In this article we will cover what a Ketogenic diet is and if you can manage your diabetes while on this diet.
This is a highly controversial topic, but we will break down everything here for you!
As a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), I have to tell you from the start I will have a biased view here. Sorry, but I feel that I need to be completely honest right up front! I will however, present all the evidence that is available currently on the subject.
As a CDE, I have been taught to follow the American Diabetes Association Dietary Guidelines for Americans which is low in carbohydrates, high in fiber, with fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. The Ketogenic Diet this article will be discussing is much lower in carbohydrates, in order to promote the state of nutritional ketosis, or the fat burning state for weight loss.
What is a Ketogenic Diet?
The Ketogenic Diet is a low carbohydrate diet, consisting initially of less than 20 carbohydrates per day. Not per meal, yes, you heard me correctly, per day. It is not for the faint of heart and yes I am writing from experience. Of course I have tried it! Hasn’t everybody in America at some point who has wanted to lose weight? Does it work you ask? Of course it does! The problem is how long can you keep it up?
Your body uses the carbohydrates you eat for energy, so if we restrict how many carbohydrates we eat, the body has to get its fuel source from fat. A byproduct of this fat burning state are ketones which are produced; this is called nutritional ketosis. You can determine if you are in this fat burning state by purchasing urine ketone testing strips from your local pharmacy.
The Ketogenic Diet with Diabetes
Some precautions must be made clear;
- this diet is not appropriate for people with any stage of kidney disease.
- this diet is not for people who are pregnant, nursing or who have Gestational Diabetes.
There are also other considerations such as the possibility that you may need to rapidly change your medications while on this diet. If you are considering the Ketogenic Diet, I urge you to first speak with your physician or endocrinologist to develop a plan.
Since you will be drastically reducing the amount of carbohydrates you are consuming, that may require a medication adjustment. Then, once you begin to lose weight, you may require medication adjustments.
What to eat and what not to eat in a ketogenic diet
For starters, forget about eating anything white essentially on the Ketogenic Diet. No more potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, cake, pies or sweets.
You can eat any meat (without coating on it like fried chicken), fish or poultry, soft, full fat cheese, eggs, salad and no starch vegetables, olives, half of an avocado, butter, oils, and certain sugar free foods and drinks.
When Steve contacted TheDiabetesCouncil, he wanted to know where to find information on meal plans for the Ketogenic Diet. There are many resources online where you can search for meal plans for the Ketogenic Diet. There are also many books you can purchase at your local bookstore. The Atkins Diet is the most well- known Ketogenic Diet in its Induction Phase which is the first 2 weeks in this diet.
I must tell you when looking at this link they say the American Diabetes Association Guidelines call for 60-75 carbohydrates per meal and that is simply not true. The ADA has recommended since 2013 we use our best clinical judgement in recommending a low carbohydrate diet for people with diabetes, recognizing it needs to be individualized. 60-75 grams is the carbohydrate amount I would give to a very tall, large boned man or perhaps an active teen or young adult. I would never recommend that many carbohydrates for an average size man who was trying to lose weight; he would get 45-60 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15-30 grams for snacks. A women trying to lose weight would get 30-45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 grams for snacks.
Can a Ketogenic Meal Plan Be Used to Prevent Diabetes?
Obviously, if you could keep the weight off, it may help in preventing diabetes. There are many risk factors for diabetes, but the Diabetes Prevention Program in 2002 followed 1,079 people with prediabetes. This groundbreaking study showed that 58% were able to prevent the progression of developing diabetes through diet and exercise. Want to know what the great news is? They didn’t have to eat 20 carbohydrates per day to achieve this!
Can a ketogenic diet reverse diabetes?
I can’t tell you how often through the years I have been asked the question, “If I lose 20 pounds, will I no longer have diabetes?” Let me answer this very clearly, there is currently no cure for diabetes. Once you have been diagnosed, you have it for life. Every day, our most brilliant researchers are busy searching for a cure though. There is good news however; you can manage your diabetes, get it under control, prevent all the complications of diabetes and live a normal, healthy life.
Is the Ketogenic Diet Safe For Women With Gestational Diabetes?
