Foods to Eat During the Phase 1 Sibo Diet

The Bi-phasic SIBO diet phase 1 was developed by Dr. Nirala Jacobi to starve bacteria in the small intestine of their fuel source. 

The purpose of the SIBO diet is to reduce the fermentable starches and fibers which feed bacteria that have overgrown in the small intestine.

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By reducing the fermentable starches and fibers, bacteria will begin to die as they are deprived of their fuel source, thus helping to reduce bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine.

What is the SIBO diet?

The SIBO diet is a therapeutic diet intended to be used for some time to help eliminate small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and relieve sibo symptoms. It is a temporary diet that deprives bacteria of their preferred fuel source. High-fodmap foods are a food source for overgrown bacteria in the small intestine.

As part of a multiprong treatment plan, the SIBO diet helps reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome by removing fermentable carbohydrates during the diet’s first phase. The SIBO bi-phasic diet is a combination of the low FODMAP diet and the specific carbohydrate diet broken down into 2 phases.

Both phase 1 and phase 2 of the SIBO diet is intended to be implemented for 4-6 weeks in conjunction with a SIBO protocol that addresses the underlying cause of SIBO and uses additional supplements to eliminate bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. The use of antimicrobials or herbal antibiotics is brought in during phase 2 of the SIBO diet.

Remember that the SIBO diet is not designed to be a long-term diet. Reintroducing a wide variety of fermentable fibers is required to restore beneficial gut bacteria in the colon after bacteria have been reduced to normal levels in the small intestine.

Eliminating SIBO for good is a step-by-step process that starts with the SIBO diet phase 1, which is the most restrictive phase of the SIBO diet that lasts 4-6 weeks.

While implementing the SIBO diet during phase 1, it is also important to focus on healing and improving the integrity of the gut lining with gut healing supplements such as collagen, bone broth, and aloe.

If the digestive function is severely impaired, eating cooked/steamed vegetables and soups is gentle on the digestive tract to allow for optimal healing.

After using gut-healing nutrients for at least two weeks on the phase 1 SIBO diet, the focus can be shifted to restoring optimal digestive function by supporting the primary organs involved in the upper digestive system. The following are the tip digestive support supplements that can be used alongside a sibo diet plan:

• the stomach (support with HCL under the guidance of a practitioner),
• the pancreas (support with digestive enzymes)
• the gallbladder (support with gallbladder nutrients and optimal PC) contains phosphatidylcholine for optimal bile flow, which is antimicrobial.

By supporting the primary organs involved in the upper digestive system, the terrain is improved and becomes inhospitable for bacterial overgrowth to recur.

Restoring optimal terrain and digestive function is just as important as following the SIBO diet and using antimicrobials or antibiotics to kill bacteria in the small intestine during phase 2 of the SIBO diet.

Your digestive health will massively improve after combining the phase 1 SIBO diet with supplements to support digestive health then, in the second phase herbal antimicrobials can be introduced.

It is crucial to implement phase 1 of the SIBO diet with digestive support, especially gallbladder support as many SIBO patients will have a SIBO relapse if proper digestion is not optimized first.

A vicious cycle is created when the whole SIBO protocol is not implemented. I cannot stress enough how important it is to support the primary organs involved in digestion.

The SIBO diet phase 1

The primary focus of the phase 1 SIBO diet is to reduce fermentable starches and fibers to starve bacteria in the small intestine of their preferred fuel source.

Protein sources allowed on phase 1 biphasic diet include meat, fish, chicken, and eggs.

When following the SIBO phase 1 restricted diet the following vegetables can be eaten in unlimited amounts!

Alfalfa sprouts, bamboo shoots, capsicum, bok choy, carrots, chives, cucumber, eggplant, ginger, kale, lettuce, olives, radish, rocket, silverbeet, spring onion (green tops only) and tomatoes.

The following vegetables can be eaten on the phase 1 SIBO diet in quantities noted with no more than 1 of the vegetables per meal.

• Asparagus – 1 spear
• Artichoke – 1/8 cup (great for the gallbladder and bile flow)
• Beetroot – 2 slices (another vegetable great for the gallbladder)
• Broccoli – ½ a cup (great plant-based protein source for vegetarians)
• Brussel sprouts – 2 each
• Cabbage – ½ cup
• Savoy cabbage – ¾ cup
• Celery – 1 stick
• Green beans – 10 each
• Green peas ¼ cup
• Pumpkin – ¼ cup
• Snow peas – 5 pods
• Spinach – 15 leaves
• Zucchini ¾ cup

The only two fruits allowed on phase 1 restrictive diet are lemons and limes, which can be used to make a super quick salad dressing by squeezing fresh lemon or lime with olive oil, cracked pepper, and Himalayan salt on any of the previous vegetables.

You can also make a hot lemon or lime drink with pure stevia for a little sweetness to drink before meals to support stomach acid.

