Can a keto diet help with severe gut issues?

January 12 2019 by in Keto, Success stories

Heidi had struggled with gut issues for years and they were only getting worse as time passed. She heard of a keto diet and decided to give it a shot:

Greetings,

My journey of success on the keto diet began shortly after Christmas last year. I had been struggling with gut issues for a few years. My symptoms had gotten so severe I could barely leave the house. I went to see an endocrinologist and has several tests revealing inflammation of the stomach lining and microscopic colitis. I was given medication, no diet change.

After seeing friends of ours just prior to Christmas they shared with us what they had learned through Diet Doctor. They had just begun so I suggested we do the Two-week challenge together. Having the meal plans, recipes, and food lists in hand I began my keto journey.

I have never felt healthier!
It has been one year and I am completely free of all former symptoms! I have never felt healthier and friends who hadn’t seen me are shocked by my appearance. I can’t begin to tell you how many of my friends I’ve introduced to Diet Doctor, they literally beg me to help them get started.

For me the switch to this eating lifestyle has been easy because I was motivated by more than just weight loss; I was really sick. I am also a Christian and prayed to God for strength to stick with it.

Thank you so very much, this eating plan has truly transformed my life.

Thank you,
Heidi Hogan

Comment

Congratulations, Heidi, that’s very inspiring!

Regarding inflammatory gut disease, there’s a shortage of high-quality studies to investigate the effect of a keto diet.¹ However, many anecdotal stories support that it could have an effect.² I’ve also met several doctors specialising in gastroenterology who have repeatedly seen an impressive positive effect of diet changes to low carb or Paleo diets.³

What specific component of the dietary change that might result in improvements is still unclear. But testing a low-carb or Paleo diet, to see what happens, seems to be a very reasonable choice.

/ Andreas Eenfeldt, MD

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To my knowledge there are not yet any controlled trials.

Here’s a published case report:

International Journal of Case Reports and Images 2016: Crohn’s disease successfully treated with the paleolithic ketogenic diet [very weak evidence] ↩
Here are anecdotal reports support that a low-carb or low-carb Paleo diet may reduce symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohns’ disease or ulcerative colitis: 1, 2. [very weak evidence] ↩
This represents weak evidence, at best. ↩