Diarrhea… abdominal pain… gas… bloating…
If these issues have been dogging you for far too long and won’t go away no matter what you try, it’s possible you may have the wrong diagnosis.
Two of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions, celiac disease and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), can both cause these persistent, troublesome GI problems. Because their effects can be so similar, SIBO and celiac can be mistaken for each other.
To make matters more confusing, you could be dealing with both.[1] That’s especially likely if dietary changes, like getting rid of gluten, didn’t make your symptoms go away.
When you finally have the right diagnosis, you’ll be able to tackle the problem effectively. And luckily, there’s a natural way to get some relief no matter which condition you have…
Quick Answer: SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and celiac disease can cause very similar symptoms, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, and bloating, which is why they are often mistaken for each other. SIBO is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, while celiac is an autoimmune response triggered by gluten. They are diagnosed differently, with SIBO usually identified by a breath test and celiac by blood tests and endoscopy, and it is possible to have both at once. Supporting a balanced gut microbiome is helpful either way, but the type of probiotic matters: spore-based probiotics bypass the small intestine and reach the large intestine alive without adding to overgrowth.
What Is SIBO?
SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, is when too many bacteria, often from the large intestine, settle and multiply in the small intestine. That overgrowth can cause digestive upset, damage the intestinal lining, and lead to nutrient deficiencies.
Your digestive system contains trillions of bacteria, and most of them live in your large intestine. The small intestine also contains bacteria, but around 10,000 times less than the large intestines.
Sometimes, bacteria from the large intestines make their way into the small intestines, settle there, and start to multiply. That causes SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, which is when there's more bacteria than your small intestines can handle.[2]
Want to listen instead of read? CLICK HERE
SIBO can cause very uncomfortable digestive upset… and it doesn’t stop there. Over time, the harmful bacteria in your small intestine can start to attack it, causing damage to its inner lining.
SIBO can also affect the way your small intestine processes food, leading to severe nutrient deficiencies. That’s one way SIBO can start to negatively impact your entire body.[3]
What Is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition in which gluten triggers the immune system to attack the small intestine, damaging the villi that absorb nutrients. Its digestive symptoms can closely resemble those of SIBO.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition, meaning your immune system attacks your own body by mistake. In the case of celiac disease, gluten, the primary protein in wheat and some other grains, is the trigger that causes the autoimmune response.[4]
Every time your body senses gluten, even just a crumb, your immune system attacks and damages the villi in your small intestine. Villi are tiny finger-like bumps that line your small intestine. You need them to help your body absorb nutrients from food and deliver them into your bloodstream.
Over time, this damage can make it harder for your body to pull nutrients out of food. So you could be eating a super healthy diet and still have nutrient deficiencies. In fact, at least 87% of celiac patients suffer from malnourishment because of those deficiencies.
Celiac disease affects your digestive system first, causing issues any time gluten sneaks into your food. People with celiac disease often experience constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, and abdominal pain. But they can also suffer from a wide-range of whole body health problems, from osteoporosis to brain fog to joint pain.
Why Are SIBO and Celiac Disease So Easily Confused?
SIBO and celiac disease share many of the same symptoms, can affect the whole body, and both can damage the villi in the small intestine. They overlap with other conditions too, which makes them difficult to tell apart and slow to diagnose.
Both celiac disease and SIBO bring on severe gastrointestinal discomfort. Both can cause symptoms throughout your whole body. And both can cause damage to the villi lining the small intestine. That makes it very difficult for most doctors to diagnose either of these conditions properly.
To add insult to injury, the symptoms of both celiac disease and SIBO have much common with a number of other diseases.[5] That’s why it can take such a long time to get the right diagnosis… and start the right treatment
Diagnosing celiac disease usually starts with blood tests, then moves on to endoscopy; a medical procedure that lets the doctor look at the lining of your small intestine.
SIBO is typically diagnosed through a breath test, sometimes followed up with endoscopy.
But diagnosis gets extra complicated when you have both SIBO and celiac disease. And that’s especially likely if your celiac attacks won’t calm down even after you’ve gone gluten-free.[6]
How Are SIBO and Celiac Disease Connected?
You can have both at once, and people with non-responsive celiac are up to 30% more likely to also have SIBO. The link likely involves intestinal motility: celiac can slow how food moves through the small intestine, giving bacteria more time to overgrow.