If you are pregnant or are nursing, you should not follow a Ketogenic diet. You will not receive enough of the recommended carbohydrates, vitamins and nutrients necessary for yourself and your growing baby on this diet. Your obstetrician will recommend how many carbohydrates you should consume per meal and for snacks during each phase of your pregnancy. They will likely refer you to a Certified Diabetes Educator for nutritional counseling as well. Please check out The Diabetes Council’s FAQ’ About Gestational Diabetes for all your gestational diabetes related questions.
Whether you have gestational diabetes, or pre-existing Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes and have now become pregnant, all the same rules still apply when it comes to dietary guidelines. Carbohydrate intake will be moderated, and you will need to consult your obstetrician to determine your individual recommendations.
When you are pregnant and/or nursing, you need a well-rounded diet with foods from all of the food groups; fruits, vegetables, proteins, breads, grains, and especially milk and other forms dairy for your daily intake of vitamins C and D. Vitamins C and D are essential to proper bone growth for your developing baby.
As a Certified Diabetes Educator, I was taught to educate my gestational diabetes and pregnant patients with diabetes to avoid fruits and dairy before noon. I know this is hard! That’s when you all are craving that glass of orange juice, but that’s the whole point here. We need you to give up that orange juice for the next six or so months for the sake of your baby. Instead, you can have a real orange with lunch; try it with a spinach salad with tuna salad and whole wheat pita. The nutritional value is pumped up by all those vitamins and the spike on your blood glucose will be reduced dramatically by the fiber in the real fruit combined with the protein you had in your lunch. You can even have a glass of milk; you’ve included all of your necessary food groups, and you are still only at 45 carbohydrates for the whole meal!
Can A Ketogenic Diet Cause Diabetes?
The good news here is no! All the evidence points to the fact that a low carbohydrate diet actually does lower blood glucose and A1c levels and does contribute to weight loss. The problem is we do not yet have enough large studies, over enough sustained years to support evidence that people with diabetes can remain on a highly restrictive Ketogenic Diet for the rest of their life and also not have other consequences to their health.
Firstly, I am highly skeptical that anyone can sustain such a restrictive diet long term without it having a negative impact somewhere else in their life. At some point, they will start stressing about what or what they are not eating. That stress is going to lead to many other harmful consequences to their bodies.
Secondly, I for one could not be happy knowing that I had to limit my diet so drastically from for the rest of my life. Let’s face it, our lives our built around our meals. My husband is texting me before noon each day asking what our dinner plans are each day.
One study from 2003 followed 132 participants; half on a low carbohydrate diet restricting them to less than 30 carbohydrates per day, the other half on a low fat diet. These participants were then followed up with after one year. It was found that 34% had dropped out, not being able to sustain such restrictive diets even for one year.
Now, I know what you are going to say, “I can take a break from the diet anytime.” What do you think happens when you take that “break”? As soon as you start consuming a normal amount of carbohydrates again, you immediately go out of ketosis or the fat burning state, and your body starts storing fat again immediately. In other words, you immediately start gaining weight. So whatever weight you lost on the diet, you gain back right away. How healthy do you think it is for your body to be in a starvation mode, then in a feeding frenzy, making up for lost time?
Thirdly, you cannot get all the nutrition you need from this diet. You need foods from all of the food groups for a healthy body. Now, I can already hear some of you arguing with me…the cavemen didn’t have access to fresh fruit. Nope, they sure didn’t and look how long they lived. What was their average lifespan?
Herein lies the problem. I believe the solution is moderation. Moderation in the number of carbohydrates you consume every day and in when you consume them.
Is it good or bad for people with Diabetes?
The short answer here is it definitely depends on the type of diabetes that you have, but the ketogenic diet does seem to have health benefits and consequences for all types of diabetes.
As I stated earlier, and forgive me if I am blunt, forget it if you are pregnant. Momma, you need your nutrition!
For people with Type 1 Diabetes, you probably have heard of their diabetic emergency, diabetic ketoacidosis, also referred to as DKA. This can be life threatening condition for people with Type 1 diabetes and Certified Diabetes Educators spend many hours teaching preventive care for DKA. This condition should not be confused with nutritional ketosis, the fat burning state reached when following the Ketogenic diet. The two conditions are quite different.
