The Digestive Health Institute is focused on improving digestive health through collaborative research, communication and education. The DHI strives to share cutting edge ideas on digestive health conditions such as acid reflux (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s and celiac disease, diverticulitis, as well as asthma and autoimmune conditions. In each case the focus is on treatment and prevention using diet, behavior modification and other holistic approaches aimed at the underlying illness.
Norman Robillard, Ph.D., is a microbiologist and former researcher who spent 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry before founding the Digestive Health Institute. His goal is to develop holistic treatments for digestive and systemic illnesses based on a clear understanding of the underlying causes of disease. Norm was the first to recognize a connection between intragastric pressure from gas-producing bacteria in our intestines, nutritional malabsorption and the symptoms of acid reflux. Based on his extensive research, he created the clinically proven Fast Tract Diet System (Fast Tract Digestion Heartburn), a safe and effective alternative to proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and H2 blocking drugs.
Bacterial overgrowth fueled by nutritional malabsorption is a factor in several other digestive health conditions. Norm continues to pursue the Fast Tract Digestion program for all SIBO-related digestive and systemic health problems and will continue to publish findings in blogs on this site to complement more detailed information in the Fast Tract Digestion book series.
Norm received his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and completed post-doctoral training at Tufts University in Boston.
To read more about your healthy gut and how to find symptom relief, check out the Fast Tract Digestion book series that employs a powerful Fermentation Potential or FP system limiting difficult to digest carbohydrates to control SIBO and promote healthy gut microflora.
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I am on a candida program designed by Dr. Humiston whose website is CandidaMD.com.
It focuses on ferments and yeast products and includes a three step process of botanicals along with diet and probiotics. So far it seems to be helping me. Can you comment on the role of candida in digestive ills.
Bandel Bezzerides, Ph.D.
Hi Bandel,
If you’re doing well on Dr. Humiston’s program, that’s great. I was a bit surprised that his website does not cite a single scientific study to support his ideas. I am always a little concerned when I read about ideas that are not well grounded in current science. His may be, but he should cite the work in my opinion.
A study by Dr. John Hunter at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in the UK failed to find a connection between IBS, a prevalent SIBO-related condition, and yeast overgrowth (Middleton SJ, Coley A, Hunter JO. The role of faecal Candida albicans in the pathogenesis of food-intolerant irritable bowel syndrome. Postgrad Med J. 1992 Jun;68(800):453-4).
Yeast are normally present in the gut of roughly 70% of people without causing ill health. A number of factors have been reported to promote yeast overgrowth including antibiotics (key), steroids, chemotherapy, radiation, immune deficiency (key), old age, changes in the gut mucosa (key) or normal microbe population (key), sugars, dairy products and refined carbohydrates. Some of these make sense to me but some don’t. Yeast also feed on carbs (consider beer making ingredients). Refined carbs are typically easier to digest so they would actually be less likely to contribute to yeast overgrowth. The biggest cause seems to be antibiotics, immune or mucosal dysfunction and alterations in normal microbe populations, which is often driven by diet.
In (rare?) instances where yeast overgrowth is a problem, one of Dr. Humiston’s ideas – probiotics, has some support in the literature. The idea is to out compete the yeast with healthy bacteria. As more complete (more closely resemble a fecal transplant) probiotic preparations come to market, this approach will likely get even better.
You can be tested for yeast in a stool sample, but just the presence of yeast might not be significant or an indication that yeast overgrowth was causing your symptoms. The good news is that while yeast and bacteria respond to completely different types of drugs (antifungal vs. antibiotic), they both respond to limiting difficult-to-digest carbohydrates. Denying both yeast and bacterial overgrowth excess carbohydrate fuel is the best overall approach that should be tried first for either condition. That is what the Fast Tract Digestion approach is all about.
The most serious problem with yeast is blood infections from the more invasive yeast species resulting in 80,000 blood infections per year, which are often hospital acquired and often lethal.
Here is an excellent review article on yeast you might be interested in:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2803610/
When will the new book on ibs/ibd be out?
We are pushing for the end of this month, at least for the ebook. It could be a little longer for printing as hiccups generally arise. I am excited to release this one!
Awesome! Can’t wait! How is the new one different from the gerd one (besides the obvious, of course lol)?
All the FTD books are based on the same underlying approach. They look at the conventional ideas about the cause and the treatments of each condition along with the side effects and health risks of the conventional treatments. Then, the evidence for a connection to SIBO is examined to determine the extent for which the Fast Tract Diet will be effective. In the case of IBS, there is also a chapter on antibiotics. Also, each book will introduce new recipes.
