The Low Histamine Chef

I just purchased the new book, Thank you!  All the information in one place is great!  You briefly mention a detox diet and I was wondering if you have an example of that anywhere.  I am in the eat "only 4 things stage" and have been for awhile which I know is not healthy but I have also been reacting to everything!  My brother is now facing the same issues and so he is coming to me since I have dealt with it for so long.  We live in Seattle so there are no doctors here that can test DAO.  Any suggestions would be so helpful.  Thank you again as you have always been so willing to help answer my questions!

Staci

That's so sweet thank you Staci! I didn't realise you had been reading my blogs for so long! Until recently I wasn't even sure that people actually were lol. It felt pretty lonely, like I was talking to empty space! 

Ok, no not bored, don't worr, I will keep talking/listening till you find some relief :) I keep saying the not a doctor thing because this can be a serious condition (as you know) and I worry about people! 

So, yes you are highly reactive now. I'm surprised you've had sibo for this long given the diet you're eating! 

For the sibo, were you ever given olive leaf extract? I didn't need it but I know a lot of people are prescribed it. I just recently bought some olive leaf tea at planet organic here in london. 

And now, regarding the sibo. I've been doing some research over the last year: 

Here's a few samples

Definitions of normal and abnormal results of breath tests are even more variable than for cultures. The lack of generally accepted definitions raises a situation where you can almost choose the test and definition that best suits your purpose. It is not uncommon to see the same authors change their definitions of a positive test in different papers.^8,9,72 Only a few papers have described adequately their reasons for choosing a certain cut off point.^23,24,25,104

Glucose is readily absorbed in the proximal small bowel, and in the absence of severe transit abnormalities it rarely reaches the colon,^26,105 making it an attractive substrate to detect at least proximal SIBO. The glucose hydrogen breath test is considered positive if there is a clearly recognisable hydrogen peak, exceeding 10–20 ppm (fig 3​3).^12,13,89 High fasting concentrations may be due to SIBO but this is a very unspecific finding which may also be due to slow intestinal transit leaving a residue of poorly absorbable carbohydrates remaining in the colon.¹⁶ Mostly, however, high fasting concentrations occur when the instruction to follow a low fibre diet before the test not has been followed.

Lactulose passes unabsorbed through the small bowel and into the colon. Therefore, apart from detecting SIBO, it can also be used as a measure of orocaecal transit.¹⁰⁶ The original definition of a positive lactulose test (that is, indicating SIBO) was an easily detected early hydrogen peak (>20 ppm), due to small intestinal bacteria, occurring at least 15 minutes before the later prolonged peak, corresponding to the passage of the remaining lactulose into the colon (fig 4​4).¹⁴ However, in some of the more recent studies, other less restrictive definitions, such as a rise in H₂ within 90 minutes, have been used,^9,72,74 which should be compared with the fact that the mean orocaecal transit time assessed with lactulose breath testing in healthy controls is slightly above 90 minutes.^106,107 Therefore, using this definition, 50% of healthy controls would be expected to suffer from SIBO!⁷⁹

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856094/

Hydrogen breath tests are simple and safe, providing us with an easy tool to unravel the pathophysiological alterations behind symptoms difficult to explain. However, these tests have a number of limitations. The importance of SIBO and bacteria in other parts of the gut for functional gastrointestinal symptoms remains to be determined, and breath tests used wisely can be important together with other techniques in future studies. Today, regular use of the lactulose breath test in clinical practice in the evaluation of symptoms in patients with suspected functional gastrointestinal disorders cannot be recommended. The relevance of maldigestion of specific carbohydrates, such as lactose and fructose, in functional gastrointestinal disorders is probably overestimated. However, in some patients with a large intake of products containing these sugars, a hydrogen breath test, followed by dietary restriction of the sugar in case of a positive test, may be advised. Hopefully, the occasional abuse of hydrogen breath tests seen today can be turned into proper clinical and scientific use in the future.