Could SIBO Be Behind Your Digestive Symptoms? Are you bothered by abdominal bloating, gas, flatulence, belching, or an irritable bowel—constipation alternating with diarrhea, or perhaps predominantly one or the other? If so, you may be dealing with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), a now well-recognized but still frequently overlooked form of intestinal dysbiosis. What Is SIBO? You may already be familiar with one form of dysbiosis, in which yeast (such as Candida) or harmful bacteria overgrow in the intestines and crowd out beneficial organisms. SIBO is different. SIBO occurs specifically in the small intestine—the approximately 20-foot-long, tightly coiled digestive tube that connects the stomach to the colon. Under healthy conditions, the small intestine contains relatively few bacteria compared to the colon. When bacteria or other microorganisms that normally reside there begin to proliferate excessively, a pathological imbalance develops. This overgrowth i…

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort, along with chronic diarrhea, constipation, or both—either mixed or in alternation. Its impact ranges from mild inconvenience to severe debilitation. The economic burden of IBS to our country was estimated at $30 billion yearly in 2007. It affects 25-45 million people in the US, about 10-15% of the population worldwide. Studies indicate IBS is rare in underdeveloped countries and increases as countries (and their diets) become westernized. Women are twice as likely as men to be afflicted with IBS.Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) isn’t restricted to adults. It’s been estimated that up to 25% of school-aged children worldwide suffer from RAP, and that about 60% of RAP is actually IBS. Although factors such as stress, hormonal fluctuations, and food allergies and sensitivities can trigger IBS and RAP, their causes are unknown.However, research done in the last twenty years indicates that for anywhere…

Getting enough magnesium is a problem for most people in industrial societies, where soil depletion and food processing have stripped minerals, especially magnesium, from our food; and magnesium deficiency is showing up in all kinds of health problems, from heart disease to neurological and emotional problems, from chronic fatigue to diabetes, and more. But taking too much magnesium—or more specifically, taking more magnesium than you can absorb—can be a problem too. Magnesium that the body can’t absorb causes an osmotic pressure in the bowel that stimulates bowel movement, decreasing “transit time” (the time it takes food to travel from the mouth out through the anus) and causing loose stools and/or diarrhea. When food is rushed through the gut in this way, there isn’t enough time for the intestines to absorb nutrients adequately.  Such was the case for a chemistry professor who consulted renowned alternative health doctor Dr. Jonathan V. W…