So, is the Ketogenic Diet safe for people with Type 1 Diabetes?
One study from 2005 followed 22 people with Type 1 Diabetes for 12 months. The difference here however is they consumed 70-90 grams of carbohydrates per day versus the restrictive less than 20 grams per day on the Ketogenic Diet. Remember my motto? Moderation is the key! The results were positive; less hypoglycemia, insulin requirements were reduced and their A1c dropped from 7.5% to 6.4%.
Does the Ketogenic Diet Benefit People With Diabetes?
The jury is still out on this important question! In my humble opinion, the limited research we have so far simply does not support that it does.
There have not been very many studies done and of these studies, the data is very limited or they have serious flaws.
Either there are very few participants in the studies, they don’t have an even number of males vs. females, or they don’t last but a few months. One study only looked at 28 people; only 21 completed the study and 20 of these participants were men. On top of this, they were only followed for 16 weeks. Okay, so we see that 20 men can limit their carbohydrates severely for 4 months and lose weight which automatically makes their A1c come down. Great! So, the real question is, how long can these 20 men stay on this diet for the rest of their lives? How long would you like to go without eating any fresh fruit? I’m craving some now, so I’m taking a break to go grab a snack now!
Ok, I feel better! Let’s finish this up!
In a study that was sponsored in part by the Atkins Foundation in 2004; 105 participants with Type 2 diabetes were followed for one year. Half followed a low carb diet (Atkins), the other half a low fat diet.
Ok, let’s break this down. So with this study you have a decent number of participants…I would love to see 1000, but 105 is certainly better than 20. Many ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds were represented. There were a closer number of males versus females included in the study. Lastly, they were followed for a longer period of time, a full year.
The suspense is killing you isn’t it? No real differences in either A1c or weight loss in the two groups; in other words, they lost about the same amount of weight (3.4%) and no change in their A1c levels.
19% of the people had dropped out by the one year mark however, which again, supports my theory that over the lifespan, severely limiting your diet is unsustainable. And come on people, why would you even want to risk your health or mental well-being on something that science hasn’t even proven as beneficial?
Case in point, Steve Richert has Type 1 Diabetes and his September 1, 2015 blog The Ketogenic Diet and Type 1 Diabetes: What I Eat. He gave it the good old college try and has fearlessly came back and showed us all his results. His cholesterol increased, which just like mine, was due genetic factors, but was exacerbated by the Ketogenic Diet. So, what’s the best part of Steve’s story? He’s coming close to being right in line with what I would recommend for him! Moderation and the mediterranean diet; he’s currently trying a modified ketogenic diet or really a modified mediterranean diet. Brilliant and exactly what we all should be doing!
Some interesting stats
Insulin concentration before and after diets:
I’ve been there and have tried the Ketogenic Diet. It’s very difficult even though I am a very determined and goal oriented person. When I set my mind up to do something, I will normally achieve it because I am just so stubborn about personal goals that I don’t give up until I do! Yes, you will lose a lot of weight quickly, but I am not interested in giving up bread, pasta and birthday cake for the rest of my life.
The fact is, the stress that you will bring on yourself from constantly restricting every single thing you put in your mouth is far more detrimental to your health. Remember, moderation is the key! You can count your carbohydrates and follow a sensible low carbohydrate diet to control your blood glucose and your weight. Exercise will always be the key component to add that contributes to added weight loss.
My pick for the healthiest meal plan for diabetes? My favorite is the Mediterranean Diet. It’s high in fiber, low in saturated fats and includes no processed foods which is the challenge for all of us at this point in history. If we could all eat like they do in Italy and Greece! Think of Sicily and the coasts of Greece where their diet consists of fresh fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, beans, seeds, olives and olive oil, lean meats such as chicken and pork, some eggs and little red meat. The American Heart Association recommends it as well as the American Diabetes Association as being one healthy diet choice for people with diabetes.
My best advice, always consult your physician first regarding what type of diet you should be on! Then, team up with a Registered Dietician and/or a Certified Diabetes Educator to develop a meal plan with an individualized carbohydrate count for you.
