Greetings.
Eric Bakker.
Thanks for coming back and checking out my videos again.
I've been on YouTube now for a few years.
I'm getting some great feedback from people, awesome feedback.
And lots of people are getting amazing results just by following some of the simple instructions
in my videos.
These aren't really complicated videos.
They're simple videos based on my 30 plus years of experience and also based on common
sense.
Something not very common today with smartphones and a lot of dumb people and a lot of smart
technology out there.
I'm not saying you're dumb, I'm just saying you've got to think along simple lines and
basic lines, what's really going to help you with your problem.
So today we're going to talk about why you'll likely never get rid of SIBO by relying on
antibiotics.
Whether it's amoxicillin, or rifaximin, or Xifaxin, or any kind of drug like that.
These are all drugs.
There are a lot of naturopaths, not so much in the southern hemisphere but in the US that
prescribe rifaximin.
Since I've been working online through FaceTime and Skype, I've had lots and lots and lots
of people.
I've seen hundreds upon hundreds that have taken rifaximin with minimal result.
Some got initially a result, and then they regressed.
They had to go back on this rifaximin again.
Because it doesn't really get absorbed well in the gut.
It acts in the gut and you pass it out.
So it's not really good for anything except a small bowel kind of problem.
But I've got a bit of stuff written on paper here, so I want to spend a bit of time with
you today explaining to you why, in my experience, relying on antibiotics for SIBO is a complete
waste of time in most cases.
Because you're taking your eye off the ball.
You're thinking this drug is going to cure all my problems.
All my hydrogen and methane issues in my gut are all going to be resolved with this drug.
Well, it isn't going to happen in most cases.
You may get a partial ... it's like giving a teenager a cash advance.
It feels great initially, but then, bang.
They're back to square one again.
And that's my experience in most cases, that I've seen, taking an antibiotic for SIBO.
Now let's explain a few reasons why I'm making this statement.
Number one, you're not really looking at all your options.
So your naturopath may say to you, for example, look.
This drug's going to work.
You've shown a high level of methane or hydrogen in your breath test.
We've done a breath test on you, it's clearly obvious you've got SIBO, and now we're going
to cure it with this drug.
So the patient thinks, wow, all my problems are over.
This drug is going to cure me.
But did you look at all your herbal options before you went into antibiotics?
Because remember, rifaximin works on gram positive and negative bacteria in the small
intestine.
It doesn't generally make it to the large.
It cleans the slate, it can wipe out a whole lot of other stuff apart from the SIBO bacteria
you're looking at.
It's not necessarily going to target SIBO.
So, that's my concern.
Herbal options tend to be, in my opinion, more broad spectrum.
You're looking at a wider range of bacteria.
But not only that, you're also going to target SIFO, or small intestinal fungal overgrowth.
Because these antibiotics do nothing for fungal.
They only target bacteria.
So all you're doing is you're looking at one particular little tiny thing in the gut that
you're trying to work on.
But the gut's more complex than that.
In my opinion, most all people I see when I do stool testing, and I've done thousands
of these tests, have got imbalances across the board.
They will have some fungal issues.
Many have parasites these days.
Many have got issues with low pancreatic enzyme output.
They're going to have low secretory IgA or poor immune function.
They're going to have bowel imbalances, colon imbalances, small intestine imbalances.
There'll be imbalances all across the board.
So in my opinion, giving most people with SIBO just an antibiotic is not going to be
really helping all of these issues.
It's not individual enough for the patient.
Your clinician, naturopath, or functional medicine doctor really is best to do by you
by doing a proper functional stool test to see what the heck's going on with your gut.
A three day stool test.
Day one, two and three.
Three samples done properly.
You need proper instructions on how to do it.
That's going to show where the real problems are.
And then likely you'll get a susceptibility panel showing you what agents to target, those
bacteria or fungus.
That are specific for your need.
Not what your clinician thinks.
Oh, let's give this a try for ten days.
It's not good enough.
Alright?
So, look at all your herbal options.
And also especially think about testing not just the breath test.
Do the comprehensive digestive stool analysis.
This will give you all the range of what we're really talking about.
You'll get a full comprehensive picture.
When you buy a house, you get a full ... you should, in my opinion, get a full inspection
done by someone who's good.
Who checks the house out from the top to the bottom, the basement, everything's checked.
I did that with this old clunker that I bought here, but the builder's working at the moment
on the kitchen.
And I was shocked to find out how much rot there was in the roof.
Which was great, because I got it at a better price.
So it pays to poke your nose into areas where maybe you don't think you should be poking
them in.
