If you've been diagnosed with SIBO — or you strongly suspect it — you've probably already Googled "SIBO diet" and found ten different lists that contradict each other. Eat this. Never eat that. Cut out everything you enjoy for a year.
Let's cut through that.
Here's what a SIBO diet actually does: it starves the overgrown bacteria of the carbohydrates they ferment, which calms the bloating, gas, and discomfort that make SIBO so miserable. Here's what it doesn't do: clear the overgrowth on its own. Diet is one piece of the plan — an important one — but it works best alongside targeted treatment and a fix for whatever caused the overgrowth in the first place. Our guide to getting rid of SIBO naturally walks through the full plan.
In this guide, I'll give you a clear SIBO diet food list, the foods to avoid (and why), a simple sample plan, and the honest picture of how diet fits into getting better.
In this article 10 sections
What Is the SIBO Diet?
The SIBO diet is a temporary, low-fermentation eating plan that limits the carbohydrates bacteria feed on — mainly added sugars and high-FODMAP foods — to reduce bloating, gas, and digestive symptoms while you treat small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Most people follow it for 2 to 6 weeks during treatment, then reintroduce foods gradually.
SIBO happens when bacteria that normally live in your large intestine build up in your small intestine, where they don't belong. When food reaches them, they ferment it — producing hydrogen, methane, or hydrogen sulfide gas. That gas is behind the classic symptoms: bloating that builds through the day, belching, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, and sometimes nutrient deficiencies. If you want the fuller picture of how SIBO differs from yeast overgrowth, read Candida vs. SIBO.
My Take as a Nutritionist
The biggest mistake I see with SIBO is people treating the diet like the cure. They go ultra-strict for months, lose weight they didn't need to lose, get scared of half the grocery store — and the moment they eat normally again, the bloating comes right back. That's because the diet manages symptoms. It doesn't fix the reason the bacteria moved in. I use the SIBO diet as a short-term tool to calm things down while we clear the overgrowth and address the root cause — usually slow gut motility, low stomach acid, or a history of antibiotics or PPIs. Keep it temporary, keep it nourishing, and keep the bigger plan in view. — Jordan Dorn, CN
SIBO Diet Food List: What to Eat
These foods are generally low-fermentation and well tolerated by most people with SIBO. Everyone's different — use this as a starting point, not a rulebook.
| Category | Generally well tolerated |
|---|---|
| Proteins | Eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, wild fish, shellfish, firm tofu |
| Vegetables | Spinach, kale, zucchini, carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, green beans, bok choy, eggplant, tomatoes, lettuce, bean sprouts |
| Fruits (1–2 servings a day) | Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, kiwi, pineapple, cantaloupe, firm (not ripe) bananas |
| Grains & starches | White rice, quinoa, oats in small portions, potatoes, sourdough spelt (some tolerate it) |
| Fats | Olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, butter, coconut oil, garlic-infused oil |
| Dairy | Lactose-free milk and yogurt, hard aged cheeses (parmesan, cheddar) |
| Nuts & seeds (small portions) | Walnuts, macadamias, pecans, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds |
| Flavor | Fresh herbs, ginger, turmeric, chives, green onion tops, lemon, salt, pepper |
One tip that makes life a lot easier: garlic-infused oil. The fermentable carbs in garlic (fructans) don't dissolve into oil, so you get the flavor without the fermentation. Same trick works with onion.
Foods to Avoid With SIBO
These are the foods most likely to feed fermentation and trigger symptoms. Avoid them during the active phase, then test them back in one at a time.
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Added sugars and sweeteners — sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, and sugar alcohols like sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol (common in "sugar-free" gum and snacks).
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High-FODMAP vegetables — garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, artichokes, cauliflower, and mushrooms.
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Legumes — beans, lentils, and chickpeas. Some people tolerate small portions of canned, well-rinsed lentils.
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High-FODMAP fruits — apples, pears, mangoes, watermelon, cherries, dried fruit, and fruit juice.
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Wheat, rye, and barley — mostly because of their fructans, not gluten itself.
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Lactose — regular milk, soft cheeses, and ice cream.
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Added fibers and prebiotics — inulin, chicory root, FOS, and many "gut health" powders. They feed bacteria, which is exactly what you don't want right now.
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Alcohol — especially beer, sweet wine, and sugary mixers.
Notice what's not on this list: all vegetables, all fruit, all grains. You don't need to eat meat and zucchini for three months. The goal is lower fermentation, not zero carbs.
A Simple SIBO Diet Plan
Here's what a normal day can look like. Nothing fancy — that's the point.
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach and bell peppers cooked in olive oil, plus a handful of blueberries.
Lunch: Grilled chicken over mixed greens, cucumber, carrots, and a lemon–olive oil dressing, with a scoop of white rice or quinoa.
