Treat SIBO With LFE: A Diet Without Fermented Foods
Do you suffer from SIBO? Then you probably know the diet according to FODMAP. However, this is very limited and therefore quite burdensome for your daily life. But a new way has now also been discovered to counteract the complaints of SIBO, namely LFE. But what do both diets entail and what is the difference?
WHAT IS SIBO?
SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and means that too many bacteria grow in the small intestine. The result is abdominal distention, bloating, gas, belching, diarrhea or constipation. If you suffer from SIBO, that is no fun. In addition, you can also suffer from so-called brain fog. This is a collective name for complaints such as forgetfulness, dizziness and difficulty concentrating. In other words, you are cloudy in your head.
There are many different causes for SIBO, such as stress, medications, or lactose intolerance. As a result, you cannot process certain foods properly. Unfortunately, it is not the case that you can get rid of the complaints by eating healthy, because the culprit can also be found in a superfood such as seaweed or in fermented foods such as sauerkraut and yogurt.
WHAT IS FODMAP?
FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. That sounds complicated, but the bottom line is that you can't tolerate certain carbohydrates. When following this diet, you do not have to avoid all carbohydrate-rich foods, but only those to which you are hypersensitive. That's why you should first follow an elimination diet to discover which foods are the culprits. Unfortunately, this is quite stressful, because you miss out on many healthy nutrients. Therefore, only do this under the supervision of a dietician.
WHAT IS LFE?
A new way to treat SIBO is LFE. This stands for Low Fermentation Eating and was developed by gastroenterologists Mark Pimentel and Ali Rezaie. It is less strict and moreover easier to implement in your daily life. The LFE diet means that you eat low-fermentation foods. So, for example, no cookies, beer or fermented food. In addition to what you eat, when you eat is also important at LFE. For example, there should be four hours between meals and it is better not to eat snacks.
The aim is to stimulate peristalsis, or the reflexive contraction of the longitudinal and sphincter muscles of the intestinal wall. This allows the excess of microbes to be removed. In addition, bacteria feel uncomfortable when there is little fermentable food in the intestines and their population grows more slowly.
Want to start with LFE?
Want to try a low-yeast lifestyle? Then you will find all kinds of recipes in The Good LFE Cookbook: Low Fermentation Eating for SIBO, Gut Health, and Microbiome Balance.
Are you going to get started with this diet yourself? Then start your day super healthy with one of the green juices from Superfood Guru . An excellent breakfast juice for this is the Slim Fit Fusion . There is little fruit in this, so it fits perfectly with LFE!