Testing's a big one.
All right?
So, likely you're not testing for common infections.
So if your practitioners only perform a SIBO breath test, it's not enough.
Especially if you've got a long term, ongoing gut or skin issue or some type of health problem
for many years.
You need to do the stool test alongside the breath test.
All right?
Number two, or number three.
You're paying lip service to probiotics.
Probiotics, in some cases, work far superior than antibiotics.
There are many studies now that prove that probiotics, in some cases, out trump.
It's a better solution for some patients that I've seen, than taking any anti product is
a pro product.
And again, a stool test will show us that.
If you're showing really low levels or nil growth counts of lactobacillus and bifidobacteria,
and you're showing some SIBO there, in some cases, the probiotics are far more important
than looking at the antibiotic.
You think that SIBO is just about killing the bad guys.
It's not.
SIBO is not just about killing.
It's also about building.
And when you're taking an antibiotic, I can't understand why naturopaths use antibiotics,
in my opinion.
Because it's just not really conducive towards pro life, is it?Another issue that's often
overlooked is the poor migrating motor complex, or MMC.
So this is something that cleans up the small bowel between meals.
There are various hormones that come into play with the MMC, and particularly the vagal
tone to the vagus nerve.
The parasympathetic nerve has a big effect on this migrating motor complex.
Now, if you've got sympathetic dominance through stress, you're going to have parasympathetic
depression or an imbalance.
It's going to give you a weak vagal tone.
It's going to give you a poor MMC.
It's going to give you bloating, gas, all those kind of problems.
Antibiotics are going to do squat for a poor vagal tone.
So if you're suffering from a crappy job, a stressful relationship, you're not happy,
you can feel stressed, or you're pissed about something, or you've got adrenal issues, this
is what needs sorting, people.
Not just popping a pill for 10, 14 days, to kill off the bugs, okay?
Maybe you need to kill off the boss.
Maybe you need to kill off the dead relationship.
Maybe something else needs killing apart from bacteria.
I'm not suggesting to go out and get an assault rifle and take everyone out.
I'm suggesting, look at your life.
And your relationships and how you feel.
If something's not right, fix it up.
Antibiotics aren't going to do anything for a crappy relationship, are they?
HPA axis dysfunction.
This is stress.
Sympathetic dominance.
When you are stressed, your digestive output goes south.
That means that peristalsis, ability to move stool through the gut, is compromised.
The ability for your body to make proper stomach and pancreatic enzymes is compromised.
Even your blood chemistry changes.
Your liver chemistry changes.
Your kidney chemistry changes.
Everything changes under stress.
So if you suffer from stress because of poor health, don't think the antibiotic is going
to cure your problem.
In my opinion, from where I'm sitting, from all the people I've seen, lifestyle trumps
just about anything else in your life including your diet.
I'm coming to the end of my consultancy work now.
I'm retiring in November this year.
So I can spend more time doing this kind of work, to work with thousands of people online.
I don't need money.
I've got other companies I'm involved in now.
I love the clinic, I really enjoy it, and I love helping people.
But I get annoyed at seeing people spending money on things they don't need to spend on,
going from doctor to doctor to doctor.
Taking prescription after prescription and getting nowhere.
And often it's because of lack of information, not understanding the full extent of your
condition, or thinking you can just pop a pill to quickly cure something and then get
back on the saddle again.
It doesn't work like that.
And one of the last points which is a very cruel one is not looking at structural issues
that affect people.
I had an interesting case of a law enforcement officer from the states not that long ago
who was having very weird bowel motions.
Strange.
Lots of gut pain.
And the specialist, the medical specialist, said he's got a rare form of some type of
a mast cell disease, of something affecting his gut.
I said to him, come on, man.
Common things happen to people commonly.
I don't think you've got a rare kind of disease.
And then I found out that he's wearing one of these holsters around his waist with a
handgun and pepper spray stuff, and all that stuff policemen wear.
All this sort of stuff.
Handcuffs and I don't know what.
And that would weigh umpteen pounds.
He had a low grade back pain.
The chiropractor basically fixed up his 11th and 12th thoracic vertebrae, which of course
supplied nerve supply to the small bowel.
And bingo, he's pooping again.
Common sense, you know what I'm saying?
Common sense.
Think about your occupation, think about your life, don't think that antibiotic is going
to cure SIBO.
It's not in most cases.
You need to look further afield.
Have a listen again to this video if you need to, to the tips.
Because I think there'll be some useful ones in here for you.
Thanks for tuning in, and give us some comments.