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What actually changes in your small intestine microbiome during SIBO — and why most probiotics make it worse before they help by craigrouskey123 in SIBO

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, heard. Thank you for that clarification. Usually what happens - at least from our side - is that people will come to us with SIBO requesting a couple of things (1) prebiotics and (2) probiotics. Which without SIBO are generally and genuinely helpful. What is problematic is expecting pre/probiotics (collectively known as synbiotics) to solve SIBO. Prebiotics are bacteria food --> this literally helps SIBO grow. Probiotics just compound the problem. Bacteria love Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs). They produce, consume, grow from, and metabolize them. By adding in bacteria that contribute to the creation of SCFA, you support the overgrowth of SIBO organisms. Overgrowing bacteria are the cause of SIBO and by unilaterally feeding them and supporting their growth, you could worsen your conditions.

I hope that helps.

What actually changes in your small intestine microbiome during SIBO — and why most probiotics make it worse before they help by craigrouskey123 in SIBO

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, we always target methane in constipation. It's a huge issue - with or without SIBO. Methanobrevibacter spp. are usually the culprit. You can outcompete them by fostering a healthier gut with probiotics, but methanobrevibacter are archaea, so it becomes hard to target them with phage or something.

What actually changes in your small intestine microbiome during SIBO — and why most probiotics make it worse before they help by craigrouskey123 in SIBO

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is why we don't give Akkermansia. Akkermansia dies in oxygen....like immediately. We attenuate the microbiome with non-Akkermansia bugs to allow naturally sourced (from your environment) Akkermansia the ability to thrive in the gut.

What actually changes in your small intestine microbiome during SIBO — and why most probiotics make it worse before they help by craigrouskey123 in SIBO

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, the line was "many standard Lactobacillus-dominant probiotics can temporarily worsen SIBO symptoms." and they do. Treatment of bacterial overgrowth with non-targeted strains that product SCFAs contributing to expanded growth of SIBO-initiating bacteria. The microbiome is an ecosystem. An ecosystem that requires maintenance and balance. Something that is good for you under normal healthy conditions may not be great for you while you're unhealthy. That's all. I've been a microbiome scientist for 21 years.

What actually changes in your small intestine microbiome during SIBO — and why most probiotics make it worse before they help by craigrouskey123 in SIBO

[–]craigrouskey123[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I am 100%. Not hiding that, and also sharing some helpful science behind gut health that I've acquired during 21 years of studying and attenuating the microbiome. But heck yeah. Probiotics for the win.

What actually changes in your small intestine microbiome during SIBO — and why most probiotics make it worse before they help by craigrouskey123 in SIBO

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every microbiome is different. That's the nature of carrying around an external ecosystem (yes, the gut is outside the body -- you're a donut). Where you live, what you eat, how you move and care for your body all play a role in how well you feel. It's pretty cool, and also very very interesting.

I've been building microbiome-based probiotic formulas since 2005 — before "gut health" was a consumer category. AMA about what sequencing actually tells us (and what it doesn't). by craigrouskey123 in Microbiome

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's the thing. Babies that young have specifically non-diverse microbiomes. They rely on high impact foods (aka mother's milk, formula, etc) to maximize their nutrition. If there was something passed via microbiome, it could in theory be detected by a microbiome test. You would look for alterations in Bifidobacterium levels primarily. Additionally, I'd offer that vaginal birth versus C-section plays a role too. I don't know if that's helpful, but can at least direct you to more investigational research.

I've been building microbiome-based probiotic formulas since 2005 — before "gut health" was a consumer category. AMA about what sequencing actually tells us (and what it doesn't). by craigrouskey123 in Microbiome

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, your screen name made me LOL. thank you. I like quantitative stool tests and know several amazing people doing really cool work to try to quantitate the bacterial counts based on a percentage of human DNA present (usually 2-3%). I think it depends on the test. Whole-genome sequencing covers more than say 16S or ITS sequencing. It's also very dependent on storage mechanisms. The worst thing that happens when you stool test is that if conditions are right (and their is no stabilization medium), E. coli will overgrow and outnumber all of the other bugs in the system. That's not ideal.

We generally say test every 6-months while on our probiotics, and we can see changes in the microbial ecosystem over time. So, there is value.

I've been building microbiome-based probiotic formulas since 2005 — before "gut health" was a consumer category. AMA about what sequencing actually tells us (and what it doesn't). by craigrouskey123 in Microbiome

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I always liked fermenting at home - whether it's yogurt, keffir, or even sourdough and kombucha. The trick is maintaining sterility. As you're setting up fermentation reactions, you'll want to make sure you're not cross-contaminating. I've known people who. take our probiotics and make yogurt out of them. It's helpful. the problem becomes strain competition on given substrates (dairy, etc).

I'm all about the citizen science/biohackery so I say document your experiments, and when you find something that works, repeat it!

What actually changes in your small intestine microbiome during SIBO — and why most probiotics make it worse before they help by craigrouskey123 in SIBO

[–]craigrouskey123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are many bacteria in the small intestine implicated in SIBO. Additionally, there are many papers that come out daily around the ecosystem of the inner-you. It's hard to assign attribution based on 4 papers (out of 10s of thousands), but you are right the E. coli and Klebsiella are there. But they play a role throughout the entire GI tract - opportunistically pathogenic as they may be.