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Some doctors and other medical professionals confuse ketoacidosis, an extremely abnormal form of ketosis, with the normal benign dietary ketosis associated with ketogenic diets and fasting states in the body. They will then tell you that ketosis is dangerous.
The difference between the two conditions is a matter of volume and flow rate:
Here’s a table with actual numbers to help show the differences in magnitude:
Fact 1: Every human body maintains the blood and cellular fluids within a very narrow range between being too acidic (low pH) and too basic (high pH). If the blood pH gets out of the normal range, either too low or too high, big problems happen.
Fact 2: The human pancreas is an organ which secretes insulin, a hormone that helps the body manage blood sugar and fat storage. Without insulin, the body cannot utilize glucose for fuel in the cells, AND cannot store fat in the fat cells.
This is why one of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes is unexplained weight loss. Type 1 diabetics have pancreatic damage which results in [nearly] a complete lack of insulin production, and as a consequence, their fat cells have no insulin message telling them to “hold on to those fatty acids“.
Without that message from insulin, vast quantities of fatty acids flow out of the fat cells and are broken down in the liver into acetoacetic acid and D-3-hydroxybutyric acid (ketones). This is ketosis, but an unrestrained, abnormally excessive ketosis.
The danger of keto-acidosis is in the amounts of the ketone bodies being released. Because ketone bodies are slightly acidic in nature, and so many are released at once, they build up in the bloodstream.
The sheer volume quickly overwhelms the delicate acid-base buffering system of the blood, and the blood pH drops to become more acidic than normal.
It is this low pH, acidic condition known as acidosis which is dangerous, not the ketones themselves.
Acidosis symptoms include fruity breath, nausea, hyperventilation, (deep, rapid breathing) dehydration and low blood pressure, as the body tries to rid itself of the abnormal amounts of ketones through the lungs and urine.
If left untreated, ketogenic acidosis can result in a coma and death. Treatment includes the administration of insulin to slow the ketosis and fluid replacement.
Diabetics can develop diabetic ketoacidosis if they don’t inject enough insulin to compensate for activity and food levels.
Ketogenic acidosis can also happen during:
Health-e-Solutions comment: People with type 1 diabetes can have varying levels of insulin production, but typically do not have enough to keep blood sugars well-controlled without exogenous injections of insulin. Because ketosis does not require glucose to provide the body with ATP (the energy currency of the body), it can be a better way to manage blood sugars so long as the glucose levels remain well controlled. The Health-e-Solutions lifestyle can be ketogenic even though there are plenty of carbs. The carbs are primarily very low-glycemic and therefore have much less impact on blood sugars. This has been extremely beneficial for our two boys with type 1 diabetes, resulting in very stable blood sugars and no need for exogenous insulin injections.
Our and will teach you how to transform your lifestyle in a practical, livable way for long term sustainability and better living. You will enjoy a natural way to help manage type 1 and type 2 diabetes with healthy, alkalizing, very low-glycemic foods.
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