Bad Diarrhea

(Duncan Kerridge) #9

This does sound like quite a lot depending on the makeup of the supplement? Two tablespoons of MCT is a lot of MCT. A pint of broth is a lot of broth. Just stick with actual food for a bit …

(Allan L) #10

Things that cause bowel issues for me since starting keto:

MCT / Coconut Oil
Nuts & seeds
Coffee!! Yes, had to drink tea for a month
Dairy
Eggs
Avocado’s
Magnesium
Too much salt

People doing Zero Carb also report stomach issues whilst the gut bacteria adjust.

I had to go through a food / elimination process. After spending a few months abstaining I have managed to re-introduce most irritants without further issues.

Consider everything.

Things that really helped me stabilise the diarrhoea other than removing the above mentioned items were glutamine powder, 10g every 2 hrs or after every loose movement. psyllium husk powder, 5g twice a day to bulk up. Imodium (or cheap generic) to shut things down for a day or 2.

Its all a personal experiment. Good luck.

(Allan L) #11

Oh, and also fasting gives me bad diarrhoea! Can only fast for 23 hours without issue.

(Miss E) #12

8 days is concerning. I would increase water and salt and the stools may have dehydrated you. Also would take digestive enzymes and probiotics to help your gut flora adjust.

(Allan L) #13

I agree, both have helped me in the past.

(Chris W) #14

I would say 8 days is a lot now and consider seeking more professional medical advice first or check back in with your doctor.

Both bone broth and MCT in excess have caused me issues like this but only for one day. Typically I was overloading either in addition to other fats mostly animal fats. I have never done both in the same day, I would agree that MCT is not needed, I only have a couple tables spoons of frozen bone broth normally.

(Niall) #15

THanks for all the advice.

Without being too graphic my backside is in so much pain that I am terrified to eat anything at the moment…

I have had my blood tests back and apparently there are no issues other than my “Serum Lipids”. Apparently this is linked to high cholesterol and the nurse wants to speak to me about it.

So clearly it is something to do with my diet.

Does anybody have any experience of not really eating vegetables and just basically meats?

At the start of Keto I was making myself eat some greens a day although I am not really a fan. But then over the last few weeks I have hardly been eating any at all.

I have 4 fried bacon for lunch every day with 4 eggs (usually fried or scrambled).

(Allan L) #16

This is called “Zero Carb” meaning no food from plants, only meat. The first few times I tried this I got chronic diarrhoea as my gut bacteria adapted. Imodium was my best friend for a few weeks.

(Niall) #17

Thanks, I have bought some Imodium now and just taken two tablets. I also have some dioralyte which I may try drinking too.

Is it safe to take Imodium for a long period of time?

(Adrienne P.) #18

See if you can get ahold of Amber O’Hearn on Twitter. Maybe DM her and see what she says. She’s a notable carnivore / zero carber

(Allan L) #19

I’ve always been anti-imodium over the years, believing that I should naturally let whatever wants to get out, get out.

But at times on a keto / zero carb diet its been the only thing keeping me functional.

Usually the bowel is fairly empty when I take it so not going for a few days whilst things firm up does not worry me. The packet states do not take longer than 24hrs before consulting a doctor but I personally will exceed this at times.

For me personally, I find that once diarrhoea sets in I need to shut everything down with Imodium for 24 hrs, if I don’t do this any food will set it off again. But this is my personal experience.

(Allan L) #20

There is also a Zero Carb thread on here and /r/zerocarb/ on redit. Lots of people report bathroom issues in the beginning, its fairly common.

(Stephanie Sablich) #21

If both fasting AND food give you diarrhea, maybe it’s time to learn more about your specific digestive situation. Yes, perhaps a virus… but maybe there is a larger health issue going on.

You could always experiment and go off of keto (slowly) for a week to see if it improves. Without KNOWING that keto is causing this problem, I feel like we’re grasping at straws here.

I’m sorry that you’re struggling with this. It sounds really frustrating.

(Niall) #22

I have wondered before if I have some sort of a digestive issue. I know that I suffer with bad acid influx and heartburn, it is something I have been on medication for for around 8 years.

Also I think I may have a mild lactose intolerance. Drinking more than 50ml or so of milk always made my stomach go crazy etc…

(Stephanie Sablich) #23

Ooof, that sounds pretty miserable. I hope you’re able to figure it out soon!

(Allan L) #24

I was taking a PPI, Lansoprazole, for 10 years before Keto. 5 weeks into the diet I stopped taking it and have been medication & acid reflux free for 10 months now.

There has been some really good recommendations on this thread for you to try out, elimination suggestions and also adding in some supplements like pro-bionics. All techniques I have tried, some with success since going Keto.

The benefits of keto / zero carb far outweighed the digestive issues.