You can have SIBO and celiac disease at the same time, which makes getting a proper diagnosis and treatment even trickier. Research shows that people with celiac face a higher risk of SIBO.
And people with non-responsive celiac disease, meaning it doesn’t get better when you stop eating gluten, are up to 30% more likely to also have SIBO.[7]
Scientists don’t know for sure why people with celiac disease often get SIBO, too. But there’s a strong possibility that it has to do with intestinal motility.
“Motility” refers to the way food moves through your digestive system, especially when it comes to speed. Here’s how motility impacts celiac and SIBO:[8]
- People who have celiac disease often have slow motility in their small intestines.
- Slow motility keeps food in the small intestine for longer periods of time.
- Extra time gives the bacteria in the small intestine more access to food than they’d normally have.
- Extra food gives bacteria the power to grow and multiply much more quickly… and that can lead to overgrowth… to SIBO.
Not surprisingly, people with SIBO are nearly six times more likely to have slow motility in their small intestines.[9]
On top of that, celiac disease can cause severe intestinal inflammation. Gluten triggers the autoimmune response, which sets off a cascade of hard-to-control inflammation.
Intestinal inflammation interferes with your healthy bacterial balance in the gut microbiome. It harms probiotic bacteria while allowing pathogenic bacteria to run rampant. Those pathogens attack the gut lining, doing everything they can to escape into the bloodstream. Once there, they can make their way into the small intestine… setting the stage for SIBO.
How Can You Address Both Celiac and SIBO?
Either way, the digestive tract needs support and the bacterial balance needs attention. Restoring balance calls for probiotics, but the type matters: with SIBO you do not want to add to the overgrowth, so the right probiotic must reach the large intestine without settling in the small one.
Whether you have celiac disease, SIBO, or both, one thing is certain:
Your digestive tract has taken some damage. That means it’s in desperate need of help.
On top of that, you need to deal with bacterial imbalances.
Celiac disease can cause dysbiosis in the gut, a condition where harmful bacteria outnumber beneficial bacteria. And if you have SIBO, by definition you’re dealing with a bacterial imbalance in your small intestine.
Restoring proper balance to both the small and large intestines calls for probiotics. But you have to be very careful when choosing probiotics.
When you’re dealing with SIBO, you already have bacterial overgrowth. So you don’t want to add to the problem by adding more bacteria into the mix; and that includes probiotic bacteria.[10] That’s why a lot of doctors will tell you to avoid probiotics when you have SIBO.
But avoiding probiotics altogether won’t fix the problem. In order to address the challenges of celiac disease and SIBO, you need more beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in your gut.
Which Probiotics Support the Gut Without Aggravating SIBO?
Spore-based probiotics are uniquely suited here. Their protective endospore shells let them bypass the small intestine and survive digestion, so they reach the large intestine alive, crowd out pathogens, and support a balanced gut microbiome without adding to small-intestine overgrowth.
A probiotic that can help with celiac disease and SIBO needs to be very special.
- It has to bypass the small intestine
- It must survive digestion and get to the large intestines alive
- It has to outcompete and eliminate pathogens in the large intestine
- It must allow a wide variety of beneficial bacteria to flourish
Only one family of probiotics can achieve all of those goals: spore probiotics.
Spore probiotics have protective endospore shells that allow them to survive even the harshest environments. They can withstand stomach acid, bile, digestive enzymes, and extreme temperatures. That’s how they easily survive digestion and travel all the way to your gut alive and ready to work.
Once spore probiotics get to the large intestine, they come out of their shells. They quickly set up camp and begin to wipe out bad bacteria. They encourage other probiotic bacteria to grow and multiply, bringing healthy balance to your gut microbiome.
A healthy gut microbiome makes it much easier for your body to deal with both celiac disease and SIBO.
Just Thrive Gut Health Products
| SIBO | Celiac disease | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine | An autoimmune response triggered by gluten |
| Main trigger | Bacteria migrating and multiplying in the small intestine | Eating gluten, even a crumb |
| Shared symptoms | Diarrhea, pain, gas, bloating; can damage villi | Diarrhea, pain, gas, bloating; can damage villi |
| How it is typically diagnosed | Breath test, sometimes followed by endoscopy | Blood tests, then endoscopy |
| Can you have both? | Yes; people with non-responsive celiac are up to 30% more likely to also have SIBO | |
Frequently Asked Questions About SIBO and Celiac Disease
What is the difference between SIBO and celiac disease?
