Transcript Of Today's Episode
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Hello, I'm Dr. Martin, Jr.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: I'm Dr. Martin, Sr.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: This is The Doctor's In Podcast and this is Episode 126. On today's [00:00:30] podcast, we're going to talk about probably one of the more common reasons people come and see you. If you were able to break down the types of problems that you see on a daily basis into kind of larger buckets, in a sense categories, hormones is a big thing that you see all the time. Our clinic, we deal with hormones a ton. We deal with digestive issues a lot, digestive issues is another big reason why people come to the Martin Clinic, big reason why people [00:01:00] read our stuff, listen to us, they got a lot of digestive issues. Our best selling supplement is the probiotics that we have and tremendous formulas helped a lot of people with the digestive issues.
Today we want to talk specifically about a digestive issue but specifically we're going to talk about SIBO and IBS. Now let's just, before we even get into them, in case a lot of people listening [00:01:30] may not know what SIBO is so I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about that first.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: SIBO is S-I-B-O so it is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Hence, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, right.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: SIBO.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, okay? Yeah, that's what they named it and it's very true. It's something that is quite common, people never knew really what it was in that sense. [00:02:00] Medicine, it doesn't ... I'm not saying they don't recognize it but they never treat it as such in the sense that, they just lump everything in as true as IBS, and it is. I mean, the bowel certainly is irritated.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: It is, it's an irritable bowel type of an issue but you're right, the symptoms can be slightly different, there's no question. Let's talk about SIBO a little bit. Let's talk about some of the symptoms that people again. Again, this is so common, [00:02:30] this is really, really common.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Well, it's ... You get a lot of gas with SIBO, you get a lot of cramping.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Like raw burping.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Burping, upper stuff, even acid reflex you see because a lot of people will think, "I'm getting acid reflux. I'm getting just very uncomfortable after I eat. It's almost, it doesn't matter even what I'm eating, it bothers me." You have [00:03:00] to seriously look that you're having trouble with SIBO. You have an overgrowth of bacteria and those are symptoms common. You can diarrhea too, you can have constipation.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Oh yeah, diarrhea's a big one as well, right? It's funny because constipation would be almost like ... It's not that they don't get constipation but that would be more of an IBS where they kind of go from, they kind of bounce back and forth between diarrhea, constipation kind of bouncing back and forth. Where SIBO a lot of times is definitely ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: [00:03:30] Diarrhea.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Diarrhea, right?
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, it's much more common.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: They also, they get a lot of bloating. A lot of people, they get really bloated after eating.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, they're always bloated.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yes, that's such a common symptom and that is so common. Some people, the only symptom they get at first when they have SIBO is bloating. They're just bloated after a meal. Some people, they ... How many do you hear this, when people literally say to you, "I look pregnant after I eat."
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: That's a bacterial overgrowth that's causing a really leaky gut but [00:04:00] it's definitely there. Another ... They have, which is funny to mention but they have a lot of malnutrition as well because if you're ... Especially that first part of your intestinal tract, if that's not ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Well, the small intestine is where your food's absorbed, right?
Dr. Martin, Jr.: If you're not getting it ... If you have a problem there ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: It's not that small, the small intestine.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: No, they call it small intestine, which is funny, but it's pretty long. It ain't small, that's for sure. You also see some associated symptoms like they can have joint pain, they can get a lot of skin [00:04:30] issues, fatigue. They can have acne, a lot of adult acne is bacterial overgrowth. When you see a lot of adults with a lot of acne it's either estrogen dominance or it's leaky gut, specifically SIBO. They've got a ton of bacterial overgrowth causing a lot of adult acne. Eczema is a big one. Here's another big one and I'll tell you, this is something that's so tied in with your gut it's uncanny, is asthma.
