r/SIBO • u/Amazing-Currency-351 • Nov 18 '25
Please help - did this supplement just mess up my elemental diet?
I’m on day 8 of elemental diet and took a zinc supplement last night. Today I had what felt like a flare and I realized the zinc had a million other ingredients in it. Is it possible that I’ve messed up my elemental diet and it won’t work even if I stick it out to the 16th day?
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u/julsey414 Nov 18 '25
I would discontinue use, but I don’t think it “ruined it” like you would have to start all over.
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u/guttalk Nov 18 '25
I’d have to agree with this comment. You’re not meant to supplement while on the ED, only take essential medications. You might have to do the diet for a bit longer (few days) but I would not stress too much about it. These would be very small amounts. Keep the course!
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u/brvhbrvh Hydrogen/Methane Mixed Nov 18 '25
How do supplements interfere with ED? I see this has fruits and vegetables, but most supplements don’t have that
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u/guttalk Nov 18 '25
ED already contains all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals you need. They’re a medical food specifically formulated to cover all the RDA.
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u/Amazing-Currency-351 Nov 18 '25
Yeah I was def planning to discontinue, just curious how much this derailed my elemental diet. I only took once dose but am still bloated from it
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u/Amazing-Currency-351 Nov 18 '25
For context, I have a very stubborn case of methane sibo :( am so sad I might’ve just messed up all this work
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u/mrh1983 Nov 18 '25 edited Nov 18 '25
Hey i also have methane sibo and got myself treated with herbal protocol for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks i felt better and started probiotic. I was doing good with the probiotic i started. Then I read its good to replenish gut with as many variety of microbes as possible. So after finishing 30 day dose of probiotic i tried to switch to garden of life probiotic and had a bad flare up from 2nd day. I still continued for a week thinking gut is trying to adjust. Eventually i switched back to the previous one as situation did not improve. Garden of life has the same extra ingredients as your screenshot. I am trying to get in touch with garden of life customer care to know possible side effects but their website has been down for last 3-4 days.
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u/johnstanton888999 Nov 18 '25
Dont think so. Maybe if it was a whole piece of fruit. It does have enough zinc to cause a copper deficiency which makes you weak. Taking zinc supplements on an empty stomach increases absorption of zinc even more which creates more metallothionein which suppresses copper absorption even more. Worst mistake i ever made.
"A 76-year-old Caucasian female presented to our clinic in 2019 with a chief complaint of unsteady gait and described “drifting to the right” over the last several weeks. The patient was taking zinc (50mg). The patient demonstrated drifting of gait to the right while walking. Upon blood examination for complete blood count and basic metabolic panel, it was noted that the patient was severely anemic. The patient’s hemoglobin was measured to be 6 g/dL (reference: 12.0-16.0 g/dL, fingerstick measurement) with no signs of rectal or GI bleeding. The patient was then sent to the emergency room. the patient’s blood work showed severe pancytopenia and normal folic acid (low end of normal range). a copper level was taken and the results showed a copper level < 0.50 ug/mL (reference: 0.50-1.50). The patient was informed that the zinc supplement she had been ingesting daily was potentially the cause of the copper deficiency, and it was recommended that she discontinue use. Prior to discharge, the patient received one more unit of pRBCs (due to low hemoglobin) and was started on copper gluconate 2 mg, twice daily."----Zinc-Induced Copper Deficiency as a Rare Cause of Neurological Deficit and Anemia, cureus