SIBO Diet and Pregnancy

When I became pregnant with Little Bit feeding my body with the best nutrients possible was of the highest priority to me. Because of my history with SIBO, I wanted to be sure my digestion stayed healthy, my body fed, and that my growing baby had all of the nutrients he needed.

Babies need protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals in order to develop more than they need carbohydrates so I wanted to focus my diet on these nutrients. Because of both my history of SIBO and hives (MCAS) I knew I wasn’t likely to tolerate multivitamins so getting extra vitamins through my diet was huge. With the dramatic shift in hormones during pregnancy, many women are able to tolerate foods they had to avoid pre-pregnancy so my hope was to try new foods in small amounts often to see what my body liked and didn’t.

My Diet During Pregnancy

Although my SIBO was gone when I was pregnant with Little Bit, I found myself leaning towards my old SIBO diet because of all of the fats and proteins it contained. Fortunately, I was not diagnosed with gestational diabetes but I did find that during pregnancy my body did not tolerate sugar the same as it used to, and I genuinely didn’t like honey or sugar through most of the pregnancy. Whole grains are often recommended in pregnancy for their added vitamins and fiber but I even found those to be more nausea inducing than calming. (I had morning sickness through the entire pregnancy.) So my diet ended up looking a whole lot like the diet recommended for those with SIBO who need to gain weight. (Click here for my article on Tips For Gaining Weight With SIBO.)

I ate tons of protein, good fats as often as I liked, and found white crackers, rice crackers, fresh white bread, or white rice were my go-to for nausea-calming carbohydrates and as part of meals. I learned a handful of white crackers, a SIBO-friendly green smoothie and my protein of choice (chicken salad, breakfast sausage, salmon salad, scrambled eggs or even hard boiled eggs) were my breakfast and easy meal of choice. The meal filled me up, was loaded with protein, and packed full of nutrients. Now, before you freak out about the white bread and white rice, please remember that these are encouraged on the SIBO diet recommendations for gaining weight and during pregnancy you WANT to gain weight. Rice is also allowed on several of the SIBO diets including the Bi-Phasic diet protocol in the second phase.

Bone broth is also worth noting. I rotated fish broth, beef marrow bone broth, and chicken broth through my pregnancy. I remember thinking I should have been eating more of this amazing food, but the first trimester the only thing I wanted to eat were my green juice smoothies and crackers and I hated anything meat. I was so nauseous with morning sickness and vomited often, so I didn’t love solid foods for the first 12 weeks. During that time I often ate two or three of my green juice smoothies a day. As soon as other foods sounded good I made sure bone broth was a huge part of my diet.

Here are my favorite SIBO friendly meals that I ate during pregnancy.

Breakfast Meals

• Eggs scrambled with crispy bacon (no sugar, no nitrates) and sautéed greens with a side of banana and 2 Tbs of nut butter
• Banana Nut Muffin topped with peanut butter, SIBO-friendly breakfast sausage and fruit salad of berries, grapes and oranges

SIBO-Friendly Nutrient Dense Green Juice Smoothie

Because prenatal vitamins tend to induce hives for me, I used green juices to get lots of good vitamins. I do tolerate apples and celery well (even though those are not Low FODMAP), so I often added an apple and 3-4 stalks of celery to my green juice below. In order to vary nutrients, I would also substitute the banana with 1/2 cup of frozen berries.

I did supplement my diet with folate to avoid spina bifida. I used Pure Encapsulations Folate 400 with Metafolin L-5-MTHF.

Lunch Meals

• Open faced chicken salad on a slice of fresh white bread with fresh or stewed fruit
• Salmon salad with nut crackers and an orange
• 1/2 of a turkey sandwich with lots of turkey and a hard boiled egg and some grapes

Dinner Meals

• Hamburger Veggie Soup, fresh salad and nut muffins
• Honey Mustard Chicken with 1 cup jasmine rice cooked in bone broth and steamed veggies
• Chicken soups with lots of broth
• Baked salmon with sautéed zucchini and a small amount of fresh baguette and butter

Additional Snacks

• Peanut Butter Cacao Crispy Bars
• Crispy Kale
• Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Other SIBO Friendly Ideas

While pregnant I did not tolerate dairy, so even though I did not consume these foods, they are great options during pregnancy.

• Yogurt parfaits with stewed fruit and chopped nuts
• Berry Yogurt Pops
• Aged cheese and fresh grapes

It is important to remember that all SIBO diets are intended to be customized to your specific needs. This post is just an example of what I ate while pregnant and is not intended as medical advice. If you have SIBO and are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, talk with your doctor about your specific needs. Always customize your diet under the guidance of your doctor.