Sound Integrative Health Blog

A recent 2016 study for 29 female patients with chronic constipation and Small Intestinal Bacteria Growth (SIBO) used 24 mcg twice per day of Lubiprostone (a prescriptive intestinal secretagogue). 41% of those people who tested positive for SIBO were SIBO negative after 2 weeks. This well designed (but albeit small) study also measured gastric emptying time, small bowel transit time, colon transit time (CTT), combined small and large bowel transit time (SLBTT) and whole gut transit time were measured using wireless motility capsule and showed improvement in those parameters. Stooling increased from 2x per week to 4x per week. As someone who treats a lot of SIBO and Chronic Constipation this is a promising new integrative treatment that may even have better results combined with natural therapies and even other conventional therapies. I am investigating more about the reported low side effects of Lubiprostone. The most exciting thing is that it helps us understand more of the mecha...

I had the great pleasure of being interviewed on Tap Integrative this week. This is likely going to be featured in the coming months on www.tapintegrative.org  I spoke as an expert in the digestive disorder Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Here is a picture from the set. I look pretty darn serious but mainly super focused! Much to my surprise Dr. Tori Hudson interviewed me. Dr. Hudson has been one of the physicians I have respected the most since I considered joining the profession in 1998.  I ironically interviewed her in 1998 to see if I wanted to join the profession....she convinced me then! I had a lot of fun as well as Dr. Hudson has a great way about her and a clever sense of humor! I also had a great round table conversation with Dr. Joshua Goldenberg a evidence based medicine expert in Natural Medicine and Dr. Mark Davis an expert in Fecal Microbiota Transplant. I felt honored to be there and among so many great minds in my profession. I am inspired to...

You are not infected. SIBO is an overgrowth of normal bacteria or archaea of your gut who have migrated (north) from the Large Intestine to Small Intestine. They have moved and have found a hospitable home in a normally inhospitable location. There are many reasons that one develops Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and the most common is like due to a chronic functional bowel disorder like Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Other reasons you might develop SIBO is due to chronic intestinal problems like Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Prolonged use of Proton Pump Inhibitors, or history of bowel surgeries. Your food choices don’t cause SIBO but may have worsened it. People on really healthy diets get SIBO too….but since bacteria feeds on rapidly ferment-able  carbohydrates and starches you may have been feeding the problem. However don’t blame your food for the problem there is usually a deeper underlying cause. The standard treatment is an antibiotic called Rifaximin but herbal medici...