General Requirements For Breath Testing
Before commencing your diet, ensure you are familiar with the General Dietary Requirements for Breath Testing.
Do not eat anything you know you are allergic to, or know you do not tolerate – even if it’s allowed on the breath test prep diet you have chosen.
Download a PDF with instructions here: 2023_Breath-Test_PREP_General-Guidelines
We also recommend reading our FAQ
ONE-Day Low RESIDUE Diet
Do not follow this diet if you are constipated. Please follow the 2-day diet instead (see below)
- Eggs
- Boiled, scrambled (no milk – water is OK) or fried in butter or oil (salt and pepper okay)
- Poached with Hollandaise sauce (homemade with egg yolk and butter only), served with salmon or other fish
- Omelette made with water and with a little canned salmon (spring water – drained)
- French toast – white bread or white rice bread (see below) soaked in beaten eggs (NO MILK) and fried in butter or oil.
- Plain waffles or pancakes made with white flour, egg, water, baking powder & butter. (NO MILK or SUGAR)
- Homemade all-meat patty made with mincemeat, egg and white-breadcrumbs, salt & pepper. Fried in butter or oil.
Coffee, weak, black. OR blended with 1 tblsp butter, ghee or coconut oil in a high-speed blender.
- Piece of chicken (breast, thigh, etc). Roasted, broiled or sautéed in oil with salt and pepper with steamed white rice.
- Piece of white fish, dipped in white flour, a beaten egg and white breadcrumbs. Gently fried in a little butter or oil, served with plain white rice (if you are already eating grains) with butter, coconut oil or ghee.
- Cup of meat broth (made with just meat and water – no bones or cartilage) eg: clear chicken or beef broth (made with meat and marrow bones– not cartilage).
French toast: white (sourdough) bread, beaten eggs and fried in a little butter are a breakfast option.
- Lunch options – as above, plus:
- Steak: grilled or fried in a little oil with salt and pepper
- Sautéed shrimp, calamari- or baked salmon with butter or oil
- Homemade all-meat patty made with mincemeat, egg and white-breadcrumbs, salt & pepper. Fried in a small amount of butter or oil.
- White rice (if you are already eating grains) with butter, coconut oil or ghee.
- Meat broth (as above)
- Hard-boiled egg topped with good quality olive oil and salt and pepper
- Canned sardines or salmon or tuna (canned in springwater or olive oil, drained)
- Plain white crackers – made without lactose or milk products, such as Arnotts or Graham’s water crackers.
Omelet with grilled chicken on white rice for lunch or dinner
You can also have white bread or white rice bread with butter. (E.g. Dovedale Gluten-free buns) or use the recipe below. NOTE – soft-crusted breads contain milk or milk powder. Please avoid these. French sticks or crusty loaves are more likely to be without milk. Do not use gluten-free breads that contain any starches.
GLUTEN-FREE BREAD RECIPE
450 ml water
3 tbsp oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vinegar
3 ½ cups white rice flour
1 ½ tbsp guar or xanthan gum
3 tbsp raw sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tsp active dried yeast
Mix liquid ingredients together in a bowl. (Do not use electric mixer, as this will aerate the mixture.)
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Combine liquid and dry ingredients.
Mix to a soft dough ensuring all ingredients are well combined.
Spoon dough into bread-maker pan, pressing down with a spatula after each spoonful, to eliminate air bubbles.
Lock bread pan into baking chamber.
Use the setting: Basic bread + medium crust then press “start”.
Diet guideline for SIBO breath testing
Two-Day Low FODMAP Diet – What’s Allowed
Please only consume food and drinks from this list: if it’s not here, it is not allowed (download this guideline for more detail). Do not eat anything you know you do not tolerate, even if it’s allowed on the breath test prep diet.
Dairy Products: Lactose free cow’s milk (Anchor Zero lacto), rice milk (sugar-free), hard cheeses (e.g., tasty/cheddar), haloumi cheese, coconut milk. Other plant-based milks in small quantities are OK if without sweeteners, inulin, or potato starch. Tapioca, arrowroot starches are OK. | Meat/protein: Eggs, lean beef, lean lamb, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, tofu. All plain. NO marinades or processed meats (such as sausages). |
Breakfast Cereals (1/2 cup): Plain Cornflakes, Rice Bubbles/Rice Puffs, Oats (1/2 cup) | Flavourings & Seasonings: Cumin, Salt, pepper, olive oil, tamari sauce (gluten free). |
Bread: Plain gluten-free, spelt (sourdough), oat (sourdough). Plain rice bread. Crackers and Biscuits: corn cruskits (e.g., Arnott’s), gluten and fruit-free biscuits, rice /corn cakes/thins/crackers (no seasoning), plain rice crackers, corn only tortillas. | Fruit: Limit all fruit to less than 1 handful per 3- hour period: Banana, blueberries, rock melon, grapefruit (<1/2 medium), grapes, kiwifruit, raspberries, strawberries, mandarin, orange, pineapple, passionfruit, avocado (<1/8), lemon, lime. |
Vegetables: Alfalfa and bean sprouts, beans (fresh or frozen green), beetroot (2 slices max), Bok choy, carrot, capsicum, choy sum, cucumber, eggplant, ginger, olives, kale, lettuce, pumpkin (not butternut pumpkin), spinach, sweet potato (kumara – max 1 small serve), fresh tomato, turnip, zucchini, water chestnuts. NO Onion, NO garlic | Nuts/Seeds: Chia (2tblsp), tahini (2 tblsp), peanut butter Spreads: Butter (small amounts only), margarine, vegemite / marmite, peanut butter (<2 Tbsp). No jam or honey. |
Pasta/rice: White rice, plain rice noodles, gluten-free pasta, spelt pasta, quinoa. | Fresh Herbs: Basil, coriander, lemongrass, parsley < 1 cup), rosemary, tarragon, thyme |
Drinks: Water (unflavoured, uncarbonated), coconut water (100ml), coffee (no coffee substitutes), black tea, (lactose-free milk), green tea, cranberry juice (1 cup), freshly squeezed orange juice (1/2 glass). | Alcohol (consume with food): Maximum intake prior to 10pm on the day before each test: – Wine – 250ml or – Spirits – 60ml or – Beer (regular) – 200ml. |
You can drink water as normal during the diet period and sips of water during the fasting period.
Please avoid large quantities of water on the morning of your test.
Strictly no food the day of the test, until the test is completed.
Low FODMAP diet guidelines as per Monash University
On The Morning of Your Breath Test (Applies to Everyone)
After successfully following the breath test prep diet of your choice, on the day of your test, please follow these instructions:
- Get up at least ONE HOUR before starting the test.
- Brush your teeth as soon as you wake up. Rinse with water.
- No food, vaping or smoking in this hour (nor at any time until the end of the test).
- No vigorous exercise
- We recommend going for a gentle walk in this hour.
- If doing the test at home, prepare your breath test drink and labels. IMPORTANT: Do not pre-label your test tubes.