SIBO is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, while celiac disease is an autoimmune response triggered by gluten. They share symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, and bloating, which is why they are often confused.
Can you have both SIBO and celiac disease at the same time?
Yes. Research shows people with celiac face a higher risk of SIBO, and those with non-responsive celiac are up to 30% more likely to also have SIBO. This is one reason symptoms can persist even after going gluten-free.
How are SIBO and celiac disease diagnosed?
SIBO is usually identified with a breath test, sometimes followed by endoscopy. Celiac disease typically starts with blood tests and then an endoscopy to examine the lining of the small intestine.
Why might symptoms continue after going gluten-free?
If GI symptoms persist after removing gluten, SIBO may be involved alongside celiac. The overlap between the two conditions is a common reason a single dietary change does not resolve everything.
What kind of probiotic is best when you have SIBO?
Because SIBO already involves bacterial overgrowth, the type of probiotic matters. Spore-based probiotics are designed to bypass the small intestine and reach the large intestine alive, supporting a balanced gut microbiome without adding to overgrowth.
Keep Your Gut Microbiome Healthy with Just Thrive
Just Thrive Probiotic helps maintain healthy bacterial balance in your gut microbiome.
It contains four extensively studied spore strains that support healthy immune system function and a healthy inflammatory response.
The four clinically-proven, spore-based probiotics in Just Thrive Probiotic include:
- Bacillus subtilis HU58™ which produces natural compounds that help eliminate pathogenic bacteria
- Bacillus indicus HU36™ which produces highly bioavailable antioxidants (including Lycopene, Zeaxanthin, Lutein, and Astaxanthin) that help control free radicals
- Bacillus coagulans which drives the growth beneficial bacteria in the gut and helps them thrive
- Bacillus clausii which can resist damage from common antibiotics, keeping a presence of beneficial bacteria in the gut even during antibiotic treatment
>> Empower your gut with Just Thrive Probiotic today.
Not sure the Just Thrive Probiotic will work for you? We can help with that.
Every Just Thrive purchase is covered by our Bottom of the Bottle, 100% money back guarantee.
So you can try the it to see how it works for you… and we’re betting that you’ll notice a positive difference.
But if for any reason you don’t notice a change, you can ask for a full product refund at any time. Even if it’s 3 months or 3 years later. Even if the bottle is empty! You’ll get your money back any time, no matter what.
Sources
- Evans KE, Higham S, Smythe A, et al. Small bowel bacterial overgrowth in celiac disease: A cause of presenting symptoms? Gut. 2011;60(Suppl 1):A83-A84.
- Achufusi TGO, Sharma A, Zamora EA, Manocha D. Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth: Comprehensive Review of Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment Methods. Cureus. 2020;12(6):e8860. Published 2020 Jun 27. doi:10.7759/cureus.8860
- Dukowicz AC, Lacy BE, Levine GM. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: a comprehensive review. Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2007;3(2):112-122.
- Kamboj AK, Oxentenko AS. Clinical and Histologic Mimickers of Celiac Disease. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2017;8(8):e114. Published 2017 Aug 17. doi:10.1038/ctg.2017.41
- Losurdo G, Salvatore D'Abramo F, Indellicati G, Lillo C, Ierardi E, Di Leo A. The Influence of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth in Digestive and Extra-Intestinal Disorders. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(10):3531. Published 2020 May 16. doi:10.3390/ijms21103531
- Tursi A, Brandimarte G, Giorgetti G. High prevalence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in celiac patients with persistence of gastrointestinal symptoms after gluten withdrawal. Am J Gastroenterol. 2003;98(4):839-843. doi:10.1111/j.1572-0241.2003.07379.x
- Losurdo G, Marra A, Shahini E, et al. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and celiac disease: A systematic review with pooled-data analysis. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2017;29(6):10.1111/nmo.13028. doi:10.1111/nmo.13028
- Charlesworth RPG, Winter G. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and celiac disease, coincidence or causation? Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020;14(5):305-306. doi:10.1080/17474124.2020.1757428
- Roland BC, Ciarleglio MM, Clarke JO, et al. Small Intestinal Transit Time Is Delayed in Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2015;49(7):571-576. doi:10.1097/MCG.0000000000000257
- Rao SSC, Rehman A, Yu S, Andino NM. Brain fogginess, gas and bloating: a link between SIBO, probiotics and metabolic acidosis. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2018;9(6):162. Published 2018 Jun 19. doi:10.1038/s41424-018-0030-7
