Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) Breath Test
Recent research shows that approximately 84% of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are positive for SIBO. The large intestine is where the body’s beneficial bacteria resides in a normal state. The small intestine should be relatively free of bacteria. When bacteria overgrow in the small intestine, it becomes a site of inflammation that can lead to digestive issues & food allergies in addition to many other symptoms. A more complete list can be found at the following link:
https://www.siboinfo.com/symptoms.html
To complete this test, you would drink a special sugar mixture that acts as food for these bacterial colonies. You take a breath sample every 20 minutes over a 3 hour period as this mixture moves through the small intestine. The bacteria can produce a mixture of hydrogen and methane gas as it feeds on the mixture. By sampling the amount of gas produced, we can determine whether there is a bacterial overgrowth present.