Are you looking for relief of gas bloating or digestive discomfort with probiotics? Maybe you have IBS or been diagnosed with SIBO also known as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. In the video below I am going to share one source for many digestive issues like IBS, gas bloating, and SIBO. The source might surprise you bit. Yes it is probiotics but it may not be for the reasons you think. First, I think it will be helpful for me to give you a little background.
Ok so many people struggle with persistent and uncomfortable gas and bloating and use probiotics to help. This approach is fine and often does work but they could make things worse too.
Here is why.
SIBO Probiotics and Gas
Probiotics contain commensal or helpful microbes that help improve your microbiome by helping to increase in number and diversity of microbes in your gut. Generally this would be a bonus for digestion in general and specifically for gas and bloating.
However, many probiotics contain prebiotics which could cause some people more gas bloating and discomfort. This is particularly prevalent in cases where SIBO is present.
So what are Prebiotic's? Prebiotics are essentially food for your intestinal bacteria. With SIBO, the good microbes in your large intestine get into the small intestine. There they consume some of the food your body would otherwise naturally absorb. The specific types of food these bugs will eat are fermentable things (FOD MAP's). These fermentable foods are the same types of substance that make up prebiotcs. So if you suspect your probiotic is making things worse check out the label and see if it has a prebiotic in it. If it is making things worse you may have SIBO.
Lets look at some examples of prebiotics.
Examples of Prebiotics
FOS or fructooligosaccharides is the most common prebiotic but both fructose and oligosaccharides are highly fermentable. So while hit sis good for the microbes in the large intestines it is not if you have bugs in your small intestine. Other examples of probiotics include:
- Inulin
- Artichoke Fiber
- Onions and garlic
- Asparagus
- Chicory root
These are just some examples of probiotics that often do increase gas and bloating and SIBO symptoms. Many fiber sources can be probiotics but do not trigger increased gas and bloating for those with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.
Hopefully this information was helpful in understanding how probiotics can be both helpful and sometimes harmful for those with gas, bloating, and SIBO. Keep in mind, this was focused more on how probiotics and probiotics can sometimes have a negative impact on some people. We did not explore the positive effects of probiotics and prebiotics.
So how about you have you had any problems with probiotics? Let us know in the comments section below.