Hello, I have severe digestive disorders and am trying to find the answers. I restrict all Fodmaps and am gluten-free. I live best on rice and meat and coconut oil. It seems nonfodmap fruits and veggies cooked or pureed give me a flare. Even small quantities (a few tablespoons). Pro-biotics do nothing and pre-biotics kill me. I need help!
Angela
Hi Angela,
I am not surprised that you are having some persistent symptoms. It doesn’t take much of the wrong foods to trigger symptoms. The Fast Tact approach uses the Fermentation Potential to determine how much of each food is safe amount to consume. If you have not read Fast Tract Digestion Heartburn, I would recommend you do so as there are significant limitations with some diet strategies that do not limit all difficult to digest carbs. We also have the second volume on IBS coming out by the end of March. The Digestive Health Institute offers counseling to deal with individual needs as well as a coaching program. You can email me at normjr1@gmail.com if you are interested.
Hello Dr. Robillard,
I have been suffering from IBS for 15 years and since 2 years ago from GERD as well. My main symptoms are nausea and indigestion. My symptoms got worse about 5 years ago. Around that time, I was tested for SIBO but all came negative. Since my symptoms kept getting worst, last year I visited the Dr. again and after getting many tests done, I found out I had gastritis and H.Pylori and was given two course of antibiotics. The H.Pylori was supposedly gone but GERD has stayed with me since then. I learned about your first book on Mark’s Daily Apple blog and I was very interested on it. However, when I read here on your website that your approach is specifically for SIBO I worried it might not work for me since I was already tested for that and all came back negative. Do you think your Fast Tract approach could still give me relief even if I don’t have SIBO? Have you had any cases of people without SIBO that have found relief of symptoms with your approach?
Thanks a lot!
Lucia
Hi Lucia,
You raise a qood question. When you had the test, can you remember what sugar was used in the test (lactulose, glucose, etc)? Also did you have symptoms at the time of the test?
If you have GERD symptoms, you likely have some degree of SIBO (small intestine) or dysbiosis (not limited to small intestine). SIBO is not necessarily a static, positive/negative situation. Your body is constantly working to clear the overgrowth but acid reducing drugs, meals with certain hard to digest carbs or just too many carbs and other factors work against your body in promoting SIBO. I think the book and diet will help your situation, but your answers are relevant to this recommendation. The institute offers individual consultation if needed.
Hello,
First, thanks so much for your reply Dr! I really appreciate it.
The test was done with 10 grams of Lactulose and I was having a lot of symptoms at the time (especially a lot of nausea). For several years I was told I had IBS and that this was causing my nausea. However last year after having an endoscopy, it was found that I also had gastritis and H.Pylori. After following the FODMAPS diet and taking antibiotics and acid reducing drugs I felt better but after some months I started feeling sick again. It’s been a couple of months since I started taking Prilosec every night to manage my symptoms and although it sometimes help, I am not symptom free. What’s more, I really do not want to spend the rest of my life taking drugs.
Thanks again!
Lucia
Thanks for the details. I would agree that taking PPIs for the rest of your life is not a great option. Your situation is interesting as nausea and gastritis can have many causes (and may not be related to SIBO). Hopefully the H.pylori is gone now and no longer an issue. And H.pylori is not tightly linked to acid reflux and is independent of SIBO. To make a long story short, there could be something else going on other than SIBO in your case. Sorry that I can’t offer more without talking to you in more detail. But it certainly can’t hurt to try the diet an see if you get benefit.
Hi Dr. Robillard,
Although I know it will be very hard for me since a big part of my diet is based on carbohydrates, I will definitely give your approach a try (I actually just bought your book in Amazon.)
Thanks a lot for your response!
Lucia
Ok Lucia. Good luck. There are lots of acceptable carbs in the book. Just limit the five carbs listed as high FP. Later, you can test each type individually as most people are not intolerant of all five.
hi i was wondering where i can purchase the book in the uk , having a terrible
time at the moment with lpr doc does not seem to be able to treat this condition
waiting to see specialist, can this diet help with lpr thanks penny
Hi Penny,
You can purchase the book on this site on the buy books page. Use the drop down menu for shipping outside the Unites States.
hi thanks for your reply will this diet help with my lpr
desperate to find a solution as i dont want to be on ppis
thanks penny