Is the Elemental Diet the Answer to Your Digestive Woes?

Digestive struggles can feel like an endless maze of confusion and discomfort. For many, finding the right balance between diet and gut health is a never-ending journey filled with trial and error. With countless diets promising relief, from low-FODMAP to gluten-free, the search for a solution can often lead to more questions than answers. One option that not many people know about is the elemental diet—a less mainstream but potentially effective approach that could offer some much-needed relief. It’s not widely discussed, but for those who’ve tried everything else, it might just be the hidden gem in the world of digestive health solutions.

We had the opportunity to chat with Krystyna Houser about her journey, her determination to heal her gut, and the creation of mBIOTA Labs. Here’s what she had to say.

HOW I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG

Nobody feels their best after having their third baby, but this felt different. Every time I ate, I would get a shooting pain in my stomach that moved from one side to the other and almost instantaneously bloating would set in. I had severe brain fog, and a mystery rash on my face. At first I considered “mom brain,” but deep down I knew it was more.

But the worst part was the extreme bloating. I would begin a meal looking normal, and afterwards, I looked nine months pregnant and was incredibly uncomfortable.

Nobody had any good answers for me. Over the next two years, I saw a multitude of doctors. They told me I might have postpartum depression or that it “was all in my head,” at one point even referring me to a therapist. Looking back, it’s crazy how I started to doubt myself.

I thought maybe they were right—maybe it was all in my head. But the second I walked into Dr. Frank Lipman’s office, I knew it wasn’t.

He practices a mix of Eastern and Western medicine. He listened to my symptoms, took a close look at my eyes and tongue, and said six words that changed my life forever:

“I’d bet anything you have SIBO.”

I’d never heard of it.

WHAT IS SIBO?

SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, and it means exactly what it sounds like – bacteria overpopulates your small intestine. It’s not a primary disease, which means when you have it, there is something else causing it. 

You can get it for a lot of reasons. Maybe you have a GI condition like Crohn's or IBS, but not necessarily. Some people have surgery, or go on a round of medicine, or recover from food poisoning, but they never feel quite right afterwards.

I’m not sure how I got it but I suspect it was from a course of incredibly strong antibiotics I had to take. Regardless, something slowed down my digestion and trapped food in my small intestine, creating a surplus of gut bacteria, and wreaking havoc on my entire body.

ONCE I COULD NAME IT, I COULD FIGHT IT

It was a game-changer to hear someone validate that my pain was real. When I learned that it was an issue with my GI tract, I researched as many specialists as I could find. I wanted answers.

My journey led me to Dr. Mark Pimentel and Dr. Ali Rezaie, two pioneers in SIBO research at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. When I asked them what they would do in my place, they said “an elemental diet” but that it was so unpalatable that almost none of their patients were able to do it and instead used antibiotics.  Challenge accepted.  Over the next two years, I completed four courses of elemental diet (to induce remission) and in between followed Low Fermentation Eating (to maintain remission.)  After this, I returned to regular eating and I am thrilled to say I have stayed SIBO-free for just over six years now.

WHAT IS AN ELEMENTAL DIET?

It’s not what you think of when you think of a “diet” like Atkins, or keto. Elemental diets are a liquid diet that replace solid foods for a specified period of time (usually about 2-4 weeks). They provide all the nutrients you need in their purest, most elemental forms – they are predigested, so your GI tract can rest and recover.

Elemental diets provide your body with what it needs to function and nothing more. No additives, no allergens, and no distractions.

Because the elemental diet requires almost no digestion, my body was able to absorb the nutrition it needed and the “disruptor” bacteria in my gut was starved of a food source, leading to the eradication of the “bad” bacteria while allowing my gut microbiome to essentially reset to its factory settings. Being on the shakes changed my life, but I have to be honest, it was also one of the worst months of my life.

The shakes tasted awful. I mean, truly unparalleled awfulness.

I had to have a serious conversation with myself before I took my first sip for each meal, and it made an already challenging situation even more daunting. I gritted my teeth and got through it, but I knew there had to be a better way, and I set out to find it so others would not have to similarly suffer.

It took years of research and development with food scientists and Drs. Pimentel and Rezaie, but we finally got there. The end result was mBIOTA Elemental™, a fully elemental diet you can actually drink for two weeks.

IS AN ELEMENTAL DIET RIGHT FOR YOU?

mBIOTA Elemental™ is safe and clinically proven, but it’s important to understand that this is not a fad diet, or a shortcut to weight loss. Elemental diets across the board are a medical food that must be taken under medical supervision.

What I’ve realized over the course of my health journey is that the gut microbiome is as personal as your fingerprint. And what works for one person, might not for another.

For example, by their very nature, elemental diets rely on unprocessed sugar that gets absorbed within the first 2-4 feet of the small intestine. The near-instant absorption of the nutrients is the reason why it changed my life. But that quick fix of sugar would possibly not sit well with a person who has diabetes or a history of unstable blood sugars.

You don’t need a prescription to purchase an elemental diet and start taking it. But even so, you should always talk to your doctor before starting a medical food.You know when something is wrong with your body. Even if the tests don’t show it, and people start telling you it’s in your head, my advice is to trust your gut.

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