<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> This is a summary of replies to my Sat, May 10 2003 posting, "Persistent Symptoms and Bacterial Overgrowth" citing the following article: American Journal of Gastroenterology Apr 2003, Vol 98, No 4, 839-843 High prevalence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in celiac patients with persistence of gastrointestinal symptoms after gluten withdrawal Antonio Tursi M.D., Giovanni Brandimarte M.D. and GianMarco Giorgetti M.D. ------- Nice article! I found that to be true too -- probiotics fixed me right up. Kefir works the best, and I learned to make kimchi. Kimchi has garlic, red pepper, and ginger too, which are good digestive aids (and help improve stomach acid) plus it is full of enzymes. One lady I talked to used butyrate enemas to help heal the lower gut -- I've started eating more butyrate producing foods which seems to have a similar effect. Metamucil being the easiest! Slow-digesting ("resistant") starches and soluble fibers feed the "good" bacteria and they create butyrate, which is the preferred fuel of the colon. Sorghum and beans are also good sources of resistant starch. -- Heidi ------- D"Adamo, author of the Blood Type books ,suggests: put oregano, thyme and rosemary on your food to control bacteria. I read that the people from India seldom have digestive problems because the put a lot of spices on their food. ------- Thanks for sharing this information. My reaction is that I do not think it is at all "rare" for most celiacs to have persistent bowel problems after going GF and being true to the GF diet. The dysbiosis which has evolved after years of gluten intolerance and while eating gluten constantly, leaves the patient with a very serious intestinal imbalance which the gf diet does not take care of automatically by itself. There are, consequently, potentially deadly intestinal infections to deal with, as well as systemic candida, which can also be lethal. This bacterial overgrowth certainly happened to me and many, many celiacs whom I know personally. It is also borne out by the posts to this listserv. I do not know how to communicate with the authors of this study, but I think it is a big mistake to think that celiacs just "get well" by adhering strictly to the GFD. I was misled into thinking it would be that simple, and it certainly was not and it almost killed me in the process!! Just my "two cents" but I know that I am correct in my thinking (I also knew, long before the recent study, that the incidence of celiac disease in the US was way, way more than one in 300 people, as was so often quoted as gospel! Best wishes, Leslie in Atlanta ------- Thanks for sharing the article re CD and bacterial overgrowth; this was my son's situation (SIBO diagnosed through organic acid urine test from www.greatplainslaboratory.com ) and I just wanted to let you know that my research found that treating SIBO with antibiotics leads to rebound, and that the best, though perhaps slower solution is probiotics and probiotic eating. There was even a study done with rats that found that ulcerative colitis can be "cured" with antibiotics and probiotics but using just antibiotics lead to rebound; my ulcerative colitis seems to have responded very well to an antibiotic treatment for Rosacea - prior to that probiotics had been helpful, but I think getting the "clean slate" really did make a difference, and I still think the probiotics are an important daily habit (kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, miso, plenty of legumes and veggies) - in fact the legumes rank very high with resistant starch, which is needed by the colon flora that produce butyrate, an essential fatty acid that is critical to mucosal health. So, eat your beans! Take Care. Hilary * Send administrative questions to [log in to unmask] *