Keto Diet and Autoimmune Diseases?

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stricklee11
stricklee11 Posts: 218 Member
in Food and Nutrition
A few people I know who suffer from autoimmune diseases have told me their symptoms improved greatly once they started doing keto. I can't seem to find much research on this topic so I wanted to see if any MFP users with autoimmune disorders are doing keto for this reason?


Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    I don't have autoimmune issues but i think the problem you will run into is a lot of the research is in its infancy or inconclusive. And where it gets complicated is the individual response and the type of autoimmune issue is going to respond significantly different. My wife has POTS and her symptoms don't changed based on her diet, minus the fact she needs 6000-8000 mg of sodium. Ultimately, i wouldnt always wait on the evidence to demonstrate a benefit or non benefit. If anything, I would self experiment to see if there is an effect. The good news, it seems like you would go in with scepticism which will make things a bit more objective.

    I follow the keto diet and i have yet to experience any of the proclaimed benefits outside of appetite suppression. I don't have more mental clarity, more or sustainable energy, etc... But again, i didn't have an autoimmune issue.
  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 980 Member
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    My husband has an autoimmune disease and he finds that eating less sugar results in less pain, believing higher sugar contributes to higher inflammation. He does not eat low carb, and certainly not keto, but just lower carbs than typical. He does not minimize any fruits or vegetables, just sweets. He has repeatedly noticed a correlation (higher sugar, greater pain). n=1
  • VegjoyP
    VegjoyP Posts: 2,725 Member
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    I have autoimmune disease (SLE Lupus) and was pretty opposed to a high fat diet. I was a serious runner and competator, majorly active so I was more high carb or protein.
    After noticing a lot of changes in my 40s and with all the autoimmune diagnosis I had a close friend, extremely intelligent, highly educated and experienced assesed my diet and was the one who got me started.
    I can tell you it is truly life changing. I am not all keto but increased my fat intake to sometimes very close. Intermitten fasting also helps but I only go more hours between s few days a week, not days.
    Removing sugar starches has been so helpful, I do not even like the foods I used to crave.
    I also do not eat meat, dairy, poultry, eggs. I do eat some fish and use collagen peptides.
    So far it has kept me active and no medicines for Lupus.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    I find eating less bread, less of some grains helps. I don’t make any effort to lower carbs other than bread, though.
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,522 Member
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    I have autoimmune thyroiditis, asthma, and celiac disease. For the celiac, gluten is the irritant so I avoid it. My doctors and my dietitian recommend a mediterranean diet over keto, just because mediterranean diet is generally more nutrient dense and more loaded with cancer inhibiting and anti-inflammatory compounds. If you can swing the cost or if insurance covers it, getting a comprehensive allergy test at an allergist's office could help you discover which food items and environmental allergens in particular are aggravating to your immune system. If egg whites don't bother you, try 6 scrambled for breakfast in nonstick pan, add salsa on top. That one is my secret.I always have a no-carb breakfast and a low carb dinner, but eat all the carbs (mostly high fiber carbs) during the day when I need the energy the most and have time to burn it off. Also for me, Vit D, calcium, sunshine, low stress, daily outdoor activity, fresh air, play a significant role in feeling best.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    Diet definitely plays a role in how I feel! I have never done Keto, but felt like a million bucks on Whole30, it’s just not sustainable for me on a day to day basis. I have been gluten free for almost 9 years (Gluten Ataxia, it triggers major neuro symptoms that mimic MS), but have also found dairy and sugar to be triggers. Dairy is the hardest for me to do without since it currently is a good chunk of my protein and a cheese stick is my go to afternoon snack.
  • stricklee11
    stricklee11 Posts: 218 Member
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    globalhiker wrote: »
    If you can swing the cost or if insurance covers it, getting a comprehensive allergy test at an allergist's office could help you discover which food items and environmental allergens in particular are aggravating to your immune system.

    @globalhiker I have scheduled an appointment with an allergist in January to see if food allergies are what's prompting a response from my immune system. My sister-in-law recently discovered various foods were causing inflammation issues. Her diet is now extremely limited (no eggs or gluten) but she has noticed a remarkable improvement in her symptoms. I don't think I'd be able to do Keto long term but perhaps a moderate carb intake would do?
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    have a rare autoimmune.
    diet has no effect other than the healthier i eat, the more nutrition i get, and the better i feel. keto did nothing for me. low carb did nothing for me
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    I did keto for migraine control, for 2 years and am now more lchf and still maintaining a life free of migraines. Keto is very anti-inflammatory, so it makes sense that it would help with autoimmune disorders since those generally trigger an inflammatory response which causes many of the noticeable symptoms.

    For what it's worth, I saw my peak results (no migraines even after exposure to normal migraine triggers) after 100 days...so, if you are going to try keto, I would say aim to try it for at least 100 days and see how you feel. In epileptic children the effects of keto are permanent after 2 years and they are able to do a low-carb diet and maintain symptom control. I haven't found any studies where the permanence has been tested in adults, but for me, as long as I stay low carb (under 150g/day) my migraines stay gone.

    Being rid of a chronic pain condition is absolutely life altering. I would rather spend the rest of my life on strict keto than go back to 5 days of migraines each week. Fortunately, I have been able to increase the carb limits and maintain a life with no symptoms, which does make it simpler to sustain long term.


    Keto and pain (includes inflammation based pain):
    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4124736/

    How keto lowers inflammation:
    https://drwillcole.com/exactly-how-the-keto-diet-lowers-inflammation/

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