The Gut Health Protocol: A Nutritional Approach To Healing SIBO, Intestinal Candida, GERD, Gastritis, and other Gut Health Issues Kindle Edition

Highlights• Fairly comprehensive review of underlying conditions related to bacterial (SIBO) and fungal (SIFO) overgrowth in the gastrointestinal tract• Collates a lot of disparate information on antimicrobial herbal supplements that is otherwise difficult to find, and ranks the most commonly used ones in order of benefit-to-risk• Combines concepts of the SCD, GAPS, Fast Tract, and FODMAPS diets in much the same way as the SIBO Specific Food Guide (SSFG) by Dr. Siebecker and the Bi-Phasic diet, but it goes one step further in discussing the benefits of fermented foods over probiotic supplements and lays out a list of the commonly used herbal antimicrobials and their relative specificity with regard to which microbes they kill (i.e. narrow vs. broad-spectrum)Dislikes• There is not a very clear plan or sequence of steps laid out to heal your GI problems; rather, the author provides all the components to be combined in whatever manner suits your particular GI problem• The “Allowed/Disallowed Foods” list is not thorough enough, seems like an afterthought, and appears to contradict some of the information found earlier in the book (e.g. yams and parsnips are allowed despite containing complex starches/carbs)• The information is fairly scattered with poor organization• There was a clear lack of editingThe Gut Health Protocol includes much of the information to be found in other books on IBS and SIBO, and it adds a handful of new observations I don’t think I’ve seen in other books. For me, the novel information boils down to an emphasis on fermented foods and soil based organisms (SBOs) because of their diversity in microbe strains and their inability to over-colonize the small intestine. I’ve had minor success on the Fast Tract diet and major success on the SCD/GAPS diet, but I’ve always wondered exactly how fermented foods are interacting with my GI tract. This book makes it clear that the diversity of microbes found in fermented food is purely beneficial and not detrimental (will not make SIBO worse), that fermented foods should probably be used from the very beginning of the diet, and that SBOs may play an equally important role in the healing process.Other things that the books discusses, which I have only otherwise learned through my Naturopath, include the need for using biofilm disrupting enzymes to expose pathogenic bacteria to antimicrobials, and which antimicrobials are least likely to act like broad-spectrum antibiotics in order to preserve the beneficial bacterial colonies you still have.Overall, I would recommend this book for the pieces of information that are very difficult to find elsewhere. You’ll have to look past the poor grammar and lack of editing, and instead try to applaud the author's effort to deliver a comprehensive view of the approaches available for healing numerous types of interrelated GI problems. If you are looking for a diet plan, the SCD and GAPS plans (which are virtually identical in the foods they allow) would be an excellent place to start, along with Dr. Siebecker’s SSFG plan to eliminate FODMAPS early on in the diet. I would use The Gut Health Protocol as an additional resource for guiding the use of fermented foods, probiotics, and herbal antimicrobials, as well as for other information you may not find elsewhere.

I have been battling SIBO, SIFO, IBS, constipation... you name it, for several years (some things my whole life) and this book has seriously turned my life around in a matter of 6 weeks. I am a huge researcher and with experiencing little to no help from doctors test after test, I now try very hard to advocate for myself. John has taken all the research I have read over the last year and brilliantly organized it in this easy to follow protocol. I have been following it to a T and for the first time in forever I don't have a pregnant looking belly, have become regular, sleep better, become hungry again, don't have acid reflex, my hair is growing back, I don't randomly itch all over, reduced brain fog and anxiety, lower pain, improved Thyroid... I mean you name it! I can't remember the last time I felt this good. Everything has improved. Yes, being so strict with eating has it's social downsides but it has certainly been paying off. Buying and taking all the supplements can be overwhelming, especially looking at the bill but in all honesty has been cheaper than any of the awful tests the doctors have tried running on me. I tried 4 rounds of antibiotics prior to this protocol with no success and worsening symptoms. I will continue to follow John's protocol, probably for life. I seriously wish I could have given every dime I've spent on ridiculous tests and specialists right to John, because he deserves it. Thank you, John! PS he has a Facebook forum page and personally responds to endless questions every day, super helpful!