References
- http://www.diabetes.org/newsroom/press-releases/2016/2015-202-dietary-guidelines-to-promote-healthier-living.html
- http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/11/3821.full
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1282458/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15148064
- http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/is-ketosis-dangerous
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16454166?access_num=16454166&link_type=MED&dopt=Abstract
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1325029/
- http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/7/1147
- http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Mediterranean-Diet_UCM_306004_Article.jsp#
I have diabetes 2, and IBS lrrable bowl systrem. ..it bounces with the other. Helpn.addington
Having both Type 2 diabetes and IBS is very challenging when it comes to meal planning. Following a diet for diabetes, while trying to identify foods that may trigger your IBS will be your first course of action. Here’s a link that will help identify some of these trigger foods: https://www.verywell.com/ibs-and-diabetes-1945195
My best advice is if you haven’t started working with a Registered Dietitian (RD) yet, ask your physician for a referral. They will be a wealth of knowledge regarding meal planning for both of these disorders, especially if you see a RD, Certified Diabetes Educator.
Best of luck to you!
You are so biased against Keto, this can be noticed very quickly because almost every positive thing you say about Keto, you immediately follow with a “but…” negative statement. And most of your negatives are simply saying it’s hard to maintain. You completely exaggerate the negatives “If you have one bad day and your body is kicked out of Ketosis, you immediately gain all of your weight back”. That is simply not true; if someone is on a Keto diet for 3 months, they will not gain that weight back in a day. Also, their body will be back into Ketosis the next morning. You say that the ADA doesn’t recommend 60-70 grams per meal, but it does (coincidentally I just left their website before coming here). I don’t claim to be a Diabetes expert; I admit that. But your bias is leaning heavily against Keto. “Moderation” is not your goal if you have diabetes. When you compare HbA1C levels, for example, you compare them with someone in Keto at less than 20 g of Carbs per day as compared to someone at a 70-90 gram of carbs per day diet. You should be fair and compare them with someone on a 200 g of Carbs diet. If you want to get rid of the effects of Diabetes, get on a Keto Diet, period. It MAY get rid of the effects completely, but in the very least it WILL reduce your Insulin needs to very low and you’ll have little-to-no side effects other than a relatively restrictive diet (most diets are WAY more restrictive than Keto). You back up everything with “science” and misleading numbers/arguments without providing any real evidence.
Hi Edward,
As a Certified Diabetes Educator, we have been recommending the same amount of carbohydrates for our patients with diabetes for years with tremendous results. This part of my article explains the ADA recommendation regarding their nutrition guidelines and what every Certified Diabetes Educator I’ve ever met recommend to their patients:
I must tell you when looking at this link they say the American Diabetes Association Guidelines call for 60-75 carbohydrates per meal and that is simply not true. The ADA has recommended since 2013 we use our best clinical judgement in recommending a low carbohydrate diet for people with diabetes, recognizing it needs to be individualized. 60-75 grams is the carbohydrate amount I would give to a very tall, large boned man or perhaps an active teen or young adult. I would never recommend that many carbohydrates for an average size man who was trying to lose weight; he would get 45-60 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15-30 grams for snacks. A women trying to lose weight would get 30-45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 grams for snacks.
As CDE’s, we individualize our recommendations for each of our patients. One person’s diet may not be appropriate for another person. For example, a six foot 6 inch tall man weighing 220 lbs of mainly muscle, who exercises 2 hours per day at the gym cannot have the same number of carbs per meal as a petite 5 foot 1 inch 75 year old lady who does not exercise.
We do recommend everyone eat something every 4-5 hours to maintain a healthy metabolism. If your meals are more than 4-5 hours apart, a snack consisting of a protein and a carbohydrate is a great choice. The protein will help fill you up quicker and keep you feeling satisfied between meals. The protein also has a slower effect on your blood glucose than most carbohydrates, so when paired with carbohydrates, your blood sugar will not spike nearly as high. We recommend eating a protein with every meal and snack.
I hope this information helps Edward!
Why ADA has such a strong stance against keto diet? When will ADA update their information and be in sync with the latest information.
I am in no way suggesting ADA is spreading incorrect information but there are things that needs to be updated.
For instance the recommended carbs per day on health.gov is not correct and it’s one of the reasons we have epidemic of diabetes.
