How SIBO Can Be Caused by Undermethylation

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a growing problem.

It’s estimated that up to around one-third of healthy people may have SIBO. It’s often the hidden explanation for things like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and other surreptitious food intolerances.

SIBO i basically when you have too many bacteria growing within your small intestine. Usually, bacteria are mainly limited to your large intestine, but sometime those bacteria can translocate upwards and begin to grow in your small intestine, too.

What causes that to happen?

Sometimes it’s poor stomach acid—due to use of an antacid (PPIs for example) or a mineral deficiency (like deficiency of zinc).

Sometimes it’s poor gut motility—due to diabetic nerve damage, for example.

But an underrecognized cause of SIBO is a problem with methylation—like an under-functioning MTHFR enzyme, for example.

How can a methylation problem cause SIBO?

One of the most important components of the digestive process is the production and release of bile—a liquid substance containing fat emulsification and other digestive factors produced by the liver and released from the gallbladder. If you don’t have enough bile, your digestion will be impaired, and you’ll get a bunch of undigested particles sitting around in your intestine. Those particles are perfect fodder for small intestinal bacteria, which will begin to overgrow and lead to SIBO.

How does your body produce bile? One of the most important components of bile is choline, a molecule that also is known as a major precursor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. A choline deficiency can, therefore, lead to underproduction of bile.

What causes choline deficiency? Undermethylation and, more specifically, deficiencies of active folate and B12.

If your methylation-related enzymes are under-functioning—things like MTHFR, MTHFD, MTHFS, and so on—you won’t be producing enough active folate and B12, making it difficult for your body to recycle homocysteine back into methionine.

Your body will then have to find another way to do that. And that’s where choline comes into play. Choline can also serve as a means for recycling homocysteine back to methionine. And if your folate/B12 system is not functioning optimally, that’s going to lead to a lot of stress on your choline system, which can potentially lead to a deficiency.

And a deficiency of choline can lead to a deficiency of healthy bile, which is a major risk factor for SIBO as explained above.

So if you have unexplained digestive issues—or an actual SIBO diagnosis—consider getting full methylation testing to help you figure out the underlying problem.