Low Carb & EDS

Have you tried going low-carb? What did you like or not like about it?

I have noticed that when I eat more proteins and less carbs, that I do feel better. Same as you mentioned, less gas, bloating, GERD, etc. I tried the low FODMAP diet for awhile when my GI doctor recommended it, and it didn't help much, but just lower carbs seem to do better 👍

I found keto did help me lose weight, but it wasnt sustainable. Carnivore is much more helpful, as it gives me a lot of energy. At 76, its great!

I haven’t done low-carb but I have tried AIP (which does eliminate the higher carb grains and legumes) a couple years ago. I had looked at Keto but felt that AIP fit my allergy profile far better. It definitely had some of the same benefits that you listed - less fatigue, lost weight, less GI issues, no more GERD, ate healthier. But it is restrictive and hard to stick with long term. I want to go back to it in the near future but I’m currently focused more on dealing with my sudden increase in dislocations and subluxations. Hopefully, I can find ways to modify that work for me.

So, of course I only have my own experience to pull from, and what worked for me isn't necessarily going to work for everyone; I have found that going full carnivore dramatically helped with pain...eventually. I have a supposition as to why this is the case, but I can't prove it. Among EDS's myriad health problems, one that frequently comes up is poor nutrient absorption. There are two YouTube content creators, of course, who have seen dramatic improvements with intramuscular injections of vitamin C (which I have not tried) but plants contain anti-nutrients, which are designed specifically to hinder nutrient absorption. Animals adapted throughout history to fight this effect but what if people with EDS are particularly susceptible to anti-nutrients? Now, it's important to be clear: this wasn't a theory I had and I ended up being correct. I've tried whole food plant based, Mediterranean, Paleo, and low histamine diets before, and got pretty middling results. Whole food meat based was just yet another "Hell, I might as well, what have I got to lose?" shot in the dark. Initial weight loss and better focus were my first improvements and after four months were what I figured would be the entirety of the benefits but then pain and subluxations started dramatically improving around 5 months in. Now, where I used to see my DO twice a week to put my body back in place, I see her around once a month these days. I'm still coping with an invisible form (no skin blotches) of keto rash, but that's only been going on for like 6 weeks and I hear 10-12 weeks is usually the duration, so fingers crossed. The diet is boring, no doubt about it, but I've stopped looking at food as entertainment. I'm willing to trade being bored 20 minutes a day for tremendous symptom reduction the other 23 hours and 40 minutes. :). Hope you continue to do well!

Being that my dad is in the hospital, the foods are usually low- carb foods . So I’m probably going to try to stay with that, I may have a piece of pie for dessert every now and then but not every day or I may have a slice of pizza for lunch or dinner sometimes.,