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So you may be thinking if I can’t have garlic then why would I be allowed to have garlic infused olive oil right? Well we are here to explain why garlic infused olive oil is totally fine on a low FODMAP diet! To begin let’s get back to basics and review why garlic can cause… Continue reading Why can I have garlic infused olive oil but not garlic on the pretest diet?

A common question we get asked here at Stream Diagnostics is whether exercise is allowed on the day of breath testing. The answer is no. Why? Well to begin, it helps to understand what hydrogen methane breath testing is. We wrote a blog around this, and you can check it out here. As a quick… Continue reading Can you exercise on test day?

Firstly, despite their name they are not alcoholic. Sugar alcohols are often used as lower calorie options to standard sugar as they contribute lesser calories than that of standard sugar. If you look at the ingredient list of a diet soft drink or sugar free gum, chances are you will see at least one of… Continue reading Sugar Alcohols – what are these?

Here at Stream Diagnostics we test for Fructose, Lactose, Glucose, Sucrose, Mannitol and Sorbitol malabsorption. But how are these sugars related to the FODMAPs? Firstly FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides Disaccharides Monosaccharides And Polyols. This big and tongue twisting acronym can be broken down to make a little more sense. The four sugar groups in… Continue reading How do our breath tests relate to FODMAPs?

Fructose Malabsorption What is Fructose? Fructose is a monosaccharide (FODMAP) or singlesugar molecule found in a variety of foods and food groups. Fructose can be found as free fructose (various fruits such as apples and honey) or chains of fructose units known as fructans (various vegetables and wheat) [1]. What is Fructose Malabsorption?Fructose malabsorption is… Continue reading What is Fructose Malabsorption

When carbohydrates/sugars are malabsorbed they remain in the intestine where they can be subject to bacterial fermentation. This fermentation process involves the production of hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) gases which are then excreted in the breath [1]. These H2 and CH4 breath tests are simple and non-invasive tests which can be used in the… Continue reading What is Breath Hydrogen and Methane Testing?

Lactase is an intestinal enzyme required to cleave lactose into its readily absorbable monosaccharides glucose and galactose [1].Lactose Intolerance occurs when there is a lactase deficiency or the activity of the lactase enzyme is suppressed for whatever reason, resulting in the malabsorption of lactose which is subsequently fermented by colonic bacteria producing gas. The presence… Continue reading Lactose Intolerance – What is it?

What is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (AKA SIBO) SIBO occurs when bacteria which normally reside in the large intestine, migrate into the small intestine, which can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms similar to IBS as well as systemic symptoms. The bacterial accumulation in the small intestine is not pathogenic bacteria, but rather normal gut flora which… Continue reading SIBO – What is it?