Last updated May 17, 2023
The Keto Diet for SIBO, Does It Work?
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
Does the Keto Diet for SIBO actually work?
Your gut health is the key to having a healthy body. If you’re dealing with IBS, SIBO or Candida overgrowth, you need to get control over your gut health before you start feeling better.
I spent years dealing with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). My small bowel was growing all kinds of bad bacteria causing worrisome symptoms and debilitating migraines.
Let’s take a look at common SIBO Symptoms:
- Nausea
- Depression
- Joint pain
- Inflammation
- Acne
- Eczema
- Migraines
- Bloating
- Anxiety
- High histamine levels
- Brain fog
- Autoimmune issues
- Night Sweats
- Vitamin Deficiencies
This varies person by person because your symptoms depend on what kind of bacteria you have overgrowing. Your mental health is very connected to your gut and SIBO commonly causes depression and anxiety.
My SIBO got so severe I went down to 90lbs. That’s a scary place to be when you’re not absorbing your food. Finally, killing off the bad gut bacteria gave me my life and energy back.
In order to reduce SIBO you have to kill off the bad bacteria in your gut. The best way to kill the bacteria is by starving it out.
Take a look at the Keto Diet for SIBO
Keto involves drastically reducing the carbs in your diet. The very nature of keto is designed to starve out SIBO and Candida overgrowth.
When you drastically cut carbs, you begin to starve out the bad bacteria and candida in the gut. It doesn’t take long to feel the effects. Your body was designed to run off of healthy fats and not carbs. Your brain runs best on healthy fats.
Benefits of Keto
- It eliminates those grains like gluten that tear the gut lining apart
- It eliminates inflammatory foods like sugar and bad oils
- It seals the lining of the gut
- It reduces histamine levels that cause allergies
- It cuts cravings for carbs
- It clears your brain of fogginess
- It regulates blood sugar levels
- It reduces Type 2 Diabetes
- It reduces risk of Heart Disease
I could feel the effects of killing off bad bacteria within a few days but dramatic results came weeks later. I actually ended up gaining 30lbs because I started absorbing my food again.
Don’t leave just yet, I realize that most people eat keto to lose weight and it IS the most effective way to drop pounds quickly. I personally gained weight because I was down to 90lbs from not absorbing my food.
My husband dropped 60lbs eating Keto so I personally know it works.
I have seen the benefits of keto first hand in my house. It restored my gut health and allowed me to absorb my food, reduced my migraines, acne, bloating and gave me a clearer head.
It’s so hard to be a good mom when you feel like crap every day. Trust me, I have tried. With 4 kids I need to be on top of my game and be a good example of what foods are healthy and which ones are not. Kids see everything and I can’t ask them to eat their veggies while I am eating carbs.
I wholeheartedly believe keto diet for SIBO does an amazing job of killing off bad gut bacteria by starving it out. It is also smart to add in a probiotic so you can populate your gut with good bacteria strands.
But wait…I thought Low Fodmap was best for SIBO?
Did you know that Low Fodmap and Keto are almost exactly the same? I personally do not recommend eating dairy whether it’s keto or not because conventional diary right now in America just isn’t healthy.
Low Fodmap works because it singles out what the bacteria can eat and eliminates it just like the Keto diet.
The benefit of keto is putting your body into ketosis because not only does it fix your gut but keto has been shown to eliminate cancers, heart disease, diabetes, seizures and a slew of other health problems.
Fixing the gut is a lifestyle change that involves the entire family in my house.
We eat low carb as a family for many reasons
- It reduces ADHD
- I want to teach my children about healthy food
- We take care of our gut in this house
- I want to be a good example for my kids
- It gives my kids the best opportunity to be healthy for their future.
- Study after study has proven that sugar kills
The Keto Diet for SIBO really is the best choice to restore your gut and brain health.
It not only eliminates the food source for the bad gut bacteria and candida but it contains the fat needed to seal the gut lining.
The changes with Keto are long-lasting and effective.
Let us know if you have tried the Keto diet for SIBO and what results you have had.
Sources:
Hi, I know this was 2 years ago but I wanted to add my story in the hope that it may help you. My results for SIBO breath test (lactulose) were positive but very very low. I also have candida, diagnosed by antibody tests and urine organic acid tests.
My weight like your husband’s was dropping off and a was very underweight, also heart chest pains and fatigue with nothings from my gut being absorbed. Zifaxin also did nothing. I switched to keto and within a couple of days my chronic fatigue was noticeably less. Feeling quite good I added white rice and porridge and stuck to low FODMAP but my symptoms came back with a vengeance. Back to keto and currently improving. Also taking 3 months of Nystatin and supplementing with b guys and oregano. Best wishes, K
You need a low-fat diet, high plant carb diet, does that not make more sense to you? carbs are what humans need, our brains use 40-60% of our daily intake of glucose. the body prefers to burn glucose since it is a cleaner fuel, It hates turning it into fat. On the other hand, fat is fat.. our bodies store it so well, if they took a needle and took a sample, they could tell what foods you ate.
My husband has all the typical symptoms for SIBO, Candida & IBS for 3 yrs now. Has taken breath test 3 times too (lactulose) & all flatlined. Has lost all muscle mass. Went from 165 to 125. Looks like walking skeleton. Has had tons of tests with no diagnosis. Diet is so limited. Follow Low Fodmap but even more restricted than that & nothing seems to make a diff. He does eat Oatmeal & white rice only to try keep weight on. Has tried Xifaxin 3 times & did nothing. Should we assume he doesn’t have SIBO if tests don’t show? So concerned about his health. Any recommendations appreciated. Thank you.
I’m so sorry to hear you guys are going through that. My SIBO was so bad I needed heavy antibiotics and then some Diflucan for fungus before I started gaining weight. Low fodmap and keto are keeping things in control for me. If he is losing that much weight he needs to be under a doctor’s care. I hope you can get to the root of his issues so he can gain some weight. Have you tried a digestive enzyme before eating to help him absorb the food? Praying for you guys!
Hi Shelley- Sorry you’re having to deal with that. Have you checked for a small intestinal fungal infection? A lot of symptoms are the same as SIFO but Xifaxin to my understanding does nothing for SIFO or yeast overgrowth. Have you tried any antifungals yet? May help. SCD diet? The starch in oatmeal and rice would feed bacteria and fungal infections. Good luck!