This book does have some helpful information but it is the most poorly written, disjointed, unorganized medical self-help book that I have ever read. Did this book ever pass through an editor’s hands? For example, the book discusses a specific treatment on one page but does not give the dose. Then 15 pages later, in the middle of a different topic, gives the dosage for the supplement. Plus, author frequently quotes isolated sentences from research articles without integrating the the quotes into a paragraph or section to explain the meaning of the research. The quotes are excessive, too numerous, and become so annoying that I frequently had to put the book aside out shear frustration.

I've been seeing a private specialist since 2013 for ME and in 2015 was diagnosed with SIBO from private testing. I have been paleo since 2013 but the clean eating didn't seem to improve my gut. In 2014 I also added in a ketogenic diet (very low carb and high fat), which helped my gut somewhat (low carb seemed to help) but it didn't solve my gut issues. After a year and a half going through the nhs (utterly useless!!) I decide to buy this book. At first I got it on kindle but loved it so much I decided to get a hard copy. It's got a full detailed protocol to help directly deal with sibo as well as other gut issues. It explains the kill phase, the heal phase and then the maintenance phase. It's got so much useful information as well as links to websites, studies and research. It also discusses diet too. The best thing is that you tailor the diet and protocol according to your needs/ issues etc. As I have other health issues I've been following an AIP (auto immune protocol diet) as well as low fodmap and ketogenic. I have been following this protocol since October 2016 and it's the most improvement I have had. I would recommend buying the hard copy of this book as you need to flick back and forth through the pages which can be a hassle on the kindle version. It is quite repetitive in parts, and in some places can be a little confusing. Eg supplement recommendations won't have doses listed until a lot later in the book. However I would still recommend as it is so detailed and also gives you links to further reading if you wanted to. It's also one of the only detailed sibo protocols I've come across. A lot of protocols for sibo are vuage or limited. There are only s very few recipes in this book (very very few) but it has so much detail on what sibo is, how it can effect you, what you can do to heal, why to do certain things, why to eat certain things etc. There is a social media group for this book too where you can join and ask questions. The author (John) even answer your questions and is really helpful. The only down side as such, is the supplements can be expensive when you add them all up but again, it's still worth trying.

This book is basically a cut and paste of all SIBO and gut-related research available on the internet. It's a confusing read that ends up recommending you buy an endless amount of supplements. The author seems to have zero medical credentials, or any kind of credentials for that matter. He has attained near guru status as evidenced by how weirdly protective his "followers" are in his dedicated Facebook group whenever anyone questions him. He also disactivates comments on negative Facebook posts he gets. And surprise surprise he has just brought out his first product despite having no medical or health-related training to speak of. Don't let yourself be taken advantage of by this guru.

This book has really helped me on my path to healing my gut issues. I am now a year and half down the line and feel fantastic compared to when I first started. I would highly recommend this book to anyone suffering with any gut issues e.g. SIBO, candida, parasites etc.Also once you have read the book, please join the facebook group where you can learn so much and get any questions answered. The author John, is very active on the facebook group and does everything he can to help everyone out!

