My Experience of the Elemental Diet for SIBO

If you have bloating or what’s commonly known as the endo belly - SIBO is something to pay attention to. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth is incredibly common within the endometriosis community, in fact, recent research has shown that up to 80% of endometriosis patients may have SIBO.

So how can you treat it if you test positive? One of the treatment options is the elemental diet, and today’s episode is all about my experience of the elemental diet for SIBO.

Those of you who are following my SIBO journey may know that I’ve already completed three rounds of antimicrobials, to find out how that went, have a listen to episode 126 - My SIBO Treatment: An Update. After three rounds my hydrogen was at 63ppm and my methane levels were at 10ppm, given that the elemental diet reduces gas levels by 70ppm on average, this seemed like a good time to try the elemental diet and potentially clear my SIBO in one final round.

So what is the elemental diet? The elemental diet is a powdered (sometimes liquid) formula that includes all of your calories and nutrients in a predigested state so that your gut can absorb your nutrients immediately instead of taking time to digest them. This means you get fed, but the SIBO archae or bacteria starve because there’s no time for them to feast on your food during digestion. It also allows your gut the chance to heal because it’s not having to do any work, and for this reason, the diet is also used for people with severe gut health conditions like crohn's, ulcerative colitis, coeliac disease, malabsorption and in hospitals for patients who can’t eat for other medical reasons. It’s safe (though must be followed carefully and correctly to be so), well studied and evidence based and includes everything you need, from macro to micro nutrients.

For SIBO, this powder is blended with water and oil (if fat isn’t included in your formula) and poured over ice. This shake is the only source of food for 12-21 days, with the purpose being to starve and therefore kill the SIBO bacteria or archaea. You are of course also allowed to drink water alongside this. Some patients have experimented with weak black teas and coffee, and plain boiled or baked chicken or steak (trimmed of fat and skin) and this has worked for some, but has not been proven in studies.

The elemental diet as I said earlier, reduces gas levels on average by 70ppm, but has in some cases has reduced by up to 150ppm, which is incredible! It’s 80% effective at eradicating SIBO after 2 weeks, and 85% effective at 3 weeks, so it’s a really great tool for those with high gas levels. However, it’s expensive, at about £600 to £1000 per round and is also emotionally and physically challenging, so the decision to go ahead with the elemental diet shouldn’t be taken lightly!

I wanted to share my experience of the elemental diet with you all, as it can be an overwhelming treatment to contemplate trying and so I hope my experience will help you to make an informed decision and will hopefully also help you to have a better experience if you do go ahead with this form of treatment.

So in this episode, I discuss:

How much I spent on the elemental diet, and how I planned and prepared for it.

The challenges of the first week - in particular, blood sugar dysregulation (severe) and die off.

How I tweaked my formula to achieve better blood sugar regulation and how that completely transformed my experience of the elemental diet in the second week.

How I felt emotionally, from my feelings about socialising and sharing my experience with friends and family to crying over my boyfriend’s pizza!

The benefits I experienced, from stabilised and sustained energy in the second week to laser sharp focus.

My SIBO results - they’re not what I expected - and why I’m back on the elemental diet (yes, really)!

I really hope that this episode is useful to you, whether you’re about to start the elemental diet or you recently had your SIBO diagnosis and you’re contemplating what’s next for you. Please feel free to direct message me on Instagram if I’ve missed anything that you’re particularly interested in!

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This episode is sponsored by my free guide ‘A Natural Pain Relief Tool Kit for Endometriosis’. This four page guide includes evidence based and effective remedies which you can use at home to reduce your pain with endo. Download your copy here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at hello@thisendolife.com or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

The SIBO, Endometriosis and Interstitial Cystitis Connection wth Dr. Allison Siebecker

How To Treat SIBO with Dr Allison Siebecker

Understanding The Endometriosis Belly, Part 3: SIBO Symptoms

How Do You Know When to Test for SIBO?

How to Test for SIBO at Home

Understanding The Endometriosis Belly, Part 1

Understanding The Endometriosis Belly, Part 2