Dinner: Baked salmon, roasted zucchini and carrots, and a baked potato with butter and chives.
And three habits that matter as much as the food itself:
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Space your meals 4–5 hours apart. Between meals, your gut runs a cleaning wave called the migrating motor complex (MMC) that sweeps bacteria out of the small intestine. Constant snacking interrupts it. This is one of the most overlooked parts of a SIBO plan.
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Chew thoroughly and eat slowly. Digestion starts in your mouth. Less undigested food reaching the small intestine means less for bacteria to ferment.
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Keep portions moderate. Even low-FODMAP foods can add up if you eat a huge amount at once.
Many people find extra digestive support helpful during this phase, especially if they've had low stomach acid or struggle with heavy meals. Our Digestive Enzyme Complex is designed to help break food down more completely so less is left behind to ferment.†
Other SIBO Diets You'll Hear About
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Low-FODMAP diet — the most researched option for symptom relief. It was developed for IBS, which overlaps heavily with SIBO. What's above is essentially a practical low-FODMAP approach.
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Elemental diet — a liquid formula of pre-digested nutrients (amino acids, simple fats, simple sugars) used for about 2 weeks, done under medical supervision. Because it's absorbed high in the small intestine, it essentially starves the bacteria. In one study, it normalized breath tests in about 80% of people after 14 days.(1) The tradeoff: it's expensive, hard to stick with, and not something to do on your own.
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SIBO Specific Food Guide and Bi-Phasic Diet — practitioner-designed frameworks that combine low-FODMAP principles with other restrictions and stages. They can be useful structures, but they're more restrictive and there's less formal research behind them.
What Diet Can't Do on Its Own
Here's the honest part. A SIBO diet reduces symptoms, but studies show it rarely eliminates the overgrowth by itself. A complete plan usually includes three pieces:
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Clearing the overgrowth. Conventional treatment is usually the antibiotic rifaximin.(2) Herbal antimicrobials are another option some practitioners use; early research is encouraging but limited, and herbs aren't a substitute for medical treatment.(3) Berberine is one of the best-studied herbs here; see our guide on berberine for SIBO. Our SIBO-Clear Tonic is an herbal formula built for this phase.†
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Fixing the root cause. SIBO usually comes back if the reason it started isn't addressed — slow motility, low stomach acid, long-term acid blockers, adhesions from surgery, or conditions like hypothyroidism or diabetes. This is where working with a practitioner really pays off.
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Rebuilding. After clearing, you slowly reintroduce foods, support the gut lining, and restore a healthy microbial balance. Probiotics are debated in SIBO — some people do well with them and some don't, so this is worth deciding with your practitioner. See how long probiotics take to work.
For a structured approach that brings these pieces together, our Complete SIBO & Gut Restore Protocol pairs the SIBO-Clear Tonic with rebuilding support and a day-by-day guide.† And if you're noticing fatigue, headaches, or flare-ups when you start clearing, read up on SIBO die-off symptoms.
How Long Should You Follow the SIBO Diet?
Most people follow the strict phase for 2 to 6 weeks — usually during treatment. After that, start reintroducing foods one at a time, every 2–3 days, and note how you feel. Many people end up tolerating far more than they expected.
Staying on a very restrictive diet long-term isn't the goal. It can shrink the diversity of your gut bacteria, lead to nutrient gaps, and make eating stressful. If you find you can't expand your diet after treatment, that's a sign the root cause still needs attention — not that you need to restrict harder.
When to See a Doctor
SIBO symptoms overlap with a lot of other conditions, from IBS and celiac disease to more serious problems. Get checked — ideally with a breath test — before assuming it's SIBO. And see a doctor promptly if you have unintentional weight loss, blood in your stool, persistent vomiting, difficulty swallowing, anemia, or symptoms that wake you up at night. You can learn more about what testing can show in our guide to stool and SIBO.
The Bottom Line
The SIBO diet is a tool, not a cure. Keep it simple: lower the fermentable carbs, eat real food, space your meals, and give your gut time to do its cleanup work. Pair it with a plan to clear the overgrowth and fix what caused it — then bring foods back in. That's how you stop cycling through the same symptoms and actually move forward.
References
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Pimentel M, Constantino T, Kong Y, Bajwa M, Rezaei A, Park S. A 14-day elemental diet is highly effective in normalizing the lactulose breath test. Dig Dis Sci. 2004;49(1):73–77.
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Pimentel M, Saad RJ, Long MD, Rao SSC. ACG Clinical Guideline: Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. Am J Gastroenterol. 2020;115(2):165–178.
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Chedid V, Dhalla S, Clarke JO, et al. Herbal therapy is equivalent to rifaximin for the treatment of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Glob Adv Health Med. 2014;3(3):16–24.
