Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve been on and enjoyed the Keto lifestyle for over one year now. I’m in my mid-fifties; most of my life struggling with weight. While initially adjusting to the Keto diet was challenging, I’m pleased with the loss of over 70lbs to date and am close to my desired body weight.
Unfortunately I have recently developed digestive issues, which now look like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome.) For over 3 weeks now I’m struggling with diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain/discomfort etc. I’m worried that while I got used to the restrictive ketogenic diet, and could possibly continue to live with these restrictions, given the good weight loss results, I’m afraid (to say the least,) that restricting my diet further to make it also IBS friendly will leave me with very few things I can actually eat. Any similar experiences? Thanks.
Developed IBS after one year on Keto
There are so many things it could be. Without knowing what and how much you are eating, it is difficult to really know. You have probably already done this, but if not, I’d research keto and salt and magnesium to begin with. Also alternative sweeteners. Too much or too little of these can affect the bowel and lead to constipation or diarrhea. You may also look into food sensitivities. I don’t know if you use sugar substitutes, but heavy usage of some of them can trigger diarrhea.
For my self, if I haven’t been eating much veg, and then I have a large salad (one of those plastic containers full), I will have diarrhea.
If you don’t find anything related to your diet, I do recommend seeing your doctor to rule out anything else.
Hope you figure this out soon!
It is a difficult issue. For me, I had to give up things like salads, as they tended to give me IBS. Fiber like resistant starch was the same way.
But after restricting my veggie (raw veggie, as most well-cooked don’t seem to have the same effect) intake, I have restarted to eat salads periodically. I now don’t seem to have a problem.
For me, I’m wondering if I had SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) or something similar, and the combination of fasting and eating low amounts of raw vegetables has “cured” it? I was never tested, though.
SIBO can actually be tested. You might see if you can get a test for this.
I also agree with GreeneggsNham, in that digestive issues are tough ones. Sometimes I can have the same exact meal, and get two different digestive results. Because of this, a lot of my testing of foods ends up with “I’m not sure”.
It might be useful to do a diet to remove most triggers (no dairy, anything else you think causes an issue, etc., like Whole 30 or near/complete carnivore), for a bit. Then, add in foods, one at a time, to see what happens.
I have been keto over a year and a half and started having issues a few months ago. As mentioned above, for me it was a specific fake sugar along with nuts/seeds. The combination made me feel terrible. Now, I know what to completely avoid and what to have in moderation. Have you considered that it may be a combination of foods that can be consumed independently, but not together?
Those are symptoms of an inability to properly digest something. Has your diet changed recently, perhaps even without your knowing? (Manufacturers can change the formulations of their products without warning.)
The benefit of fibre is supposed to be that the intestinal bacteria convert it into a chemical called butyrate, which is closely related to the ketone body, β-hydroxybutyrate. They apparently act similarly on the lining of the intestines. So I don’t see much reason to eat more fibre, since you are already getting the benefits from β-hydroxybutyrate in your intestines. There are many forum members who have posted to the effect that a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet appeared to have helped improve or cure their gastric symptoms, including IBS, Crohn’s disease, and so forth. While a ketogenic diet is by no means a miracle cure, it does seem to help more than it hurts.
One thing you might try is to eliminate everything from your diet but beef and water. Eat only that for thirty days, then start adding foods back one by one, waiting a week or two to see if you develop symptoms. It’s the only way to determine which food is actually causing your symptoms.
Thank you. This is very helpful. I did actually see my GP few days ago and she suggested that it might be some kind of infection of the gut and that perhaps I should give it two more weeks, eliminate some foods like dairy and see what happens.
I’ve always been a foodie, enjoying verity of food, flavors, spices etc., so making further eliminations of some foods, will require of me significant adjustments, but I’m willing to give it a crack.
Veggies I’ve been eating regularly: raw salads, leafy veggies, onions, garlic, avocado, tomatoes greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, brussel sprouts, cucumbers. I also enjoy fermented veggies like sauerkraut, kimchi or pickles.
My usual proteins: chicken, pork, beacon, ham, sometimes fish/seafood. I also like having cheese nuts, seeds.
Other fats: cream, mayo, butter, lard, olive oil…
Sweeteners: I have recently changes stevia for monk fruit. I think I’m a moderate user, (2-4 tsp/day).
I’ve always been worried about vitamins and minerals but my GP thought that with the veggies I consume, I should should be OK. I would occasionally have sugar-free electrolyte drink or magnesium supplements…
Desserts/snacks: greek yogurt, chia pudding, occasionally sugar-free dark chocolate
Well, these are probably most of my sins…
For me, raw vegetables like salads, etc., are not great (or weren’t at one time). Oddly, fermented foods are questionable too. I can handle pickles, but not sauerkraut. I can handle cooked sauerkraut, though. Which is too bad, because I LOVE raw sauerkraut. (I’m thinking of re-trying this to see what has happened, since I haven’t had raw sauerkraut in…years?)
