SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
Bacteria in the wrong segment fermenting carbs the moment you eat. The bloat is the gas.
+ Symptom 04
Gut · Microbiome · Motility
My gut is slow and bloated.
You wake with a flat stomach. By midday it's pushing against your waistband. By 6pm you're undoing the button, swearing off the food you ate, planning a stricter day tomorrow. The cycle resets and repeats.
Chronic bloating isn't a food problem first — it's a motility, microbiome, enzyme and clearance problem that shows up as a food problem. We test the upstream system, not just the symptom.
The Picture
If this is you,
it might sound like —
Read these the way you'd read a letter from someone who already knows. If three or more land hard, you're in the right place.
- I'm flat in the morning and pregnant by 6pm.
- The list of foods I "react to" keeps growing.
- I can feel food sit in my stomach for hours.
- Burping, reflux, fullness after a few bites.
- My stomach makes noises I can't ignore.
- I'm constipated for days, then it all releases at once.
- My skin and mood track my gut.
- I've cut out gluten, dairy, FODMAPs — still bloated.
+ Key Drivers
What's actually happening down there.
An expanding list of trigger foods almost always means the gut underneath is broken — not that the foods are the enemy. The drivers are testable.
Low stomach acid + enzyme insufficiency
The cascade starts at the top. Without acid, nothing further down works properly — reflux is often low acid, not high.
Slow motility
The migrating motor complex is meant to sweep the small intestine between meals. When it doesn't, food sits and ferments.
Dysbiosis
Wrong bugs, wrong ratios. Often after antibiotics, the pill, gastro, or years of low-grade stress.
Histamine intolerance
Often a downstream of dysbiosis. Explains the wandering food list and the random reactions to wine, leftovers, fermented foods.
Stress-axis suppression
Vagal tone collapses under chronic stress. Without vagal tone, digestion stalls before food even hits the stomach.
+ Key Tests
How we see the gut.
Cutting more foods narrows your life. Testing finds the real driver so the foods can come back in.
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GI-MAP · Stool DNA panelDNA-level read of every major pathogen, opportunistic bug, beneficial flora, gut inflammation, and digestion markers.
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SIBO · Breath testHydrogen, methane and hydrogen sulphide. Identifies which gas, which segment, which protocol.
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OAT · Organic acidsYeast and bacterial metabolites in urine, plus mitochondrial and neurotransmitter markers.
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GP bloods · Full panelH. pylori antibody, coeliac screen, full thyroid, ferritin, B12, vitamin D, inflammation markers.
+ Foundational Must-Haves
What you can start today.
Six daily moves that, alone, often resolve mild-to-moderate bloating inside 2-3 weeks. The floor before any deeper testing.
- Stop drinking with meals. Water dilutes stomach acid. Sip 30 minutes before, again 30 minutes after.
- Chew until liquid. Most people swallow at chew 6-8. Aim for 20+. This step alone fixes a lot.
- A 12-hour overnight fast. Lets the migrating motor complex sweep the small intestine clean.
- Apple cider vinegar (1 tsp in water, 10 minutes before meals). The cheapest stomach-acid support. Skip if reflux is bad.
- Walk 10 minutes after dinner. Engages the vagus nerve, restarts motility, drops the post-dinner bloat.
- A daily bowel movement. Magnesium citrate, kiwi fruit, ground flax — whatever it takes. Non-negotiable.
+ The Process with How It Heals
We test the upstream system.
An expanding list of trigger foods almost always means the gut underneath is broken — not that the foods are the enemy. Cutting more foods narrows your life and doesn't fix the cause.
Most clients are eating a meaningfully wider diet inside 3 months once the upstream picture (motility, microbiome, acid, vagal tone) is restored.
+ From the women in front of us
What changed.
Selected from clients who started here — chronically bloated, growing food list, GP unhelpful — and worked through the 22-week reset.
I'm eating things I haven't been able to in years. The food wasn't the problem.
K.L. · 34 · Toowong
First time in five years I haven't undone my pants by 6pm. The GI-MAP changed everything.
S.W. · 39 · Telehealth