Choose between lactulose or glucose testing. Please note our recommendation is lactulose testing but if you are intolerant to lactose you have the option of glucose testing.

Breath testing for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), measuring the gut bacterial fermentation products hydrogen and methane, is a robust method of assessing gut microbial activity. Breath gas production within 100 minutes of ingesting carbohydrates is diagnostic of SIBO.

Bacteria in the intestinal tract ferment ingested carbohydrates (lactulose is provided as an oral challenge for this test), gas byproducts pass across the gut wall into the circulation and are rapidly diffused by the lungs and exhaled in the breath.

Ambiguous gut symptoms following ingestion of foods, frequently diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), have been associated with SIBO in up to 75% of these patients. The diagnostic method described here is largely unavailable in NHS gastroenterology departments because it’s considered a labour-intensive procedure for a chronic health condition.

Patients follow a strict low fermentable diet (low fibre, resistant starch, and complex carbohydrates) for 24 hours and fully fast for 12 hours (overnight) prior to the test to minimise normal colonic fermentation. Gas levels in a fasting breath sample are then compared against a subsequent nine samples collected at 20-minute intervals following ingestion of lactulose, a non-absorbable carbohydrate. Increases in breath hydrogen, methane, or both, within the first 100 minutes of the test period are indicative of small intestinal bacterial activity, subsequent gas production reflects normal bacterial activity in the large bowel.

The test results can also be used to assess colonic production of methane gas which occurs naturally in about a third of adults with increasing frequency by age, now formally recognised as Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO).

Breath gas determination is also an approved method for the diagnosis of carbohydrate intolerances (specifically lactose and fructose).

Analytes;

• Breath hydrogen

• Carbon dioxide

• Methane gas

World renowned Human Biologist Gary Brecka encourages everyone with severe digestion issues to get to the root cause of gut health issues and treat SIBO

Q. How do you support me with my results?

In ADDITION to your lab report we provide the following options which are INCLUDED in the package prices;

A) Follow up personalised written report produced by our clinical team (click HERE for team info) highlighting dietary and lifestyle advice plus links to supplement protocols, specific doses and any further testing requirements included. We use the patient information you provide us at checkout along with your results to compile personalised action points for you.

OR

B) Follow up 30-minute video call to discuss your results and answer any questions you have. Once the lab has completed your results you will be sent these via email with a link to book a time and day online. You will also then be given the option to upgrade your 30-minute call to a 45-minute call for an additional £30 if you wish. During the call your practitioner will explain the results in more detail and what they mean for you. After your call you are sent a personalised list of supplements & the dose your practitioner advises with links to purchase from our supplements store. This is for your convenience. You are of course welcome to purchase supplements elsewhere. You will also be provided with a list of follow up tests should this be required plus a copy of your recorded zoom call which you can download and keep.

OR

C) Both Zoom call and written report with personalised next steps (Zoom call is first and written report follows).

Who should consider this test?

Patients with an unresolved diagnosis of IBS, diarrhoea, constipation, postprandial bloating, abdominal discomfort and pain, a history of gastroenteritis, intestinal surgery, Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease, pancreatitis, impaired gut motility or use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are at risk of SIBO and should be considered for screening.

Following a rapid rise in hydrogen levels (within the first 20 minutes) consider possible gastric helicobacter pylori infection.

Sample lactulose report - view HERE

Lactulose instructions - view HERE

Sample glucose report - view HERE

Glucose instructions - view HERE

Your kit is posted to you from the UK within 24-48 hours of ordering so you should receive your test kit within a few days via DHL. You can then arrange for DHL to collect your sample using the freepost returns. If you are ordering from outside the UK we will ship via DHL or Fedex with return labels.

You can read about SIBO HERE.