Overview
About Low Fermentation
Low-fermentation (SIBO) compatibility tracks foods gentler on small-intestine fermentation — like lean proteins, low-fiber grains, zucchini, and cucumber.
SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) diets focus on reducing fermentable foods that feed bacteria in the small intestine. Low-fermentation foods help manage symptoms like bloating, gas, and abdominal discomfort.
In the data
What the grading picks up
- Rated poorly for SIBO, where the fermentable beta-glucan fibre can add to bloating
- Rated poorly for SIBO, since the fermentable carbs feed bacterial overgrowth
- Borderline for histamine and for tyramine, both a consequence of fermentation that fresh milk does not have. Flushing, headache or a blocked nose after yogurt points here rather than at the lactose.
- Graded poorly for SIBO: lactose plus live bacteria is an unhelpful combination in a gut that is already fermenting too high up
- Rated poorly for SIBO, where even moderate fermentable fibre can flare symptoms
Examples
A few ingredients either way
To avoid
Grading
How we grade Low Fermentation
Every ingredient in the database carries one grade for low fermentation, and this page, the checker and the app all read that same grade. It describes the ingredient as it is usually eaten. Portion size and preparation move it.
Low Fermentation is kept as a matter of degree. In the app, a borderline ingredient shows on the ingredient screen without counting against the day.
Practical
Following Low Fermentation
- Stick to well-cooked, easy-to-digest foods.
- Space meals 4-5 hours apart to allow full digestion.
- Low-fermentation eating reduces food for overgrown bacteria
- Meal spacing (4-5 hours) allows the MMC to clear the gut
- Avoid grazing - structured meals are better
- Some find the elemental diet helpful under medical supervision
- Address underlying causes with your healthcare provider
Method
Test it with a diary
Most people find their own triggers by logging meals and symptoms for a few weeks and reading the result back. Three steps.
- 1Log every meal for a few weeks. Type it, say it out loud, or scan a barcode, and it lands as a list of ingredients.
- 2Rate how you feel through the day on whatever you are tracking, whether that is bloating, headaches, skin or sleep.
- 3Read the pattern back. Every ingredient you logged is scored against the days you felt worse, and the result ranks low fermentation against everything else you eat.
Read next
Where to go next
References
Low Fermentation sources
Where the low fermentation grades come from: food composition databases, clinical guidelines and patient organisations.
6 sources from peer-reviewed research, regulatory bodies, and clinical guidelines.
Get started
Following Low Fermentation?
Log what you eat and how you feel, and the app finds the pattern for you. Or look an ingredient up here first.
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