The lung and the gut are so tied in, [00:05:00] it's amazing how many people have asthma that really it goes away when their gut is fixed. It's incredible, so SIBO a big ... For some people it's their lungs. Then, obviously because of the malnutrition ... We just did a long podcast on depression but one of the side effects for SIBO for some people is depression.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, and now you're not absorbing B12.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Exactly. Rosacea another one so you got a lot of different symptoms but common digestive [00:05:30] ones would be bloating, nausea, change in bowel habits, especially more diarrhea-type stuff. It's caused by, as the name implies, a bacterial overgrowth due to, and that's the thing, there's so many ... That's the thing. A lot of different of, really, because whatever can cause leaky gut can cause SIBO because, really, leaky gut essentially is what's happening as well in there. However ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: [00:06:00] After happens after antibiotic therapy.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yeah, that's a common one.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah. High stress, high levels of cortisol changes your gut.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: I also believe that ... We did a lot on anti-aging a while ago and we got a lot of feedback on that, those three episodes. We did a real good series on anti-aging.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, go back and look them up if you haven't heard them.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: One of the things that happens as we age naturally is a normal decrease in digestive enzymes, which can lead [00:06:30] to this exact problem. We created a digestive enzyme, we'll talk about that at the end, for this kind of issue that's just ... Already, the results people are getting is really awesome to hear, but there are also some other issues, that risk factors or causes of SIBO. As you mentioned, antibiotic use, antiinflammatory use is a big one as well. There's a lot of different things that happen that puts people at risk for [00:07:00] that.
Food allergies is another big one as well. We have food intolerances. It's not really an all out allergy because they're not getting anaphylactic but the word allergy means a lot of different things.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, it's an intolerance.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: If you have allergies in the spring you're not anaphylactic but it's an allergy so it definitely varies on a scale of reactions. Over a period of time when you're eating a food that your body just doesn't like will lead to leaky gut, [00:07:30] which will lead to an overgrowth of bacteria. Leaky gut kind of implies an overgrowth of bacteria but not necessarily all the time, I would guess, which is why they kind of separated the term SIBO.
However, so you have that on one aspect and then you have IBS on the other which is, again, a massive percentage of people that come into the clinic have IBS. Listen, I'm very sympathetic to digestive issues, I had [00:08:00] a real long history of digestive issues and I always blamed mom. You can go watch her bone broth protein video on why that is. My mom was on antibiotics because of one kidney ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Eight years.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Eight years, when she was a teenager, and on antibiotics the whole time she was pregnant with me, I think.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: That was because of that kidney, right?
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yep, and that really ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: She only had one kidney and it was given her trouble during the pregnancy and ...
Dr. Martin, Jr.: That's what they did back then.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: That's ... And there were no. I mean, you're talking ... [00:08:30] You're old.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Believe me, I know I'm old. That was back in the early 70s.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Think about it, right? I mean, you can understand too, antibiotics was the greatest discovery of the 20th century, come on, they saved your life. But on the other hand, it's the doubled edged sword, it did cause that overgrowth of bacteria and you had classic everything.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Oh no, and the frustrating thing ... It's getting a lot better now. It used to be that IBS had a five, seven [00:09:00] year diagnostic window, meaning it took five to seven years to figure out what was going on with you. Especially back then, you'd get all these symptoms, you'd go to your doctor or you'd go to the hospital, depending on how bad they are. They really, they did blood testing, they'd do a bunch of stuff and nothing ever shows up. Then you got to swallow that terrible barium swallow, that never shows anything. Has it found anything? Aside from an ulcer, has barium [00:09:30] swallow ever found anything?
Dr. Martin, Sr.: No, you got to be dead, right?
Dr. Martin, Jr.: How many people, what percentage of people does a barium swallow actually lead to any kind of diagnostic? It's so common of a test. It's funny because everybody who, especially back 10, 15 years ago that have IBS has had that barium swallow test done. Anyways, it used to be that when you had IBS it was kind of that diagnosis of last resort, they ruled everything else out, [00:10:00] everything, and then it's like, "Well, I guess you have IBS. We can't find anything else so we're just going to throw you in this IBS bucket and that's what you have, you have IBS."
