Yes, the pop diet can lead to some unfortunate GI symptoms.

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A keto diet is focused on vegetables, protein, and few carbohydrates. Photos: Getty Images

This by year, the ketogenic diet fabricated headlines as an extremely quick and effective way to lose weight.

The depression-carb, high-fat eating plan, which consists of less than v pct carbs, 10-thirty pct protein, and 65-90 percent fatty, works by sending your body into ketosis — the metabolic state in which you burn fatty instead of glucose for energy.

It's helped many people shed stubborn fat, but for others, information technology's been — quite literally — a pain in the butt.

Going keto, information technology appears, is giving tons of dieters frequent bouts of diarrhea.

According to health experts, your gastrointestinal (GI) organisation can have quite the hit when y'all switch up how you lot eat.

"Whenever you cut out certain food groups in your nutrition, an imbalance volition occur," Callie Exas, a licensed nutritionist and co-owner of The Wellthy Plate, told Healthline. "Our gut microbiome feeds off brusk chain fatty acids found in grains, fruits, and vegetables, which are limited on the keto diet."

Every bit a consequence, some people feel negative symptoms like nausea and fatigue — aka the "keto influenza" — for a couple weeks as their gut microbiomes adjust to the meal plan.

Others, however, keep to endure from stomach troubles throughout the diet.

Fatty takes quite a fleck of work to be broken downwards by the body and some people simply aren't accustomed to metabolizing the amount of fat included in the keto diet.

Their bodies aren't able to make use of all the fatty they're eating, so they try to expel of information technology. Hence, the runs.

"When you lot consume also much fat, the body tin't keep upwardly with the breakdown and absorption. When unabsorbed fat gets into the small intestines and colon, more than water will be pulled in to help its passage, resulting in watery diarrhea," Exas explained.

For these unlucky folks, keto diarrhea is likely to be a permanent side result of the diet.

Artificial sweeteners — such equally sorbitol, maltitol, and xylitol — may also be to arraign, some dietitians say.

Many people participating in the keto diet opt for these not-nutritive sugars in an attempt to limit carbs, but because sugar alcohols aren't finer absorbed in the gut, they oftentimes achieve the large intestine undigested.

When this occurs, they tend to accept an unpleasant laxative effect.

As if persistent diarrhea wasn't bad enough, some participants also feel painful cramping, bloating, and constipation due to the lack of fiber in the keto diet.

"One of the unmarried biggest challenges for many people on the ketogenic diet is constipation. Without adequate fiber, the GI tract can come up to a screeching halt," said Suzanne Dixon, a registered dietitian with The Mesothelioma Eye in Portland, Oregon.

Fiber is crucial to gut motility and office, so when fiber is limited — as it is on the keto nutrition — digestive distress increases.

If you lot're feeling backed up, you might assume a cobweb supplement will remainder things out, but many nutritionists propose against them.

"Many fiber supplements comprise also many grams of carbohydrates. If you don't advisedly account for these extra carbohydrates in fiber supplements, information technology tin forestall the person from reaching and maintaining total ketosis, which is the goal of the nutrition," Dixon explained.

Rather, increment your fiber intake with nuts, seeds, leafy greens, and cruciferous veggies.

Be mindful of how much dairy y'all're consuming. Dairy is known to cause GI upset, and so try removing foam and cheese from your diet to meet if that does the pull a fast one on.

Additionally, while laxatives and anti-diarrheal medications may at-home your bowels for a bit, they won't ultimately resolve the effect at hand. They might even disrupt your gut microbiome and digestive system, causing further inflammation and GI issues.

Some dietitians recommend easing into the keto diet. Everyone has a different fat tolerance, then play around with different foods until you find something that works for you.

Lastly, stay hydrated. In general, people following the keto diet demand to consume more water and electrolytes to avoid dehydration.

If y'all experience keto diarrhea, you run an even higher chance of becoming dehydrated. Not to mention, you lose less weight when you're dehydrated, every bit your trunk has to work harder to burn off fat.

If you try making these adjustments and still encounter tummy bug, it may exist time to telephone call it quits on the keto diet.

Chronic diarrhea can pb to heath complications, such equally vitamin deficiencies, muscle deterioration, and electrolyte imbalance.

"If someone experiences keto diarrhea that doesn't resolve with time as their body 'adjusts' to the diet, I would advise them to stop the diet. It's simply not worth the risk to short- and long-term health," Dixon advised.

In general, it'south smart to cheque in with your md whenever you alter upward your eating habits.

They can place any underlying health issues, nutrient intolerances, or allergies and aid you figure out a meal plan that works best for y'all and your stomach.