Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDEMaintaining the health of your digestive system and microbiome—the trillions of bacteria and microorganisms living in your gut—is crucial for overall wellness and quality of life. Fortunately, there are several keto-friendly ways to promote gut health. Here are six of them.
1. Prioritize Whole Food
Observational studies have consistently linked the consumption of ultra-processed foods to negative impacts on gut health.(1) Additionally, research on food additives like emulsifiers and sweeteners—mostly from animal and lab studies—suggests they negatively affect the gut microbiome, increase intestinal permeability, and promote inflammation.(2) Some, but not all, human studies suggest that the artificial sweeteners sucralose, aspartame, and saccharin may reduce beneficial gut bacteria and promote harmful bacteria, potentially leading to digestive issues and impaired glycemic response.(3) To optimize gut health, avoid or minimize processed foods and questionable ingredients. Instead, focus on nutrient-dense “real” or whole foods that fit your ketogenic lifestyle.
2. Incorporate Fermented Foods
Fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and yogurt are rich in probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that support gut health. Studies show that these live microorganisms can help maintain a healthy balance of gut flora and improve bowel function.(4, 5) Consider having a serving of fermented vegetables, kefir, tempeh, or kombucha at a keto meal. Learn more about fermented foods that can fit your keto lifestyle.
3. Include Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber acts as a prebiotic, feeding beneficial gut bacteria that ferment it into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyrate. Butyrate is crucial for maintaining gut health and offers additional benefits, such as reducing inflammation.(6) Although many fiber-rich foods are high in carbs, you can enjoy asparagus, broccoli, blackberries, and other nutrient-dense low-carb sources of soluble fiber. Also, keep in mind that responses to fiber vary from person to person. Learn more about fiber and keto.
4. Boost Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB) Production
BHB is a ketone body produced during ketosis that not only provides an energy source for your brain and body but also supports gut health.(7) Similar to butyrate that’s produced when soluble fiber is fermented, research suggests that BHB may reduce inflammation and provide other beneficial health effects.(8) By keeping carbs low, consuming adequate protein, and getting most of your energy from fat, you’ll ensure that your body produces sufficient BHB to promote gut health.
5. Add Collagen
Collagen is a protein that strengthens and adds elasticity to skin, bones, joints, and other structural parts of the body. Studies show that collagen may also function as a prebiotic, similar to soluble fiber, promoting gut health by nourishing beneficial bacteria and generating SCFAs.(9) Additionally, emerging research suggests that collagen may help repair and protect the gut lining by reducing inflammation and strengthening the gut’s barrier function.(10) You can get collagen by drinking bone broth, eating chicken skin, enjoying pork rinds, eating canned fish with bones, or taking collagen supplements. Or use it in recipes, like these Chocolate Hazelnut Keto Truffles.
6. Go Easy on Alcohol
While low-carb alcoholic beverages are allowed on keto, it’s important to consume them in moderation for overall health, including gut health. Excessive alcohol intake can disrupt the balance of your microbiome, leading to increased gut permeability, often referred to as “leaky gut.”(11) This allows harmful substances to pass from the gut into the bloodstream, triggering systemic inflammation and contributing to serious conditions like alcoholic liver disease.(12) Learn more about alcoholic drinks on a ketogenic lifestyle.
Following these six tips can help you maintain a healthy gut while enjoying all the benefits of ketogenic living.
REFERENCES
- Ultra-processed foods and human health: An umbrella review and updated meta-analyses of observational evidence, Clinical Nutrition, 2024
- Ultra-processed foods and food additives in gut health and disease, Nature Reviews. Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 2024
- Effect of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiota, Nutrients, 2023
- The effects of fermented vegetable consumption on the composition of the intestinal microbiota and levels of inflammatory markers in women: A pilot and feasibility study, PLoS One, 2022
- Efficacy of pasteurised yoghurt in improving chronic constipation: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, International Dairy Journal, 2015
- Butyrate and the Intestinal Epithelium: Modulation of Proliferation and Inflammation in Homeostasis and Disease, Cells, 2021
- The Influence of Ketogenic Diet on Gut Microbiota: Potential Benefits, Risks and Indications, Nutrients, 2023
- Effect of Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Ketogenesis Metabolic Stimulation and Regulation of NLRP3 Ubiquitination in Obese Saudi Women, Nutrients, 2023
- Collagen-derived peptides as prebiotics to improve gut health, Current Opinion in Food Science, 2024
- Identification and Structure–Activity Relationship of Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Function Protective Collagen Peptides from Alaska Pollock Skin, Marine Drugs, 2019
- The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Alcohol Effects on the Composition of Intestinal Microbiota, Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 2015
- Alcohol, the gut microbiome, and liver disease, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2023