(Scott Telfer) #25

About 10 years ago I was an omeprazole junkie and movements were painfully irregular and induced. Magnesium has helped but overall removal of factory food returned me to, what I now realise, is normal passing. I went through several phases of almost all of what is described above, but if you’ve given your tract decades of abuse, the finer points may take decades to recover. What you can do is give your body optimal opportunity to improve and, infection aside, it will react in a belwildering range of ways -unfortunately - that a flow chart can’t imedietly diagnose. Keep factory foods out, real fat and whole foods high and trust your body. She’s beautiful.

(Niall) #26

That’s interesting. I have actually found the heartburn/acid reflux has been worse since Keto!

Maybe that is down to eating a lot of cheese.

(Betsy) #27

I just had a thought that maybe your liver is having a hard time.

Bile is needed for digesting the fat. This diet can be good for getting bile flowing, but if there is some sort of blockage at the beginning, it could cause some issues.

Choline is very good for moving things along. And Chris Masterjohn says that dairy fat requires more choline than other fats.

This might tie in to your doctor wanting to talk to you about lipids.

(Bunny) #28

Re: Headaches and Diarrhea possible causes;

Please discuss any and all dietary methods with your physician!

What I would do and consider if I had the problems you are describing in contrast to what I was eating (your dietary intake description):

  1. Eating way too much fat or not enough in contrast to long chain fatty acids (LCFA) vs. short changed fatty acids (SCFA) intake or omega 6 to omega 3 (DHA - from fish oil or actual fish) ratios could be causing an inflammatory response (i.e. headaches etc.) throughout the entire body in addition to an individuals particular type of gut flora. Omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory so this needs to be balanced out to a 1:1 ratio.
  1. Eating way too much (and want to stay in Ketosis) protein per meal if weight loss is the goal? When you eat more than 4.oz of protein per meal you are creating a process called gluconeogenesis in the liver and it is turning it into sugar and kicking the body out of Ketosis which could partially explain the diarrhea.
  1. Not eating enough vegetables in contrast to the medium chain triglyceride (i.e. MCT oil) or short chained fatty acid (SCFA) intake; never take in more than the vegetable content or 1:1 ratio in the gut (microbiome) unless you are extremely physically active and using it for energy. The liver needs the leafy greens to help it process fat and clean itself.
  1. Acid reflux happens when the stomach is too alkaline and not producing enough hydrochloride acid, so the esophogeal valve is not closing and the little bit of HCL that the epithelial cells in your stomach wall or lining is creating, is escaping when it senses the alkaline environment! I drink Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with Lemon Juice 1 Tbls. of each to a glass of water everyday and noticed you have to adapt to it; so you don’t get immediate relief except over period of time and also the fermentation in the vinegar is somehow transforming the gut flora biome for the betterment of the overall health of the body!

References:

How To Think Better By Optimizing Your Neurotransmitters “…5. Fix Your Gut: You have a second brain, and that second brain is not in your head. Think lower. OK, fellas, not that low. Up a bit higher. Yes, the second brain is in your gut.

The enteric nervous system in your gut uses more than thirty neurotransmitters, just like the brain, and in fact, 95 percent of the body’s serotonin is in the gut. This makes sense when you consider that in the nine meters from your esophagus to your anus, there are about 100 million neurons, more than in either your spinal cord or your entire peripheral nervous system!

This also explains why irritable bowel syndrome, something that afflicts nearly every active individual now and then, arises in part from too much serotonin in your gut – a neurotransmitter imbalance (as you can probably imagine, this is why anti-depressants can cause serious gut issues).

Not only does your gut lining produce neurotransmitters, but the billions of bacteria living in your gut also churn out neurotransmitters. So if your gut lining is damaged or your gut flora is out of balance, then you are at serious risk for neurotransmitters deficiencies and imbalances. …”

“…After all, it doesn’t matter how many neurotransmitters you make if the action potentials they are propagating can’t be adequately transmitted because you have broken down, degraded myelin sheaths.

For this reason, you should consider following the fat percentage intake recommendations you learn about in Ben Greenfield’s podcast interview with Deep Nutrition author Cate Shanahan but also include a high intake of omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is particularly important in building the myelin sheath structure and preventing degrading and breakdown of nerve cells.

Flax seeds, walnuts, kale collard greens, and winter squash are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, but the amount of DHA actually absorbed from seeds, nuts and plants can be relatively low. Better sources of more readily available omega-3 fatty acids and DHA include salmon, sardines, cloves, grass-fed beef, halibut, shrimp, cod, tuna and (especially for vegans or vegetarians), algae-based DHA supplements such as chlorella, spirulina or marine phytoplankton. Other foods that support neuronal membranes and myelin sheath health due to their high content of oleic acids include olive oil, almonds, pecans, macadamias and avocados. …More