SIBO itself results from something not working quite right in the gut. If the gut were functioning in a healthy, happy way, SIBO would not occur.

However, once it has occurred, you MUST kill off the overgrowth before attempting to address the root cause. A dangerous and common myth in the SIBO community is you can ‘starve off’ SIBO bacteria once they have populated the small intestine. You can’t.

To help you understand what the root causes of your SIBO might be, we explore:

The science of the small intestine and some common root causes such as:

• Low motility

• Dysbiosis

• Low stomach acids

• Structural differences

• Alcohol overuse

We also explore risk factors for the development of SIBO, of which there are many. We explore food poisoning as a root cause because it is surprisingly common, and people often fail to make the connection.

SIBO usually occurs after a considerable period of time after food poisoning happens. It’s not like you get food poisoning, and then a few days later, you have SIBO. Development can take weeks and sometimes months. That is because food poisoning can damage something called the migrating motor complex – and when this doesn’t work quite correctly, over time, too many bacteria can start to populate the small intestine.