Super Gut: A Four-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight

by William Davis

But it is not uncommon for unhealthy bacterial species to ascend from the colon where they belong into the ileum, jejunum, duodenum (parts of the small intestine), and stomach, a situation labeled “small intestinal bacterial overgrowth,” or SIBO. The disruptions of bacterial populations that cause SIBO often also enable fungal species to similarly proliferate and climb up the length of the GI tract to inhabit places they do not belong, and this condition is called “small intestinal fungal overgrowth” (SIFO). Sadly, it is the rule, rather than the exception, that doctors fail to recognize these situations but “treat” the varied diseases they cause that show on the surface. You can see how someone with unrecognized SIBO, for instance, who suffers from conditions that are not readily reversible such as diverticulitis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, or colon cancer, can end up taking a long list of prescription drugs and even undergoing serious medical procedures such as gallbladder or weight loss surgery.