limit fermentable carbs and structure meal timing to reduce bacterial food sources; the SIBO symptoms are organically managed through selective eating.

Supplements include medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), omega-3 sources, butyric acid, and vitamin A.

 

 

Migrating Motor Complex Support

There are some diets and lifestyle modifications recommended by the best functional medicine doctor in USA, that can break the vicious interdependencies of SIBO and MMC functions. Remember that MMC support therapy needs to be strictly monitored by your Functional Medicine practitioner. This includes:

Meal Timings

Perpetual nibbling and mindless snacking disrupt the MMC cycles. There should be at least a 3-4 hour gap between meals. 

Portion control

Eating disrupts the MMC; therefore, larger meals completely stop the cycle. It's best to eat in smaller portions as recommended. 

Beverages In-between Meals

Plain liquids like water, tea, and black coffee without the sugars and the creamer are fine, but mindlessly sipping on beverages like packed fruit sjuices, milk coffee, aerated drinks, colas, etc. can repeatedly hinder intestinal motility.

Fasting

A 10-12 hour overnight fast is critical to resetting the MMC. Termed intermittent fasting, it can be overnight fasting, alternate day fasting, and fasting twice a week as advised by the doctor. 

Stress Management

To improve digestive issues, it's essential to build time for relaxation and reduce stress levels. 5-10 minutes of deep breathing and following guided meditations is ideal for MMC support.

To get started you can click here for a free 15 minute evaluation call.

 

 

 

 

SIBO Treatment Los Angeles with Dr Anshul Gupta

SIBO or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, is common yet underrecognized as a cause of poor gut health. Dr. Anshul Gupta and his team of experts, as proponents of Functional Medicine, envision gut health as the door to overall health—both physical and mental. Our primary focus is ‘personalization’ for diagnosing SIBO, its root causes, and devising a treatment plan. This ‘patient-centric’ approach includes carefully planned elimination diets, supplements, and lifestyle modifications to support the MMC and mitigate dysbiosis. 

 

If you or someone in your family is battling gut issues for years, the cause could be SIBO. Let us find out and improve gut health together.

 

To get started you can click here for a free 15 minute evaluation call.