You’ve listed off a lot of triggers for a lot of people…dairy, raw veggies, nuts, sweeteners… But these tend to be individual, so it’s worth it to test.
And, testing isn’t easy. I’ll eat something and say to myself, “I know that caused a problem!” Then, I’ll eat it again…and nothing will happen. Lily’s chips (sweetened with sweetener) are a case in point: had them sometime, and caused a problem; other times, not. It MIGHT be an issue with amount. Too much = bad; a little = OK.
Keto isn’t restrictive, your diet may be, but that’s by choice. As somebody that’s dealt with a LOT of digestion, bloat and issues out the other end everywhere from looking like a pregnant dude to needing a colonoscopy, the biggest help I got was adding in more fiber and using digestive enzymes.
This video did a ton for me for what in my opinion was overdo “repair” to my gut.
Another thing which seemed to help huge was a peptide called BPC-157, I used the injectable version but there’s a “stable” version now that’s just pills. No shortage of info out there on it’s gut repairing ability.
FWIW, my experience was opposite. My IBS was eliminated with Keto, However, I initially did a 4 week antibiotic drug regiment for 4 weeks to kill the bad bacteria in my gut (endocrinologist said I had SIBO) after that, I have been good for 1-1/2 years. The gut problem, as you have described it to a tee, was one of my triggers to go Keto. KCKO.
I developed gut issues after losing 1/4th of my body weight. Found out I had metals poisoning, mostly lead but also tin, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and aluminum. I think they were sequestered in my fat and bones and after losing weight the concentration in my blood and other tissues rose. I’ve been treating it for a little over a year and blood and urine levels of all the metals are down by a factor of 10 and all of the symptoms of metals poisoning including the gut issues are much better.
There are many other toxins that accumulate in our tissues that can get concentrated with weight loss. If other symptoms have developed with the gut issues such as itchy skin or rashes, fatigue, etc. it might be worth getting your blood or urine tested for common toxins.
Wow, lots of interesting info and experiences here. I’ll tell you mine.
A little more than a year ago, I was not on keto. I developed a gluten sensitivity. It was easy enough to switch to gluten-free products. Then I became sensitive to other grains. Then various vegetables, nuts, and legumes. The problems included abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation.
It was too hard keeping track of which ones I couldn’t eat, and the list was growing anyway, so I decided to eat animal products only. I’ve been carnivore for a year now. (Some would say not a real carnivore, as I eat dairy.)
Since then, I’ve safely eaten meat, fish, eggs, and some dairy (cheese, yogurt, and whipping cream). Strangely enough, I have no problem with spices. I can’t eat cream cheese or commercial sour cream; I guess it’s because of the gums they add. I can eat sausages, etc., that contain small amounts of filler, but I don’t push my luck, because I feel it when I do.
I was never much of a fruit eater, and I haven’t bothered finding out whether it would affect me. I recently lost my taste for poultry, for reasons unknown.
As for the joys of food – I find there are still many things I can eat. Eggs can be prepared in a variety of ways. So can ground beef, whether formed (patties, meatballs, meatloaf) or loose (e.g., chili or curry). I can’t eat steaks and chops because of esophagus problems, but if you can, great. Roasts can be dry roasted or pot roasted, smoked, pulled, or barbecued, and can be eaten hot or cold.
There are many delicious deli sausages and gourmet cheeses.
For crunch, you can have pork rinds, with a dip based on yogurt or whatever else you can stomach. Or spread on some Boursin or other soft cheese. Or your homemade liver pâté.
Sometimes I like to keep it simple and just eat one thing. But it can be nice to have a few bites of something else. For example, I usually have beef as my main dish, with maybe a pickled egg and some cheese or Polish sausage on the side.
If you do decide plants are the problem, maybe you can look on it as a challenge to come up with interesting and delicious meals without them. Good luck!
Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. About ten days ago my abdominal pain and diarrhea got so bad that I took myself to hospital emergency seeking medical help. The good news is that there is no evidence of serious issues. The not so good news is that my gut is out of whack and it’s only me who can work it our what causes it.
Having read some more online material on IBS, FOTMAP etc., I realized that the most effective way forward is the “elimination method,” which will hopefully identify what triggers or causes my gut problems. I started by removing from my diet the most common IBS triggers in KETO diet: garlic, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, avocado, cabbages, cheese etc. I also reduced the intake of fats, which probably affected my ketosis… I lost about 4lbs in 10 days and my energy level has been low most of the time.
After 6 days of this “elimination diet,” I think, I have identified the first and hopefully the main cause of my symptoms, namely artificial sweeteners. Looking back at my eating habits in recent weeks I now see that this is the one think that has recently become a significant part of my diet in the form of sugar-free drinks and sugar-free deserts.
I’m actually quite shocked to learn that so called “natural” sweeteners are not as natural or not really what the labels tricked me to believe. That most commercial products called Stevia are in fact stevia-blends, which include other sweeteners or sugar alcohols.
I have now stopped using any sweeteners and I fell a little better. I will keep looking…