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Today I’m dissecting Digest Plus. And I am genuinely excited about this one.

No sarcasm, even though my life often feels like one long sarcastic reel.

Here’s why the excitement is real: this formula has been one of my own favorite healing supplements for years. I’ve mentioned it across many posts, including How I Achieved a Year of Perfect Gut Health. I knew generally why it worked. I never sat down and broke it apart, herb by herb, until now.

And now it’s mine.

Dissecting Digest Plus: A Gut-Healing Herbal Formula for SIBO

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Introducing Digest Plus

Digest Plus is the newest addition to the Gutbyome line, my own Gut Healing Supplements brand. It’s a proprietary blend of Eastern and Western herbs and herbal extracts that support normal gut health, chosen for their work on the kind of dysbiosis that drives bloating, gas, and SIBO.

I didn’t formulate something trendy from scratch. I took a blend I already trusted, already used, already recommended, and brought it under my own roof so I could stand behind every capsule.

The combination of Eastern and Western herbs gives this formula a broad anti-dysbiotic effect, even at low dosing. That’s the short version. Let’s get into the actual herbs, because the education is the point.

Dissecting Digest Plus: the ingredients

I’m breaking down each botanical so you understand why this formula is as potent as it is.

Dill (Anethum graveolens) (seed)

Common in Ayurvedic medicine for abdominal discomfort, colic, and digestion. It’s the herb in gripe water, the stuff given to ease colic and flatulence in babies and young children.

In Body Into Balance: An Herbal Guide to Holistic Self-Care, dill is listed as a carminative. Carminatives improve digestion, dispel gas, ease bloating, and calm cramps. Others in that family: lemon balm, thyme, holy basil, cardamom, peppermint, fennel, bee balm, lavender, catnip, and ginger.

Stemona (Stemona sessilifolia) (root) (powder and extract)

Information on Stemona sessilifolia isn’t easy to find. What’s documented about Stemona as a genus tends to focus on the lungs and respiratory conditions.

But you’ll also find it noted for destroying intestinal worms and expelling gas. The fact that it’s the second ingredient listed tells you there’s something fairly powerful here.

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) (shoot & leaf) (extract)

A digestive bitter that supports healthy appetite and GI function. It also supports a healthy flora balance in the digestive tract.

More on bitters in the Gut Health Guide to Digestive Bitters.

Java Brucea (Brucea javanica) (fruit) (powder & extract)

In traditional Chinese medicine, java brucea seed has bitter, cold, and slightly toxic properties. It associates with the Large Intestine and Liver meridians.

Chinese Pulsatilla (Pulsatilla chinensis) (rhizome) (powder & extract)

One of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. It’s been used to clear heat, cool the blood, resolve fire toxicity, relieve dysentery, and ease abdominal pain.

Pulsatilla root benefits the digestive system, supports female health, and supports the lymphatic system. It carries antimicrobial, anti-parasitic, antibiotic, and anti-amebic properties.

Jamaica Quassia (Picrasma excelsa) (bark) (extract)

Also called Bitter Wood. Its bark contains quassin, a compound 50 times more bitter than quinine. It’s the bitterest naturally occurring chemical we know of.

Quassia has strong implications for food digestion and can ease diarrhea caused by dysentery. It helps food pass through the digestive system at the right rate for proper nutrient absorption.

Cutch Tree (Acacia catechu) (heartwood & bark) (powder & extract)

A deciduous, thorny tree native to the southern Himalayas of Pakistan, northern India, and Nepal, south to Andhra Pradesh, and east into Burma and Thailand.

Its primary traditional use is for cough and sore throat, but it’s also used against dysentery, diarrhea, and for wound healing.

Hedyotis (Hedyotis diffusa) (aerial part) (powder & extract)

Most commonly associated with colorectal cancer, Hedyotis clears heat and eliminates toxins. As one of the last ingredients listed, it’s hard to know exactly how much the formula contains.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) (leaf & flower) (extract)

They say yarrow has a million uses. The name comes from the Greek warrior Achilles. You can use it internally and externally.

In this formula, yarrow likely earns its place through its antimicrobial properties and its ability to tighten and tone boggy tissue and support healing.

Digest Plus for SIBO

In 2014, when I was first diagnosed with SIBO, my California doctor put me on an herbal antimicrobial protocol. The main supplement then was GI Synergy. Over the next few years I cycled through various herbals, and nothing worked quite right.

After we moved back to Minnesota, I did a final round of Rifaximin and Neomycin. At the same time, my new doctor suggested the formula that’s now Digest Plus.

He had me do 7 days on, then the rest of the month off, for prevention and to hold the clear, healthy state I’d fought for.

I’d never heard of it. I was willing to try anything to finally kick SIBO to the curb.

Today I swear by it. For me personally, I use it for maintenance.

GET IT HERE

“During and after healing my SIBO, this was a staple product. 10+/10.” – SKH, AGG

What the herbal-versus-rifaximin research actually shows

This is the part people quote, so I want to give it to you straight.

A 2014 study out of Johns Hopkins looked at whether herbal therapy could hold its own against rifaximin, the antibiotic most associated with SIBO.¹ It was a retrospective chart review of 104 patients with SIBO confirmed by breath testing, not a randomized trial, which matters for how much weight to put on it.

The herbal arm used a two-product combination (the Digest Plus formula together with a companion antimicrobial blend), at 2 capsules of each, twice a day, for 4 weeks. The result: 46% of the herbal group cleared SIBO on follow-up breath testing, compared to 34% on rifaximin. The difference wasn’t statistically significant, which is the honest way of saying the herbs held their own.

Two things I want you to hold onto. First, that result came from the combination, not from any single bottle. Second, “equivalent” means the herbs performed comparably, not that they’re a miracle or a guaranteed cure.

SIBO is stubborn, and no capsule replaces addressing the root cause, whether that’s motility, low stomach acid, or structural issues.

Coming soon: the full combination

You read that right. The study that put this formula on the map used two products together.

Right now, Digest Plus is the first half, and it’s available today! The companion antimicrobial blend is coming to the Gutbyome line soon, so you’ll be able to run the full combination, both halves under my own label, start to finish.

When it lands, I’ll walk you through that formula the same way I just did this one. Want first word? Just make sure you’re on the Supplement newsletter list.

Side effects and warnings

I have never had a single side effect from this formula. That doesn’t mean you can’t, so read this part.

Not recommended for pregnant or lactating women. May cause mild constipation in sensitive individuals; if it persists, stop and contact your healthcare professional. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is not recommended alongside blood-thinning drugs, drugs that reduce stomach acid, or drugs that prevent or lessen seizures. Wormwood may intensify the effects of alcohol. Keep out of reach of children.

As always, work with your own doctor before adding this in, especially if you’re on medication or managing a diagnosis.

Have you used a similar formula before? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Best Supplements for SIBO (based off experience + research)
2. Reasonable SIBO
3. Printable SIBO Diet (Reasonable SIBO, Heal Your SIBO)

Xox,
SKH

1. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.7453/gahmj.2014.019 ↩︎