That's how it was for a long time until they started to realize that it's very common. IBS is probably one of the, I think it is the number one digestive issue, outside of symptoms but actual disorders that people have. It's very, very common, a lot [00:10:30] of people have IBS for a lot of different reasons. I found after a while, because I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, it took me a while to figure out what foods were causing my issue.
One of the funny things is ... Because again, we've got so much experience with digestive disorders we hear this all the time. People come in, they're like, "Well, everything bothers me." They're trying to figure out what's bothering them, it's like, "Man." I always give this example when it comes to IBS. When you are having an IBS episode [00:11:00] your gut is angry, it's irritated, or ornery, it's mad at you, which means that when it's in a bad mood, your gut, everything irritates it.
You ever be around somebody who's in a bad mood and it doesn't matter what you do, they're irritated? That's what your gut is like. It doesn't matter ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: No matter what you're eating.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Doesn't matter what you're eating at that point, it's very hard to pinpoint what's bothering your stomach because everything bothers your stomach, everything does. That's what can make it very frustrating, which is why we have a certain protocol that we do, [00:11:30] which we'll talk about at the end of this episode, how to kind of calm that down and kind of go from there.
You have ... IBS you have SIBO, which are kissing cousins I guess. They're very, very intertwined, very much related. Treatment is pretty much the same way that you would treat them both but they're very, very common. A lot of people are listening are suffering one of these things or they got a family member that's suffering from these things. Let's talk a little bit now about [00:12:00] what you do for that.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Well again, we love probiotics. Look, everybody ... Everybody should be taking a probiotic. If you're not taking a probiotic, and yogurt isn't probiotic. If you're not taking a probiotic, folks, you're not listening to us because it's just essential. We know more about that organ, not just your gut but the bacteria in your gut, the microbiome of your gut. Absolutely got to [inaudible 00:12:29] constantly, [00:12:30] constantly. Living on the planet will destroy your good bacteria
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yeah, we did a really good online presentation called The Healthy Gut Happy Life that if you contact our office we can maybe email them a link to watch it. We show beyond a shadow of a doubt how probiotics should be taken every day.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, right?
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yeah, absolutely. That's a ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: We start with that.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Always.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: A probiotic, we're always trying to regenerate.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Have you ever had a person with digestive issues, [00:13:00] leaky gut or IBS or SIBO where you don't recommend probiotics?
Dr. Martin, Sr.: No.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Never. That's just an absolutely no brainer. Again, all probiotics are not created equal.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: No, because you have different strains that do different things. Very important to understand that. You have lots of different strains of bacteria and they're all good. They're all friendly bacteria, they're important, but there are certain strains that are absolutely essential. If you want to fix IBS, [00:13:30] SEBO, for example is another one that you want to get after that bacteria. Well, you need certain strains of bacteria to do just thing.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Our pharma has evolved over the years to add strains specifically for these reasons. Yeah, I mean, probiotics is definitely the starting point. Number two on the list, if you have SIBO especially, is a very good digestive enzyme that will help you break down that food [00:14:00] because that's a big issue that people have. Also, because we deal so much with this we spent a lot of time formulating coming up with a digestive enzyme formula that also includes ... Aside from the enzymes in there they include a few different things like oil or oregano ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Natural antibiotics.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yes, that kill the SIBO.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Now you're talking bacteria, right?
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yes.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: You're talking bacteria, and listen, you never get a bacterial overgrowth without getting yeast, that candida, it's always there, [00:14:30] they're kissing cousins too. They're in there, they overgrow, they change the lining, they change the absorption of your food. They really, it's like a roadblock. It's like a paste over your gut that now all of a sudden everything bothers it, like you say, everything ...
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yeah, everything just irritates it. You want a very good probiotic, you want a good digestive enzyme. Then, now you've got to also look at healing so probiotics play [00:15:00] a big role in healing but there are a few other things as well that can really help heal that lining of that gut that we really like. We have an IBS formula but in there are what we call uselages, stuff like slippery elm bark or marshmallow root extract which coats and heal the gut. Very, very important for that, especially for IBS, IBS especially. L-Glutamine. Those things are so key.
