HOW LONG SHOULD YOU DO THIS PROTOCOL?

First of all, not everyone needs to do protocol #3. If you feel better after doing protocols #1 and #2, we recommend taking a break to see if this was enough for you. There is no benefit in overdoing gut treatments and in fact, you might do more harm than good if you do more than is needed.

However, if you know you have SIBO, or you still have significant symptoms after doing protocols #1 and #2, doing protocol #3 is recommended.

We recommend doing protocol #3 for 1 month.

We have included how many bottles of each supplements you will need to do the full protocol for 1 month.

THE PROTOCOL

1- OPTIONAL ADD-ON VITAMIN C FLUSH

We recommend doing a vitamin C Flush once at the beginning of each of the 'Clean Up Protocols'.

A vitamin C flush may start the process of killing off the bad bacteria in your small intestines. It also supports the immune system and rapid healing.

* Who should be careful with the vitamin C flush/ daily vitamin C: if you know you have oxalate toxicity, mould illness/CIRS or you tend to be very sensitive to supplements (like people with MCAS), be careful. Try the flush once and see how you react. If you react badly, don't do the flush again, and read here about a form of daily vitamin C that you might be able to tolerate.

After doing the flush, you may choose to continue taking your daily dose of Vitamin C as per the instructions.

Click here for the full instructions on how to do a Vitamin C Flush

2- BERBERINE OR PHYTAXIL

Berberine and Phytaxil (Biomedica) both provide broad-spectrum GI support. They're stronger treatments than what you've taken so far in Protocol #1 and #2, so be careful. Start with a low dose and increase slowly... this is not a race!

Berberine is also beneficial for maintaining a healthy blood sugar balance.

Only take one of these, not both!

Berberine dosage: Start with 500mg (usually 1 capsule) per day and build up to 1500mg per day in divided doses (such as 500mg 3 times per day). Take with food.

Phytaxil (Biomedica) dosage: Start with 1 capsule twice daily and build up to 2 capsules twice per day. Take with food.

* SIBO Specific Dosage: both of these are excellent treatment options for SIBO, but you'll need to build up to a higher dosage.

Berberine dosage for SIBO: Start with 500mg (usually 1 capsule) per day and build up to 4500mg per day in divided doses (such as 1500mg 3 times per day). Take with food.

Phytaxil (Biomedica) dosage for SIBO: Start with 1 capsule twice daily and build up to 6 capsules per day in divided doses (such as 2 capsules 3 times per day). Take with food.

Where to buy:

We recommend Thorne Berberine or Paradise Herbs.

Phytaxil might be a bit harder to find, but should be available in most countries if you do a bit of looking around.

*The number of bottles you need will depend on which brand you buy and your dosage... time to do some maths!

3- ALLICIN

Allicin is an extract of garlic with strong antibacterial and antifungal properties. It does NOT contain the high FODMAPs part of garlic, so you don't have to worry about that. It's also the supplement of choice for the treatment of methane SIBO/IMO.

Dosage: Take 360 to 450 mg twice daily, preferably on empty stomach (20- 30minutes before your meal). If you don't tolerate it well this way, take with a meal. Can be taken at the same time as Para 1.

* SIBO Specific Dosage: Build up to a dose of approximately 2000mg/day, split in up to 4 doses.

Tip: If you struggle with the garlic taste, try freezing it.

Where to buy:

We recommend Allimed, which has a higher dose of 450mg of Allisure® per capsules, which makes it easier to take.

Allimed is a UK brand, but is available from NZ here for Australians.

There are other good brands available on iherb and Amazon (such as Allimax and Alliultra), but they have smaller amounts of Allisure®, which means you'll have to take more capsules. Look for something with Allisure® AC-23. Be careful that it doesn't contain 'garlic' as this might cause symptoms.

4- BIOFILM BUSTER

As mentioned in protocol #2, biofilm are protective coatings that can form over bacteria and fungus and make them resistant to treatment. Addressing biofilm is a very important step in making sure that your treatment is effective.

Here we're introducing a stronger biofilm buster to address more stubborn biofilm!

Scientists have discovered that the composition of most biofilm consists of sugar molecules or polysaccharides, minerals (such as calcium, iron and magnesium), DNA and fibrin. Enzymes, taken between meals, degrades these components.

* For the purpose of breaking biofilm, enzymes must be taken between meals, on empty stomach. Can be taken at the same time as Para 1.

Good options include Interfase Plus by Klaire Labs and Biofilm Defense by Kirkman, available on either iherb or Amazon.

5- BINDER OF YOUR CHOICE

While doing these clean up protocols, it's likely that some of you will experience die-off.

That's why we recommend taking a binder during the clean up protocols. You can choose from the recommended binders here. Our top recommendations for die-off are biotoxin binder or activated charcoal.

You may choose to take your binder daily or only as needed based on your symptoms.

Alternatively, instead of taking a binder, you can choose some of the other recommendations in our die-off rescue kit. We especially like water or coffee enema for this purpose.

Dosage: take the recommended dosage on your chosen binder.

*Binders must be taken at least 1 hour away from Para 1 and 2 hours away from prescription medications.

6- PROBIOTICS

See Probiotics - Crowding Out The Bad Guys