Recently I’ve been digging into topics relating to food sensitivities, leaky gut syndrome, SIBO, SIFO, IMO, IBS - for which choosing the right diet is very important. Plus, some people on this forum had identified diet & antibiotics as helping them, which points out to the root cause being one of the mentioned above. Since fixing GI issues & diet is important for a lot of us on this forum, let’s discuss our similarities & dissimilarities in food reactions - maybe you will find someone with similar reactions & combining your experiences (meds/dieting/GI problems) will give you important insight into managing bb!
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Feel free to post your reactions, whether they are similar to mine or differ - your experience will be helpful for everyone! And I will be happy to offer my suggestions in terms of what I’ve understood so far.
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So, for instance, here’s a list of my food reactions (My bb is both from mouth & breathing; on bad days fills rooms
have been in this situation for years...) -any meat or fish in any shape or form worsens my bb significantly
-any oats, cereals, grains, rice - make bb even more horrible
-anything sweet or with carbohydrates makes bb worse & leaves a bad taste in the mouth (kind of sour or sometimes just bad)
-cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, legumes, soy products - maybe, because of their high sulfur content
-dairy kicks bb by a large margin instantly, like literally the moment it touches my mouth, bb worsens sharply & leaves an unpleasant taste
-eggs
-any fermented food (e.g. even almond milk based yogurt)
-some fruits, especially apples, pears leave a sour unpleasant taste in the mouth
-actually any food consumption worsens my bb
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only in the morning after brushing & rinsing the smell is there but more tolerable; the only cure is not to talk & not to breatheThe common factor in these foods:
1) high sulfur content;
2) insensitivities / allergies to gluten & dairy are common;
3) high sugar / fructose / high carbohydrate content;
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Diets I’ve tried & foods that reduce bb slightly:
-no meat, no dairy, no gluten for few months reduced bb only slightly (but still an improvement)
-taking lactase enzymes with dairy products didn’t help, so I cut out the possibility of being lactose intolerant
-among the milk alternatives almond milk is probably the most tolerated
-eating mostly salads: cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, bell peppers, green olives, olive oil also reduces bb, but can’t be sustained long-term due to insufficient calories
-almonds don’t seem to worsen my bb significantly when I eat them even in large amounts
-cutting out all sugar, fructose, most carbs - but I always bounced back quickly, because extreme sugar cravings are very hard to deal with. Also, low blood glucose can make you feel sick.
-not eating for long periods of time & barely eating anything... but it can’t be sustained long term of course, and is harmful to health
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Possible causes that I can think of:
1) if high sulfur food worsens bb, it may be due to hydrogen sulfide SIBO (overproduction fo hydrogen sulfide by gut bacteria)
2) if dairy or gluten-containing food worsens bb: possible dairy / gluten allergy or lactase deficiency (note if taking lactase enzymes with dairy doesn’t help, then it is dairy sensitivity you’re dealing with, not lactase deficiency)
3) if high sugar / fructose /carbohydrate worsens bb: maybe fructose deficiency (or sensitivity), SIBO, SIFO, IMO
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SIBO (also IMO, SIFO) and leaky gut syndrome
In general, SIBO is likely to also cause leaky gut syndrome, as it compormises the barrier function of the gut lining. In that case, a person can develop even more food sensitivites, than the food that fueled the overgrowth to begin with.
Leaky gut syndrome implies the toxins formed in the git can enter bloodstream more easily, including the VSCs that are later exhaled through breathing. Hence, leaky gut syndrome can be a relatively frequent cause of strong bb from mouth & breathing.
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As there’re different kinds of bacteria or organisms that can cause issues, the diet will have to be adjusted according to that. Hence, all people will have slightly different reaction to different food. That is why it is important for us to find people on this forum with similar triggers - then if we combine our experiences, we can help each other arrive at solutions or come up with ways to manage our bb