The current recommendations for carbohydrate consumption is 130g/day. This is absolutely correct! This equates to the equivalent of about 30-40g per meal and one or two snacks with no more than 15g per snack. This is LOWER than previous ADA recommendations for people with T2DM!
Edward, can you share your experience with Keto? Would love to hear from more people like you.
I’m not Edward, but I’ve been on a keto diet for 3 weeks. I don’t find it difficult at all. I’ve attended 2 birthday parties, and it’s easy to say “No thank you” when I’m offered cake because my health is my top priority. Drinking a lot of water to support the kidneys is an absolute must. Also, supplementing sodium, potassium and magnesium keeps electrolytes in balance. A Naturopathic doctor is a great source of information on true lifestyle modifications.
Thanks for posting this Edward. While I agree that the thought of a lifetime without any sweets or any grains sounds miserable, it’s even more miserable every time I see a number above 120 on my meter, which is guaranteed to happen every time I eat even a few bites of one of those foods. Yeah, it’s stressful (and cortisol is just as much of a pain as T2D), but I want a better life and a life off of drugs. I was on three orals and two shots of insulin daily.
What the doctors never tell you is that you could also just eat completely different and take none of this crap. So that’s what I did. I stopped all of them all at once. Sure I don’t recommend that, but this damn disease and my disgusting visceral fat filled stomach ruined every aspect of my life-professional, relationships, sexual, mental. I am now 41 living back at home having to start from the bottom. I don’t want what the book recommends. I want every disgusting piece of fat off this body so I can excel again. If staying in ketosis every moment for the rest of my life will get me there then that’s what I’m going to do.
I lived the last 10 years with this disease and a mentality of “Well all those other people around me are eating and drinking this stuff, so I want to be normal like them” I’m lucky that mentality didnt kill me. I’ve had A1C of 12, bad cholestoral in the high 600s and triglycerides of almost 2000. And yes, the author is right, our lives are ridiculously built around food. That’s why we have an obesity epidemic in this country. I am the only person I know that eats healthy. Everywhere I went for the last 10 years I was surrounded by food and drink. Oh well. Moderation is only the key for people with good genes. For people like me, sacrifice is the key. I don’t want a normal life anymore. Excuse my vulgarity, but I want energy, six pack abs, and a hard dick again. This disease wrecked my life and I’m never going back there again.
Oh Mike, I just cried when I read this. Jesus…you are right on so many different levels. For you, this sacrifice is a total game changer. It’s changing every aspect of your life and yes I am very happy you were brave enough to divulge the erectile dysfunction (ED) issue also. It’s one of the biggest (no pun intended lol) issues for teens and men and the reason they get on board quickly with getting back on track! Once they learn their high blood sugars are the actual cause of the ED, they are extremely relieved and happy to learn any way to lower their blood glucose levels!
As far as the Ketogenic Diet is concerned, I think I am going to have to make a full about-face. As you said, for some people like yourself, you were unable to eat in moderation and feel it is due to your genetic makeup. This is probably true…to add insult to injury, in addition to genetics, it could also be an inflammatory process going on due to the sugary drinks and processed foods we are eating causing obesity and a host of other issues.
I have to also face the fact that some people are also addicted to sugary drinks and food and this is the way they get off of their addiction. Just like an alcoholic cannot drink alcohol, a person addicted to carbs probably shouldn’t be eating sweets.
So, on the Ketogenic Diet, you are successfully working towards losing the weight and getting your blood glucose levels under control. Please let me know how you are doing…if you want to share how long you’ve been on the diet and any details, I would love to keep up with you!
The main thing is you’re preventing the complications any type of uncontrolled diabetes can cause. That’s all we want. To see everyone happy and healthy and enjoying their lives! Thank you so much for sharing Mike, you are the best!
Bravo, Edward!
Yes!! Edward!! I am pre-diabetic myself and have IBS which many doctors have no explanation for many of my questions because IBS triggers everyone differently and with different foods. I have been keto for 6 weeks and have lost 14lbs and have not noticed any symptoms of IBS even when I eat trigger foods (onion/garlic) I am no means 100% keto yet because I have had slip ups here and there but I jump right back in. I can’t imagine not following this way of life moving forward. I immediately feel the difference if I indulge in anything more then I should. Im learning to listen to my body and now see carbs/sugar is what has been causing madness on my body. Keto-on Edward!
