Diabetes patient always experiences the need to combat high sugar or low sugar levels. There is a constant worry of predicting how the sugar levels in the body pan out given that insulin levels keep fluctuating in your body under Type 2 diabetes.
Therefore, health experts and nutritionists have often resorted to the path of keto diets. What is a keto diet? Shortened from Ketogenic Diet, keto diets are fact-intensive diets which have high saturated fats in them and low carbohydrates.
How Ketogenic Diet Works In Lowering Sugar Levels?
The concept is to make the body experience a regular supply of sugar or glucose that occurs from the breakdown of fats such that it keeps the sugar levels constant in the body. Carbohydrates are zero in a keto diet and this is done to ensure no direct sugar or carb intake happens in the patient’s body and the natural breakdown of fat is the only source of sugar in them.
So what are the direct impacts of the keto diet on diabetes? Here are a few quick pointers –
Reduces diabetes symptoms and signals greatly
A great reason why the keto diet is so popular in the field of diabetes care is that it helps reduce the extreme symptoms of diabetes type 2. Patients usually find relief from the problems like frequent urination, confusion, and heaviness in the body.
The reason behind this success is that there is instant sugar control in the body due to the absence of carbohydrates in the diet. Fat stored in the body takes time to be converted to sugar and therefore, the symptoms vanish almost immediately.
The cons of this are that a sudden fall in sugar is not combated by the keto diet. Therefore, cases which experience frequent low sugar levels should be careful while opting for this diet and must keep sugary food handy to resist a sugar fall.
Reduces cardiovascular disease risks greatly
While a lot of people worry about how the unsaturated fats are going to affect the body, there is a study that reveals that due to the systematic break down of these fats in a sugar hungry diabetic body, the chances of cardiovascular diseases occurring due to high storage of unsaturated fatty acids is reduced.
This is one of the advantages of the keto diet as against general notion and must not be ignored. However, the patients who have an existing cardiovascular condition or are suffering from blocked arteries must avoid the diet no matter how helpful it might be to your diabetes condition.
The cons of this point are that medical support and assurance are not available to second this fact and this is enough reason to avoid the diet in case of existing heart history.
The blood glucose level should never go below the normal range.
Ketones are high in this diet which means that you have to continuously monitor the blood glucose levels throughout the day while the body adjusts to this diet. The blood glucose level should never go below the normal range or the target range.
Doctors usually can help in this monitoring and suggesting changes in diet to fight any odd results of a ketone-rich diet. The cons of this point are that ketoacidosis or often known as DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) is a reaction recorded in type 1 diabetes patients and can be sometimes severe.
It is rarely reported in patients with type 2 diabetes. The signs of ketoacidosis include consistently high blood sugar, frequent urination, nausea, breath that has a fruity odor, dry mouth, and difficulty in breathing.
The best way to keep this at bay would be to go under strict medical supervision to understand how your body reacts when you are transitioning into a ketogenic diet.
The indirect impact on diabetes
The Keto diet is known to have a supportive impact on diabetes control. It is a supplementary change in diet as against direct medication to control diabetes. It is more related to our lifestyle and wellness during your main fight with diabetes.
Therefore, it is an indirect savior to patients with diabetes. Make sure you give it the importance of similar levels. Depending solely on keto diets without medical supervision and the expert advice of an experienced dietician is considered risky and has not helped many patients.
Going about it wisely and dealing with acute symptoms of diabetes with patience s the best way to approach a transition into a keto regime. Once your body is accustomed to this form of diet, transitioning back to a normal diet can be tough.
Therefore, take a call and make an informed decision to have sustainable relief. Do not jump into a frenzy or decide based on keto diet fans. Respect your body type and condition and take a one-time decision and stick to it to enjoy a healthy and happy life.