Homemade bone broths can be made from beef or lamb which is great for healing the gut or used as a stock for a homemade soup.

For beverages, water is best but 1 cup of black coffee can be drunk per day or herbal and black tea so at least you can enjoy a cup of coffee or your favorite tea!

The only sweetener allowed on phase 1 restrictive SIBO diet is stevia.

The following nuts and seeds are allowed in quantities noted

• Almonds – 10 each or 2 tbsp almond flour or meal
• Coconut flour or shredded coconut
• Coconut milk ¼ cup or 2 tbsp of coconut cream
• Hazelnuts – 10 each
• Macadamias – 20 each
• Pecans – 10 each
• Pine nuts – 1 tbsp
• Pumpkin seeds – 2 tbsp
• Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp
• Walnuts – 10 each (great source of the essential omega 3 fats)

The following fats and oils can be used for cooking and salad dressing. Always be sure to look for cold-pressed oils stored in dark bottles. Olive oil and coconut oil are the best choices to saute with.

Coconut oil, flaxseed oil, ghee, grapeseed oil, MCT, Olive oil, pumpkin seed oil. Sesame oil, sunflower oil, and walnut oil.

Fresh and dried herbs can be used in cooking along with sugarless mayonnaise, mustard without garlic, apple cider vinegar, white and red vinegar, tabasco, and wasabi.

Foods to avoid on the phase 1 restricted SIBO diet include garlic, onion, balsamic vinegar, chicory root, garlic, onions, soy sauce and tamari, carrageens, and thickeners.

Fats to avoid include chia seeds, flaxseeds and peanuts, palm oil, and soybean oil.

All legumes, beans, and dairy are avoided, along with garlic, onion, mushrooms, white potato, and starch powder such as arrowroot and tapioca.

No fruit juices, wine, beer, or soda are to be consumed on the SIBO diet.

The phase 1 SIBO diet is quite restrictive, as you can see, but there is a little wiggle room for individuals to include some foods from the semi-restrictive phase 1 SIBO diet, which allows for ½ a cup of quinoa, basmati, or jasmine rice.

Some additional fruits are allowed on the semi-restrictive diet, with clear honey as a sweetener and coconut aminos to use in stir-fries. As you graduate up to the semi-restrictive SIBO diet and phase 2 SIBO diet, it becomes easier to follow the SIBO diet.

So, what does a day in the life of a SIBO diet phase 1 look like?

Some SIBO phase 1 restricted diet recipe ideas include:

Breakfast could be two eggs scrambled with the tops of green onions, tomato, capsicum, spinach, or rocket, and a canned artichoke heart.

Getting in liver cleansing bitter greens and artichoke is super important to promote healthy bile flow, which is antimicrobial. A sluggish gallbladder is one of the underlying causes of SIBO that no one is talking about!

Eggs are an excellent source of choline needed to make phosphatidylcholine in the body via the PEMT gene, which is crucial for keeping bile flowing smoothly from the gallbladder.

Lunch could be a freshly chopped salad with lettuce greens of your choice and any fresh vegetables listed above served with a grilled lemon pepper chicken breast sliced and fresh lemon and olive oil as a dressing.

Dinner could be cooked meat of your choice served with grilled zucchini and steamed veggies seasoned with salt and pepper and coconut oil.

This low fodmap carrot soup is a delicious sibo recipe for phase 1 of the diet. Dr. Nirala Jacobi has some great phase 1 SIBO recipes on her site to help make the dietary changes more manageable. If your having a hard time following the strictness of the diet, check out these phase 1-friendly recipes approved by Dr. Nirala Jacobi!

After 4-6 weeks on the Phase 1 SIBO diet, it is time to start adding more foods to your diet from the phase 2 SIBO diet, which contains more fermentable fibers in small amounts while still avoiding the most problematic high fiber/high FODMAP foods.

Join the Natural Nutrition community to get my ultimate gut health guide and access my FREE resource library with downloadable recipe E-books for SIBO and IBS.

If you are struggling with SIBO Dr. Nirala Jacobi from the SIBO Doctor has a very informative patient SIBO success course to beat SIBO for good. This course covers:

• underlying causes of SIBO
• testing for SIBO
• Symptoms of SIBO
• types of SIBO
• biphasic SIBO diet
• antimicrobials for SIBO

and much more!

Dr. Nirala Jacobi has been my go-to resource for information on SIBO. There is so much to know about SIBO, and the SIBO success plan covers all the essentials you need to know about SIBO to beat SIBO for good.

Related articles:

How I Used Sunflower Lecithin and Ox Bile to Beat my SIBO

SIBO Friendly Vegetable Stir Fry

Low FODMAP Chicken and Rice Soup

Benefits of the FODMAP Diet for SIBO and IBS

References:

The SIBO diet PDF