Keto Diet For Diabetes: Does Keto Work if You Have Diabetes? Research suggests that people with type 2 diabetes can slim down and lower their blood sugar levels with the keto diet. In one study, people with type 2 lost weight, needed less medication, and lowered their A1c when they followed the keto diet for a year.
Table of Contents
{tocify} $title={Table of Contents}
What is Keto?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan that helps the body get back to a normal state, known as ketosis. What is the keto diet and how does it work? “The body starts to burn fat as its main source of fuel instead of glucose,” per Mayo Clinic. “Your body first runs short of sugar, then its muscles become burned out. It needs fuel to grow new cells, and cells need glucose to do that. This is called glucose starvation. That’s why you feel tired and lethargic after not eating for long periods of time.” How does the keto diet help type 2 diabetes? To achieve the benefits of the keto diet, you need to go through a 4- to 5-week calorie-restrictive diet, which involves consuming 50-80 percent of the calories you normally would.
What are the Benefits of Keto for Diabetes?
People who follow the keto diet are likely to cut their insulin levels and blood sugar levels. A ketogenic diet helps people control their blood sugar levels as they are not secreting glucose in the body. Keto has also been found to improve insulin sensitivity so that more insulin is used by the body to digest glucose. Keto can help patients lose weight by reducing the amount of food the body needs to burn, causing weight loss. Tips for Losing Weight with Keto: The goal of the keto diet is to deprive the body of carbohydrates and get it to burn fat for energy. Eating too much fat slows down the metabolism, which in turn leads to weight loss. Fat is metabolized differently in the body than carbohydrates. The dietary fat should be limited to around 5 to 20 percent of calories.
What Is The Keto Diet?
The keto diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that started gaining attention in the 1970s after it was discovered that a diet low in carbs and high in fat helped epileptic children recover. The diet has been used as a way to reduce seizures, for example, and, since then, there have been multiple studies looking into its effects on various health conditions. Common Keto Disadvantages It’s been the subject of great controversy, however, as it has been linked to risks for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and, in one extreme example, cancer. Beware of supplements that claim to “complete the ketogenic diet” as they may contain things like ephedrine, for example. It’s also possible to gain too much weight on the keto diet.
What Are The Keto Food List?
You don’t need to limit yourself to just one food item. The ketogenic diet involves eating a combination of proteins, fats, and carbs. Keep in mind that the food items should be low-carb and low-protein so as not to damage your kidneys. The keto diet has two specific foods; those you can eat and those you shouldn’t. The foods that you can eat on the ketogenic diet are meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, dairy, leafy greens, and moderate amounts of non-starchy vegetables like broccoli. If you’re a dairy fan, you can eat cheese, cream, butter, skim milk, and light cream. The foods that you can’t eat on the ketogenic diet include any form of sugar or grains. What About Protein?
The Ketogenic Diet for DiabetesHow To Get Started
If you are thinking about a keto diet for diabetes, you need to know what is best for you and your specific needs. “There are a couple of different approaches that the FDA approved for people with diabetes on insulin,” says Leslie Bonci, MD, a San Diego-based internist who specializes in diabetes and obesity. “There is the diet I like to call ‘balanced ketogenic diet’ or ‘MCTD,’ which follows the way the body uses fat. The body turns fat into ketones. That’s why I think this is best for people who are on insulin because it uses body fat and not glucagon to get ketones. You can have fruit instead of high-carb carbohydrates.” “The other diet approach is the traditional keto diet,” she explains. “That’s very much high-fat, very low-carbohydrate. That’s the diet I treat with.
Conclusion
Reducing blood sugar levels through a diet plan is a very big deal. There are some limitations with the keto diet, such as sodium and processed foods, and the amount of protein. These restrictions are a trade-off for helping people get the desired results they are looking for. And the lower the sodium and added sugars, the better, since the overall goal is to control blood sugar levels, and many people want to keep their blood sugar levels under control.