Also, to the author I do appreciate you stating you are bias up front, but I do get to indulge with some fruit/berries when I want. You dont give up everything forever but you learn to fit them into your macros. I have learned to make Keto ice cream and fat bombs if the urge comes along. I have learned to take keto friendly foods along to potlucks that everyone loves. Keto can be a way to follow forever but everyone has their own needs for their bodies. I am new to this but finding it easier and easier to remain keto
“As soon as you start consuming a normal amount of carbohydrates again, you immediately go out of ketoacidosis or the fat burning state”. I am sure you know the difference between nutritional ketosis and ketoacidosis yes? One is the natural fat burning state, and the other is toxic. Right now i am in ketosis but not ketoacidosis. One has a natural balance of Ph level, the other not. Once you make that statement, i have a sick feeling i am not getting the right information here.
Hi Edward,
Yes, it was a typo and thank you so much for pointing it out; we have corrected it. I do address the differences between Nutritional Ketosis and Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) in the beginning and later near the end of the article:
Your body uses the carbohydrates you eat for energy, so if we restrict how many carbohydrates we eat, the body has to get its fuel source from fat. A byproduct of this fat burning state are ketones which are produced; this is called nutritional ketosis. You can determine if you are in this fat burning state by purchasing urine ketone testing strips from your local pharmacy.
For people with Type 1 Diabetes, you probably have heard of their diabetic emergency, diabetic ketoacidosis, also referred to as DKA. This can be life threatening condition for people with Type 1 diabetes and Certified Diabetes Educators spend many hours teaching preventive care for DKA. This condition should not be confused with nutritional ketosis, the fat burning state reached when following the Ketogenic diet. The two conditions are quite different.
I have cared for many patients in DKA in the hospital setting throughout the years, both as a RN in a Medical ICU and as a Certified Diabetes Educator. I really love teaching preventive care to my Type 1 patients in the outpatient setting to ensure they have all the skills they need at home to never get to the point of DKA.
As far as the the Ketogenic Diet goes, it is a very personal decision between you and hopefully your physician. I would just recommend working closely with your physician for all the recommended lab tests to make sure you remain healthy while on the diet. That’s really the goal of any “diet” anyway, right? To get healthy? This is why we normally always recommend moderation with everything…moderation in the foods you eat along with moderate amounts of exercise equals a healthy lifestyle that will prevent diabetes or help you control your diabetes if you already have it.
Happy eating Edward and good luck!
This article is a perfect example of the misinformation regarding diabetes and insulin resistance. The authors stance against the ketogenic diet is a simple, “its just too hard, I cant live without fruit.” She projects her lack of willpower to her audience. Ketogenic diets are a great way to reduce insulin levels and get to the root of the problem.
The most frustrating part is her insistence on “moderation.” What does that even mean? Moderate amounts of ice cream or sugar that can trigger insulin spikes for days. This article is ignorance at its finest!
This is a helpful article. But there are some inaccurate things too. I have type two diabetes and use a keto genie diet to lose weight (45# so far). I was able to get my cholesterol down, Triggs down, and my A1C to 6! I went off and followed a Mediterranean diet for a year. I gained back 15# and my diabetes got worse. So I am back on keto. I am using a closer to Mediterranean keto both then and now.
I read in Authority Nutrition a review many studies that show LCHF diets are more effective. Studies not mentioned in your article. As for gaining weight back, The truth is anyone who stops a Healthy diet and returns to a crappy one will gain weight back.
Also your keto food pyramid is off; protein is not the base! Duke University has done a lot of clinical work and research with positive results. In addition before insulin Dr’s actually used keto to treat type two diabetes.
I appreciate that you are at least willing to look at keto. Thank you!
Hi Kate!
Thank you for your feedback! First of all, I want to congratulate you striving so hard to find a diet that works for you. That’s the difficult part for sure…finding a way to eat healthy while getting your weight in the normal range and your blood glucose under control.
It is true that before we had insulin, people with Type 1 Diabetes in particular were treated by severely restricting carbohydrates…so restrictive however, it was semi-starvation. Some patients actually died of starvation.
