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.
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…
Ooof, that sounds pretty miserable. I hope you’re able to figure it out soon!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Agreed. Discovered this after taking meds for 10 years to reduce stomach acid. Now I just throw back some ACV.
Was over 8 months ago now so battle to remember timelines exactly but do remember it got worse before it got better.
Thanks a lot for the advice, I will definitely take this into consideration.
I am going to buy some ACV now and try that.
How much do you put (and the lemon juice) say in per pint of water?
Since a few days ago, I fasted for 24 hours and took some Imodium tablets. I didn’t go to the toilet for a day (which was a relief) and since then there has hardly been any diarrhea.
It is frustrating that I still don’t know exactly what has caused it at this time. I eliminated quite a few things to try and help so still not sure what it is. I am going to knock the MCT Oil on the head though for sure.
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with Lemon Juice (optional) 1 Tbls. of each to a glass of water
how r u now? hv u found a solution to it ? i am 2.5 mnts into keto… lost 5 kgs and feeling great, but suddenly hv diarrhea for the last 3 days. i doubt the coconut oil only, bcos i hv never had it in my life earlier… please gv some tips, if u hv recovered
But how long is the beginning? I’m at six and a half weeks and exhausted. And hate to take anything over the counter. How long will this last?