# How long would it take to starve SIBO bacteria?



## Freud (Mar 22, 2012)

How long can the bacteria live without food - carbohydrates?


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

I think it may depend on how bad the overgrowth is and what exact type of diet you're on, but I've read everything from several months to a couple of years. Generally, I think dietary modification alone without antibiotics or probiotics, etc can take a long time. You may feel releif in the short term even if there are still some bacteria present though.


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## Freud (Mar 22, 2012)

faze action said:


> I think it may depend on how bad the overgrowth is and what exact type of diet you're on, but I've read everything from several months to a couple of years. Generally, I think dietary modification alone without antibiotics or probiotics, etc can take a long time. You may feel releif in the short term even if there are still some bacteria present though.


I'm sad to hear that







So the bacteria can live years without eating? Would natural supplements like Grapefruit Seed Extract, peppermint, oregano help, do you think?


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Freud said:


> I'm sad to hear that
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't think individual bacterium can live long without food, but in order to reduce the overall load it could take awhile. I'm not a doctor (or nutritionist) though, so I could be wrong about that. Grapefruit seed extract is supposed to be useful (I've not used it myself) as well as oregano oil and peppermint. A quality probiotic can also exert mild antibiotic properties on the small intestine, but it takes much, much longer than antibiotics. The link below has some basic info about natural remedies:http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/overgrowth.htmIMHO, the real issue is addressing the underlying cause because SIBO recurrences are all too common (that I know from firsthand experience).


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

faze action said:


> I don't think individual bacterium can live long without food, but in order to reduce the overall load it could take awhile. I'm not a doctor (or nutritionist) though, so I could be wrong about that. Grapefruit seed extract is supposed to be useful (I've not used it myself) as well as oregano oil and peppermint. A quality probiotic can also exert mild antibiotic properties on the small intestine, but it takes much, much longer than antibiotics. The link below has some basic info about natural remedies:http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/overgrowth.htmIMHO, the real issue is addressing the underlying cause because SIBO recurrences are all too common (that I know from firsthand experience).


SIBO, as the cause of IBS, is a notion developed by Mark Pimentel, author of The New IBS Solution.I don't have his book present as I write this, but he states that you can starve the bacteria by consuming only water, a product called an "elemental diet," and a permissible artificial sweetener. The key is the elemental diet which consists of amino acids, glucose (actually, something quite close to glucose), a small amount of fatty acids, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals. It takes around two weeks of this diet to starve completely all the bacteria. The elemental diet is expensive, but it can be purchased without a prescription.After I read his book, I was completely convinced. I never took a breath test. I did a couple of courses of Xifaxan and had no benefit. I did the elemental diet protocol two separate times. They gave me no help. A follower of Pimentel would conclude that my IBS is not caused by SIBO.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Moises said:


> SIBO, as the cause of IBS, is a notion developed by Mark Pimentel, author of The New IBS Solution.I don't have his book present as I write this, but he states that you can starve the bacteria by consuming only water, a product called an "elemental diet," and a permissible artificial sweetener. The key is the elemental diet which consists of amino acids, glucose (actually, something quite close to glucose), a small amount of fatty acids, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals. It takes around two weeks of this diet to starve completely all the bacteria. The elemental diet is expensive, but it can be purchased without a prescription.After I read his book, I was completely convinced. I never took a breath test. I did a couple of courses of Xifaxan and had no benefit. I did the elemental diet protocol two separate times. They gave me no help. A follower of Pimentel would conclude that my IBS is not caused by SIBO.


Not all IBS is caused by SIBO. I definitely have SIBO though since I've had numerous positive breath tests and responded positively to rifaximin.I have that book at home also... forgot about the elemental diet. I never used that, but the end result would still be the same: my SIBO would recur due to some motility issue with my small intestine.


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## Dr Dani MD (Jan 20, 2012)

The best way to 'rebalance' the bacteria in your gut is to do a combination of uncovering food triggers and also getting on a good probiotic supplement daily. Two of the most common food triggers are Dairy, esp. cows dairy, wheat and gluten. U don't have to 'starve' the bad ones--just get rid of them by changing the diet and making more of the good bugs is the way to go AVOID antibiotics to try to 'get rid of' bad bacteria--this will just make the imbalance worse--Unless u have a parasite (i.e. your symptoms started after returning from a long trip in the tropics, esp. S. America)Dr. Dani


Freud said:


> How long can the bacteria live without food - carbohydrates?


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