I’m taking the time to write this review because I honestly feel indebted to John as he’s been so helpful to my recovery!I bought johns book over a year ago and was waiting to do a review until I saw how my recovery went. Where do I begin to explain how valuable this book was and still is to me.Of course in the beginning of reading this I sat and studied it for hours on end.It was either that or pay thousands for naturopath/holistic healing which I couldn’t afford.I also joined the group in Facebook which has also been helpful to speak to 20k+ members and the lovely and very knowledgeable John Herron.His book has been my bible while I healed SIBO but usually there’s more than SIBO lurking. I was tested almost 1.5 year ago and was positive, Of course the gastrointestinal dr wanted to give me Rifiximin which would only hinder my good bacteria in the long run as when you have methane C SIBO that drug doesn’t do the job anyway. A friend of mine who is an MD in NYC who also struggles with SIBO/SIFO told me about Johns book and FB group. I bought the book and started a very long journey. The gut health protocol book which we will call GHP for short has been a lifesaver for me. I often refer to it and have put special tabs and mark them for easier reading such as recipes, supplements, candida, SIBO ETC.I won’t lie and say it’s super easy but if you are sick of being sick and dedicated to getting your life and vitality back I highly recommend John’s book.This book is made up of scientific research and no BS! John is a researcher and that’s what this book is based on!He mentions the supplements and which probiotics you will need to get yourself and microbiome back into a healthy state. Antibiotics kill our good guys and the matriarchal ones we were born with, JH will give you guidelines of what you will need to battle many pathogenic bacteria whether it’s SIBO/SIFO/Parasites.In the beginning I was so brain fogged and I was overwhelmed with learning how to treat myself. The information at times didn’t seep in and I felt like pulling my hair out of my head. I went though ups and downs emotionally bc bacteria control everything about us as we are only 20% human cell and 80% bacteria! I’ve been doing this protocol for over a year now and started with the biphasic diet which is also very important to start your healing process.I’m happy to say that I have my SIBO under control thanks to the many supplements including John’s probiotic called Phage Complete which has some wonderful strains of beneficial bacteria and SBO’sand I’m now working on finally getting rid of candida! My memory is so much better and I don’t feel like my Brains are mush. I used to feel less than adequate because of that which was a terrible feeling. I couldn’t remember names, characters in a show, words at times and certainly couldn’t retain any info after reading it! I feel now I have been given a new lease on life. Dont get me wrong I know I still have a long road ahead of me with getting rid of candida as that’s a hell of a beast to tackle and I think I have had it since my teens bc I was a sugar junky. I have now completely cut sugar out which I was only doing 10-15 grams a day on the SIBO diet and drank the occasional glass of red which is no longer as that really feeds it. I’ve made a choice that I don’t want stiff joints and body pain anymore and have noticed since cutting the little bit of sugar I was consuming, that my neck pain is feeling so much better. Candida comes With a plethora of bad symptoms including very low sex drive. Even tho on the SIBO diet for so long I know I helped my candida along with taking all the sups but now it’s down to being really strict. I have lost 20lbs in the last year just by cutting down on sugar and carbs.My body looks amazing and for the most part I feel very good! No more bloat, passing stinky gas, and feeling uncomfortable. I have also added into my protocol coffee enemas and will continue to so and follow John Herron’s GHP book. Don’t waste another day not feeling good! Get your health and vitality back and join the Fb group that way if you’re stuck for an answer you have a gut health family including John Herron who will answer your inquiry. I’ve had the chance to speak with John through the group and he’s a true angel and savior to so many. I’m not sure when this man has the time to relax or sleep as his main concern and dedication are the 20k+ following he has and I feel he does his best to look after us all!Thank you John for writing such a wonderfulAnd informative book and thank you for all your wonderful advice and for taking the time to answer us when we are in need! Heaven definitely has a golden throne waiting for you ❤️

I find the protocol described in this book simply genious. It describes in detail, step by step, how to deal with each particular issue of the gut, like dysbiosis, (SIBO) small intestine bacterial overgrowth, food intolerances/sugar intolerances, fungal infections of the gut etc... I personally believe that gut infections are an underlying cause of majority of the chronic health illnesses nowadays, including mental and neurological conditions. Think of things like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, memory problems and tens of others.. even autism comes with gut issues.. Just like Hippocrates said "All disease begins in the gutt". I believe he was right, at least in regard to most of the chronic illnesses.About the author: John Herron is a highly intelligent and scientific person, who considers himself a meta-researcher and let me tell you - he is doing a great job. Everything he states in the book is backed up by scientific studies, so if you are a sceptic type of person, you will not get dissapointed by any baseless claims.John Herron also has a group on facebook, where he is supporting all members with his advice. I offered him payment for his advice, but he never accepted it. It is clear to me that he is passionate about helping others.Highly recommended read!