In This Article
In This Article
Improving your diet is one of the several things you can do to restore and maintain good health if you have type 2 diabetes. Among the popular dietary changes for managing diabetes is the Keto diet.
In this article, we'll explore whether the Keto diet is good for diabetics, how it works, and its potential risks.
The Keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that helps your body switch from using glucose (from carbohydrates) to ketone bodies as an energy source.
By significantly reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat consumption, your body enters a metabolic state called ketosis. In ketosis, your body becomes more efficient at using fat stores for energy.
It can lead to weight loss and improved health markers, such as better blood sugar or blood glucose control and reduced inflammation.
Summary
The Keto diet is a low-carb diet that helps your body enter the ketosis metabolic state. Ketosis happens when your body turns to fat stores for energy.
Transitioning from carbs to fat for energy can be challenging when starting the keto diet. To enter ketosis, you should limit your daily carb intake to 20 to 50 grams and increase both fat and protein consumption.
Typically, it takes healthy people—those who don't have diabetes and aren't pregnant—two to four days to reach ketosis.1
For example, if you’re following a 2,000 daily caloric limit when doing a Keto diet, your macronutrient breakdown might be:
Summary
To enter a ketosis state, limit your carb intake to 20 to 50 grams daily and increase your fat and protein consumption.
The Keto diet is often beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes because it can lower blood sugar levels. While each person’s response to changes in macronutrients may vary, many find the Keto diet a powerful tool for managing their condition.
However, switching to a Ketogenic diet for type 2 diabetics has some risks. It may cause dangerously low blood glucose levels or a condition called hypoglycemia.
It’s crucial to monitor your blood sugar and ketone levels consistently. By doing so, you can adjust your diet according to how your blood sugar levels fluctuate.
Summary
The Keto diet helps people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels. However, it may cause your blood sugar level to drop too low (hypoglycemia).
The Keto diet focuses on low-carb intake, which helps the body maintain low but healthy blood glucose levels.
By reducing carbs, the diet can help control blood sugar and possibly prevent sudden spikes in blood sugar levels.
The other benefits of the Keto diet for people with diabetes include improvements in blood sugar control clinical markers and overall metabolic health:2
Summary
By reducing your carb intake, the Keto diet helps regulate blood glucose. It helps improve clinical markers of blood sugar control and overall metabolic health.
The Keto diet focuses on low-carb, high-fat options that keep your body in ketosis. Here are a variety of foods you can enjoy while following the diet.
Fats are often associated with negative health outcomes. But there are healthier fat sources that can be included in a diet. The Ketogenic diet encourages you to choose healthier fat sources.
The Keto diet recommends consuming naturally occurring and minimally processed fats, such as
The diet also suggests saturated fat sources, like butter, lard, coconut oil, and cocoa butter.
It's essential to consume protein on a keto diet, but be mindful not to overdo it. Excess protein can disrupt ketosis. Opt for high-fat and low-carb protein sources, such as:
While fruits and veggies are generally healthy, those on a keto diet must be selective. Focus on low-carb fruits such as berries in small servings.
You may also have moderate quantities of low-carb vegetables like:
Summary
Naturally occurring and minimally processed fats, high-fat and low-carb protein sources, and low-carb fruits and veggies are the best foods to eat in a Keto diet.
One of the biggest concerns with the keto diet is its potential impact on cholesterol levels.
High cholesterol causes severe health problems, including hardening of the arteries and restricted blood flow, increasing someone’s risk of stroke and heart attack.3
The keto diet's high-fat consumption, including saturated fats, raises concerns about increased bad cholesterol levels, especially for people with diabetes.
Remember that there are two types of cholesterol – HDL (good) and LDL (bad). The Keto diet can affect both types.
If you're managing diabetes with a keto diet, you must be aware of your cholesterol levels and monitor them regularly to prevent additional health complications.
Summary
It's important to check your cholesterol levels regularly on a Keto diet. This can help prevent additional health complications since the diet focuses on high-fat and high-protein intake.
Yes, the Keto diet is different from a diabetes diet. These two are different blood sugar management options.
While both diets recommend reducing carbs, a diabetes diet incorporates healthy carbohydrates, focusing on plenty of vegetables, proteins, and a moderate amount of fruit. In contrast, a keto diet emphasizes higher fat intake and lowered carbohydrate consumption.
Diabetic dieters are encouraged to limit carbs from processed grains, junk food, and sugary foods but still include whole grains. Unlike the Keto diet, they're advised not to over-consume fats and oils.
Before starting the Keto diet journey, it is crucial to consult with a healthcare professional to ensure that the dietary plan provides a safe and effective approach to managing your condition.
Summary
A Keto diet is different from a diabetes diet. They have different dietary approaches to treating diabetes. But both diets can help regulate your blood sugar levels.
As with any restrictive diet, the Keto diet has potential risks ranging from mild to serious.
The most serious risk is the higher consumption of saturated fats. Health experts recommend limiting saturated fat intake to no more than 7% of your daily calories when on a Keto diet to avoid risks of heart disease.4
A limited variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains may lead to deficiencies in essential micronutrients, particularly selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamins B and C.
High-fat intake puts pressure on the liver, as it needs to metabolize much fat. If you have existing liver issues, the Keto diet may exacerbate them.
Excessive protein consumption can strain the kidneys. Aim for 46 to 56 grams of protein daily on a Keto diet.
A lack of high-fiber foods in the diet can result in constipation.
The brain uses sugar from healthy carbs for cognitive functions like thinking, memory, and learning. Without carbs, you may experience confusion, mood swings, fuzzy thinking, and irritability.4,5
Summary
The risks of the Keto diet can range from mild to severe. It can potentially affect your liver and kidney. It can also cause symptoms like constipation and mood swings.
