Gut Health Decoded – Breath Testing For SIBO and IBS.
A Functional Medicine Approach to “IBS”
Dr. Andrew Lenhardt
Gut Health Decoded: Breath Testing for SIBO & IBS
Join Dr. Andrew Lenhardt as he delves deep into the intricacies of IBS management and its underlying connection to SIBO. In today’s ever-evolving healthcare landscape, understanding the nuances of gut health is paramount. Dr. Lenhardt, practitioner and scientific advisor to AllClear Healthcare, will highlight the key benefits of incorporating hydrogen/methane testing into your practice, the efficiencies to be gained, and the resulting positive impact to patient health.
Key Objectives:
• Understand the pivotal role of hydrogen/methane breath testing and its transformative potential for diagnosis.
• Learn actionable strategies to integrate SIBO testing into your practice.
• Discover the broader benefits of an efficient diagnostic approach and its impact on patient well-being.
Dr. Lenhardt is a board-certified family doctor with an extensive background in functional and integrative medicine, and author of two books. Dr. Lenhardt is on the faculty of Tufts Medical School, Endicott College and Yale University and has been teaching medical students and nurse practitioner students for over 15 years.
Key Points from Dr. Lenhardt:
• Practitioners are seeing a significant rise in the number of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) cases.
• SIBO is likely the #1 underlying predominant cause for those diagnosed with IBS.
• 56% of those diagnosed with IBS had SIBO: 2014 NIH study. The study also found that Herbal Therapy is Equivalent to Rifaximin for the Treatment of [SIBO].
• Newer studies indicate larger percentages of people with IBS have SIBO.
• A Hydrogen / Methane breath test to rule out SIBO, should be among the first tests done for those with chronic GI symptoms. Why
Breath Test to Check for SIBO?
• Convenient and non-invasive (At-Home / Mail-In kits)
• Rapid results often within 24-48 hours
• Affordable (e.g. AllClear testing is $149 – Powered by QuinTron)
• Actionable with easy to interpret results
Hydrogen/Methane Breath Testing — The gold standard is shifting to the use of glucose as the substrate due to its significant increase in accuracy i.e., sensitivity/specificity (Lactulose can be more appropriate for diabetics).
Andrew Lenhardt, MD, Bio: Dr. Lenhardt is a board-certified family doctor with an extensive background in functional and integrative medicine. He is the author of two books including: The Best of All Worlds: A Family Doctor’s Path to Integrative Medicine and Emotional Intelligence in a Complex World. Dr. Lenhardt is on the faculty of Tufts Medical School, Endicott College and Yale University and has been teaching medical students and nurse practitioner students for over 15 years. He has developed the algorithms used for the RootFinder tool at Complex Health Solutions and published scholarly articles. In his personal life, he is married with three sons, two Pomeranians and his interests include pickleball, bridge and exotic travel.