Luckily today, we do not have to treat any type of diabetes with this barbaric method. There are so many healthy food options for most people today in modern society. In America, most of us are blessed to have access to healthy food options. I did see the research that Dr. Westman has completed at Duke University and did reference one of his articles above (reference #7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1325029/). I have no doubt the diet works, I’ve done it and lost weight really fast, so I know from firsthand experience that it works. You will lose weight which will have wonderful effects on every aspect of your health. The problem I have is, can anyone go the rest of their life without consuming anything white EVER? Do you think every author of all those books actually does that? I would offer to put them all on a lie detector to prove that they haven’t lived 40 years without consuming one white thing or one fruit or anything with sugar in it. My question is, what quality of life do they really have if they have? I for one will NOT be giving up my or my family’s birthday cake!
After seeing thousands of patients now for years and from personal experience, I still believe it comes down to staying away from processed foods and cooking at home whenever possible. Eating a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, proteins, and fiber. Also, cutting out any sugary liquid calories; staying away from sodas, juices and the infamous sweet tea! Keeping stress levels under control and incorporating exercise into your routine will also be key to breaking through challenging times when you are having trouble with continued weight loss.
Also recognizing what worked 6 months to 1 year ago may not work today. Our bodies change over time and we have to adapt to those changes. So many factors affect your blood glucose levels; you will face hormonal changes, stress related changes, and your pancreas may not be working as well today as it did a year ago and we wouldn’t expect it to. Just as the heart of an 18 year old person is much stronger than it will be at the age of 50 years of age, your pancreas’ function will decline with age with the normal aging process. Many of my patients throughout the years have came to me feeling so defeated because now they have to go on medication or insulin. They are so relieved to hear this may not be due to anything they have caused by overeating or weight gain, it may be just the unfortunate natural progression of diabetes. Until we discover cures for the different types of diabetes, this is what we face.
I love your idea of a low carb/Mediterranean diet…it’s exactly what I would recommend! I hope this has helped some and good luck to you Kate!
You’re a diabetic counselor and are talking about being worried about not being able to eat birthday cake? Hell I’ve been on keto since July 2016 and haven’t felt any urge to go back, simply because I feel so much better. Also the diet is really not all that restrictive, you can make desserts using stevia/erythritrol, coconut/almond flour, etc. I had ketogenic pizza the other night and it turned out great. Lots of great resources out there for food options. I’m not diabetic myself, but I used to be prone to hypoglycemia and keto has eliminated the issue since I’m not dependent on glucose. There are a lot of wrong ways to do keto though, and doing the diet correctly has a moderate learning curve.
We all have different meanings for “quality of life” for me it means feeling good, with energy, no bloating, no heartburn, on my weight, normal glucose levels… for you it means having “white stuff” to eat, enjoy it while you eat it and then feeling bad about it, ’cause if you’re a diabetes educator you know (or at least you should) the harm it does to your body! I’m glad no one believed this biased article! It means everyone out there know what is real and what is not…
I’m sorry, this comment was for the author, I agree 100% with what you’ve said!
Kate can you share your keto experience?
Your pyramid is wrong. Fats should be on the bottom and protein above it. Its High Fat, Moderate Protein and Low Carb. Protein as your largest Macro would be something like an Atkins diet. High protein can convert to glucose and would not be effective.
I am not a fan of atkins diet.
Have you been following a keto diet to manage your diabetes Tami?
I see several inconsistencies, one being a strict 20 grams or less of carbs, most Keto followers I see aim for closer to 30, and even as high as 40 per day. I also see several times in this article her opinion that you cannot get all of your essential vitamins and minerals without eating fruits, and I’m no nutritionist, but this is far from the truth. The writers hatred for this w.o.e. Presents itself early and often in this article, and because they weren’t able to successfully stay away from sweets, and other carbs, they’re attempting to scare others away as well, especially pregnant women. She admits that she’s been taught to follow the ADA’s dietary guidelines which has been proven to fail. It sadly isn’t working. She recommends consulting your physician before attempting this w.o.e., I tried that and was instructed to follow the clean eating that I had followed for the first 15 years with type 1. The 60 grams of complex carbs in meals, and 20 or so with snacks. That way allowed me to ride a dangerous daily rollercoaster, with damaging highs, and very dangerous lows. Yet my Endo was pleased with my sub 7 a1c, even though I was always tired. I’ve practiced a very healthy way of eating long before being dxd with type 1, which probably makes it easier for me to continue living this way. Ultimately, the info is out there, and those able to avoid certain foods will be rewarded with non diabetic numbers… some say big food/pharmaceutical are doing all they can to end this “fad” I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but the simple fact that there will always be those that lack enough discipline to remain in ketosis should still present them with enough clientele.
