WHAT IS AN ELEMENTAL DIET?
An Elemental Diet is a short-term liquid diet that delivers complete nutrition in its most absorbable form, requiring minimal digestive effort.
This allows approximately 80% of the GI tract to remain at rest which reduces inflammation, starves invasive bacterial overgrowth and allows your system to rest and rebalance.
Understanding Elemental Diets
Nutrition in its Purest Form
Learn what an Elemental Diet is, how it works, and what sets it apart from other GI diets.
What Makes a Diet “Elemental”
An elemental diet is a liquid medical food that provides nutrients in their most essential, pre-digested state: proteins in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates as simple sugars, and fats from MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides). Elemental diets also include essential vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes, ensuring your body has the comprehensive support it needs.
Because the nutrients are already broken down, elemental formulas are quickly absorbed in the first 2–4 feet of the small intestine, which gives your digestive system a chance to rest and rebalance.
How It Differs from Other Diets
Elemental diets aren’t a wellness trend or long-term lifestyle change: they’re medical foods taken for 2–4 weeks under medical supervision. During the protocol, you replace all solid food with this pre-digested liquid nutrition.
Unlike low FODMAP or elimination diets that manage symptoms through food restriction, or semi-elemental formulas that still require digestion, an elemental diet provides complete nutrition in its simplest form, allowing the gut to rest and starving overgrown bacteria.
How Elemental Diets Work
Elemental diets effectively transform digestive function in three steps.
MECHANISM ONE
Rapid Absorption and Gut Rest
Because the ingredients in an elemental diet are already broken down, your body can easily absorb them in the upper small intestine, allow your digestive system to rest.
MECHANISM TWO
Invasive Bacteria are Starved
No food travels into the lower intestine, so excess "invasive" bacteria have nothing to ferment and feed on.
MECHANISM THREE
Reduces Inflammation
Elemental formulas are the ultimate anti-inflammatory diet. Because of the absence of allergens. elemental diets lack immune triggers and reduce inflammation.
Benefits & Clinical Evidence
In 2023, mBIOTA Elemental was used in the first prospective clinical trial of elemental diets for patients with SIBO and IMO.
In the Cedars-Sinai study, led by gastroenterologist scientists Dr. Ali Rezaie andDr. Mark Pimentel, 30 adults with SIBO and IMO adhered to the mBIOTA elemental diet —and the results were undeniable.
THE FINDINGS
83% of SIBO patients eradicated their bacterial overgrowth with the mBIOTA Elemental diet.
After the 2-week protocol, 83% of participants achieved SIBO eradication (as shown in normalized breath tests), and 83% reported feeling better, with significant improvement of symptoms like bloating and discomfort. They also continued to improve even after the protocol was over.
Clinical Eradication Rates by Patient Cohort
Even more unprecedented:
100% of participants finished their 2-week protocol, a completion rate never before seen in elemental diet clinical trials—and a testament to mBIOTA’s better tasting, easier-to-drink formula.
Unlike herbal antimicrobial approaches—which lack strong evidence and aren’t widely supported as a standalone treatment—elemental diets’ effectiveness is backed by clinical studies. And compared to antibiotics, which are frequently prescribed for conditions like SIBO and IMO, they present no risk of antibiotic resistance.
The major barrier, then, hasn’t been elemental diets’ effectiveness, but their historically harsh taste that’s hard for patients to tolerate. That’s why mBIOTA Elemental™ is such a breakthrough: it was created with leading experts and food scientists to transform the elemental diet experience with game-changing, better-tasting flavors.
STEP ONE
Start Your Protocol
If using the elemental diet as your sole nutrition, no additional food should be consumed. Aim for six shakes daily, spaced 2–3 hours apart, and drink plenty of water between shakes to stay hydrated.
STEP TWO
Duration
The standard protocol is 2 weeks (14 days). Some patients may extend to 3–4 weeks based on their clinician's recommendation.
STEP THREE
Transition Gently
After completing the protocol, follow Low Fermentation Eating for 2 weeks to reintroduce food while keeping the gut calm.
WHAT'S ALLOWED
- ✓ Elemental shakes
- ✓ Water and ice
- ✓ Prescribed medications
- ✓ One cup of plain black coffee or black tea a day
WHAT'S NOT ALLOWED
- ✘ Solid food
- ✘ Other beverages
- ✘ Probiotics, unless directed by your clinician
- ✘ Supplements, unless approved by your clinician
The mBIOTA Elemental Advantage
Developed with leading gastroenterologists to deliver proven efficacy, better taste, and a simpler protocol.
Breakthrough Taste
Elemental diets are clinically proven but notoriously hard to tolerate due to taste. mBIOTA Elemental was created to change that, using proprietary Amino Taste Modification Technology to improve flavor and tolerability to deliver effective therapy that’s easier to stay on. A variety of easy-to-drink flavors help reduce flavor fatigue and support a better patient experience.
Clinical Validation
As the first formula studied in a prospective SIBO/IMO elemental diet trial, mBIOTA Elemental is backed by clinical evidence. Developed with leading Cedars-Sinai gastroenterologists, it’s a nutritionally complete formula, crafted with high-quality, allergen-free ingredients that meet 100% of the RDI levels for 25 vitamins and minerals. It’s also vegan and free from soy, lactose, dairy, gluten, gums and artificial sweeteners.
Patient-Centered Support
mBIOTA was designed so the elemental diet experience is fully supported from start to finish. Our customer care team offers responsive guidance, practical help, and thoughtful answers along the way so you never have to navigate the process alone.
THE mBIOTA ELEMENTAL PROTOCOL
A Program Designed for GI Relief.
Our clinically proven elemental diet protocol helps rest your gut and support long-term digestive health.
Where to start
The 2-Week Protocol
Designed to be sole-source nutrition and was used to successfully treat SIBO and IMO in a Cedars-Sinai clinical trial. This 14-day supply includes 84 servings.
Extra time, if you need it
The 1-Week Extension
Provides added flexibility — it can lengthen the 2-Week Protocol, serve as supplemental nutrition, or help manage acute symptoms or flares. Not intended as a standalone protocol. 7-day supply, 42 servings.
Ongoing support
The Maintenance Plan
Formulated as supplemental nutrition for maintenance of remission, flare management, or ongoing dietary support. It includes 24 servings.
Maintaining REMISSION
Continue the Journey with Your Doctor
Resolving symptoms is only the first phase — a targeted prevention strategy helps ensure they don't return.
After your elemental diet, it’s important to work with your doctor to address the root causes of GI issues, like motility and structural issues. This might include prokinetic support to aid the gut’s natural movement, making adjustments to your diet, and maintenance protocols, like a short-term elemental diet taken as supplemental nutrition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many people report improvements within days of starting an elemental diet, with bacterial eradication often occurring by days 14–21.
Elemental diets are designed to provide adequate daily calories and support weight maintenance, though modest changes may occur.
Light movement like walking is fine. For more intense workouts, check with your healthcare provider.
Most people continue prescribed medications, but always check with your provider.
Probiotics generally aren’t recommended when you’re exclusively drinking elemental diet shakes in place of solid food.
Have more questions? Explore all our FAQs.
