# Has anyone tried a ketogenic diet



## zeroblue (Aug 7, 2013)

i read on reddit that it's been helping people with IBS

I'm trying a ketogenic diet with only SCD-safe foods and i have to say i think it might be working, HOWEVER, high fat foods are pretty hard to tolerate initially (right after eating them). Does anyone know how to make them more tolerable?


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## zeroblue (Aug 7, 2013)

Well i just got very nauseous from eating too many fatty foods the past few days, i wouldn't reccomend this diet to anyone with ibs (ketogenic)


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

I seem to tolerate fats. So for me it may be an option. I am undecided whether to eat zero-carb or low-carb. I have been SCD strict for five years.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Nojokeibs posted a bit this past summer about the ketogenic diet and how it helped her. she's ibs-c. she has one or two blog entries about it too.

i can't eat a high fat diet, either, without getting nauseous. plus--after researching it, this diet just doesn't seem too healthy to me, especially if one follows it for a long time. IMHO. maybe i'm missing something...


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

Thanks annie7. I am trying it as I am quite desperate. I don't eat carbs other than some lemon juice. I think it helps but it is not a final solution.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

good luck--hope it helps.


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

A ketogenic diet didn't resolve my symptoms as I am still in pain. I will start looking at other directions: calcium carbonate and low oxalates.


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## Knyttet (Oct 21, 2013)

I'm contemplating if I should try SCD. But my main problem is that I can't tolerate fat. so could it work? the problem is that I know that even rice causes gas and bloating, and I think I would benefit from a low carb diet. I'm eating low fodmap but I can only tolerate a few veggies. I don't know how I will get forward from here...

I wonder if I leave out all the SCD illegal foods, maybe my gut will start feeling better and I'll start tolerating fat. But right now even small amounts of fat causes issues and I also have liver problems right now. SO maybe Scd is not the right option, at least not right now =/

Let us know how it goes! You could try using digestive enzymes to help with the fat, and also Ox Bile can help. I've tried both (enzymedica's digest gold and nutricology Ox Bile 500 mg), but they're not enough for me to tolerate fat. But for some people they help a lot. Good luck, hope it will help


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

What I am trying to do now is to combine SCD and Boulardii. I am no longer restricting the amount of carbs. Anyone trying SCD should join the yahoo BTVC-SCD support group. Although the general SCD principles are fairly simple, there are many subtle details that can help to fine-tune the diet and make a difference at the end.

SCD didn't stop my diet for five years. And then I learned that adding Boulardii gives me some additional control on the D.

Edit: SCD didn't stop my D. Five years after starting the diet I learned that adding Boulardii gives me some additional control on the D.


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

Many, many years ago I heard the creator of the SCD on the radio. At that time, I believed that a low-fat diet was a healthy diet. But I figured I would give SCD at try and that got me to add meat. After a couple of months of doing the SCD, I realized that the meat was helping me but the other "legal" SCD foods that were higher in carb were making me feel worse. Ever since, I have been restricting my carbs. It's only in the past two years that I started measuring blood ketones with a meter.

"Ketogenic" is quite popular these days but it is not clear why someone with IBS would choose a goal of raising their blood ketones. (OK, there was a recent paper showing that ketones reduced inflammation markers in mice, but that's a whole other issue.) a more effective strategy for IBS should be to ignore the ketone meter but keep careful data on your digestive symptoms

By manipulating my dietary carbohydrates I have been able to pretty much conquer the diarrhea problem that I used to have. It did not cure me, though. I still test quite high for hydrogen and methane on the lactulose breath test and I burp many hundreds of times day and night. I also happen to be in ketosis all the time, as measured by my blood level of betahydroxybutryate (BOHB). But I really don't care that much about my BOHBs. I do care about my symptoms. If I got out ofkdetosis and my symptoms went away I would be a very happy man.


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## KetoGuy (Sep 23, 2015)

Yes, a ketogenic diet is helping me tremendously, but it is not the most socially accepted diet.

I asked the GI doc what she thought about IBS and she responded with a question (while I was being endoscoped for an IBS study) - What do the GI microbiome need to survive? I answered carbohydrates and she said there's your answer (simple I thought, but difficult to practice). Most of the GI docs agree IBS has something to do with carbs and how they react with the microbiome.

Motivation: Abdominal pain and intense debilitating diarrhea to the point of tears and frustration and finally it broke me to make a desperate change to the keto diet (you really have to have a reason to go on this diet! It is not fun to give up fruits, bread, rice and be a nuisance as a guest at someone's house who has no idea why you refuse such simple foods). But I quickly remember the consequences of eating the old way and I just don't want to suffer any more and now I embrace the Keto diet after 7 weeks.

A ketogenic diet of 7 weeks has helped me:

1. bloating is substantially reduced

2. abdominal pain is absent

3. almost no gas (before I was 90% of the time uncomfortable)

4. GI transit time is surprisingly every day! (before it was 2-3 days which allows for putrefaction & fermentation and all the toxic output of the microbiome that your liver & kidneys have to deal with)

5. side benefits include: better dreams, more energy, feeling more satiated after eating, less hunger, more clarity in mind, sometimes amazing eurphoria (worth the diet for just this), less plaque build-up on teeth, sweet breath (acetone - like green apples).

6. Drinking a lot more water!!!

By the way, I tried every diet it seems before with no luck. I was a vegetarian/vegan for the last 15 years. I am doing the ketogenic diet with a vegetarian approach and it is working and not expensive. Eggs mixed with butter, avocado, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and cheese is my simple go to staple with nuts to snack on. Working on making chocolate with stevia.

Educate yourself on this diet - it requires a lot of biochemistry to really understand the mechanisms. I recommend Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney to start off. This diet is recommended by Johns Hopkins Hospital for pediatric epilepsy patients.

Good luck

P.S. Other side effects include: cancer prevention (cancer ferments sugar (Warburg Hypothesis), so you are starving cancer to a degree), reduction in cognitive issues like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, depression, etc. If you are an endurance athlete that runs marathons or ironman competition, this diet is the preferred diet for carb-intolerant athletes.

P.S. II Well another month of keto almost made me forget my IBS (it was serious) so I added a few more carbs, but still low-carb overall (maybe around15%) and I still feel fine (just some wind that is almost zero with the keto diet & maybe a bit more anxiety - keto diet mellows you out). I want to hug my brain for trying keto and having it help after so much pain and discomfort. I miss the keto feeling, but it is strict to follow (all or nothing almost).


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

KetoGuy,

Nice post. I am glad to hear that carb restriction helped you. And I agree that Volek and Phinney's books should be read.


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

Glad that it worked so well for you. In my case I am intolerant to eggs, dairy ... Avocado (contains sorbitol) and nuts are triggers for me.

I think that the keto approach is great for bacterial dysbiosis. Not so much for fungal problems.

I tried many times and it was not the final answer for me.


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## Kezia Hall (Oct 2, 2015)

Most clients I work with can't tolerate too much fat if have bad iBS - often due to stomach acid issues and other things. Have you addressed your digestion nd stomach acid levels at all?


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