They actually early on played a massive role [00:15:30] in fixing my gut as well. That's important, so we like that. L-Glutamine, like you mentioned, is an amino acid and what's interesting is that rapidly dividing cells in the body require a certain type of energy source as well and that's glutamine, which your bowel cells are. They're rapid dividing so in order to heal you need a lot of this type of energy which is L-Glutamine. Which is why we like bone broth protein. We love bone broth because [00:16:00] it's loaded with collagen and L-Glutamine.
We have bone broth, we love it because of the gut healing components of bone broth. This is another issue as well for a lot of people that have digestive issues, they can't take protein, they have a hard time with it.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: They can't have whey.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: No, they can't digest it, it bothers them.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Even the vegetable proteins, they find that that bothers them.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: That's the thing that I mentioned on that video was I have a hard time digesting a lot of these vegetable proteins, [00:16:30] they're hard to digest. They're not easily necessarily digestive. That's why we like bone broth because ... We like it primarily because it helps heal the gut but also because we're massive fans of protein intake and that's a good way to get extra protein as well.
Now, there are a group of people that have IBS or SIBO that really in order to take those steps to heal have to incorporate some kind of fasting into their regimen because [00:17:00] the reality is, is their gut needs a break. They've got to shorten their eating window. They can't be eating for 13 hours a day or 12 hours a day, they need that rest and digest. They got to turn their bowels off for a bit, they got to allow things ...
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Well, like you said, it's angry, right?
Dr. Martin, Jr.: It's angry, it needs it.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah. Doesn't matter what goes in there, it's going to bother it, and that's why we love, we love the bone broth for that reason. A lot of people I'll say, "Look, we've got to settle your gut down. You are really ..."
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yeah, just it's irritated.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: [00:17:30] With ulcerative colitis or a real severe IBS, sometimes with diverticulitis ...
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Sometimes water will even irritate some people. IBS can get so bad that even too much water can bother their stomach.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: We just, we tell you ...
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Fast.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: Yeah, fast and live on bone broth for 48, 72 hours, sometimes even a little longer.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: Yeah. Sometimes people can get away with just shortening their eating window and fasting a little bit every day, kind of shoring their eating window down. Some people that have such a bad gut, [00:18:00] they've got to fast for a little longer. That's just the reality of it. Sometimes that's an important part. Listen, if you have IBS or you have digestive issues you really should every once in a while incorporate a little bit of fasting into your regimen. Just give the stomach a break, give the bowels a break.
That's just something that makes good sense, just to give it a break. Fasting, we're big fans of fasting. We're big fans of intermittent fasting. We incorporate [00:18:30] fasting for a whole bunch of different reasons and a bunch of different protocols, also very good for lowering insulin. It's a lot of different reasons why we like fasting. For a lot of people that have IBS, especially when it's irritated, a little bit of fasting is very, very, very good for it, helps calm that gut down.
Then another thing that we like as well to help heal the gut is curcumin. Curcumin is ... and DHA, tremendous for gut healing. Helps get rid of gut inflammation, [00:19:00] helps gut healing. Navitol same thing, tremendous for the gut. Those are the things that we like. Our IBS protocol is very simple. Calm the gut down, get rid of the inflammation, try to figure out what's causing it, if there's any food intolerance or any allergy. Lower insulin, probiotics enzymes, and it works, it works.
Dr. Martin, Sr.: I love our digestive enzyme formula. It's been very, very effective, especially in the treatment of SIBO.
Dr. Martin, Jr.: We have a hard time keeping it in stock. [00:19:30] That's good in a sense but it's bad because a lot of people like it and we try to ... Anyways, yeah it's awesome. The results people are getting already are exciting. Well, we want to thank you for listening to this episode. If you have any questions, you can email us at info@martinclinic.com. You can jump in on Thursday mornings, you do a Facebook Live every Thursday morning. They can jump on their, ask you questions.
You can hedge our website, martinclinic.com, sign up for our newsletters. We cover a lot of this in our [00:20:00] newsletters every week. Again, we want to thank you for listening and have a great day.