Avoiding ‘sweets’ isn’t entirely true. While most people when they think of ‘sugary’ foods aka loads of carbs, however, sweet is more of a ‘taste’ and there are still many ketogenic recipes for desserts that taste sweet but still are low in carb. Clumping it into one word of sweets isn’t entirely true.
The ketogenic diet does take discipline and dedication to sticking to, but stating that it isn’t sustainable in the long-term isn’t necessarily true. There are many people who have the discipline to stick with this type of diet and to them it isn’t a “diet” at all, but a lifestyle.
Comparing cavemen to us right now in terms of lifespan isn’t a good comparison. Did they die strictly from lack of nutrition? Or did they die from diseases that we have eradicated? There wasn’t a coroner available then so we can’t say for 100% certainty that is was due to their diet.
“How healthy do you think it is for your body to be in a starvation mode, then in a feeding frenzy, making up for lost time?”
this is exactly how we evolved.
Tammi,
You say keto is a highly controversial topic. For those of us following a keto diet, there is no controversy whatsoever because the diet proves itself efficacious very quickly. I think the real controversy comes in because the ADA has been recommending dangerous levels of carbs for decades now, and they would lose face if they had to change their recommendation and admit they’ve been wrong for so long. You say there are not many studies on the keto diet, and I disagree with you. You’ll find the evidence if you look for it. Eric Westman, Steve Phinney, Jeff Volek and many other researchers have written volumes about this.
One aspect that is not often mentioned is carb cravings. Before I started a keto diet, every day I would have serious starchy- or sweet- carb cravings that were uncontrollable and HAD TO BE satisfied. The high-fat keto diet has pretty much eliminated those carb cravings. It is wonderful to not be under the control of those cravings anymore. I think the high success rate of keto diets is that you are not hungry and have no cravings.
We have all heard of essential fatty acids (EFAs) and essential amino acids (EAAs), but have you ever heard of essential carbohydrates? No. The human body is capable of burning fat for fuel. If the body can burn fat for fuel, why would you ingest a substance (carbohydrate) that raises your blood sugar, raises your insulin levels, and makes you sick? Why would the ADA advocate the very diet that made us sick in the first place? When are they going to admit they’ve been wrong and start doing what is in the best interest of diabetics?
Tammy, just because someone follows a keto diet doesn’t mean they can’t have their sweet treats. There are dozens of websites with hundreds of keto sweet treats and “fat bombs” made with stevia or other natural non-caloric sweeteners which will not raise blood sugars. One of my favorites is Keto Mocha Mousse https://www.ruled.me/keto-mocha-mousse/ which has 5 g net carbs per servings. We don’t have to be deprived on keto.
One of the keto researches commented, (I think it was Steve Phinney) that change will come about only because enough of the the public will be become educated about this and will demand that the ADA change their recommendations because those recommendations are just wrong. What is the proof they are wrong? If you eat 45-60 g of carb daily, you will continue to have diabetes, and the epidemic will continue as it has for the last 25 years.
I know you have to earn a living, Tammi, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, would you consider that what you are advocating, which was taught to you by mainstream medicine, might actually be harmful? And if it is, what will you do about it? That is the real controversy.
Hi Elizabeth,
I can tell how passionate you are about this subject. As you can see on one of my reply’s above, CDE’s do not recommend the same number of carbs for every person we see; we use an individualized approach. It varies depending on the person’s height, bone structure/muscle mass, amount of weight they may need to lose (or gain) and the amount of exercise they may or may not do per day/week.
As I told Edward:
The ADA has recommended since 2013 we use our best clinical judgement in recommending a low carbohydrate diet for people with diabetes, recognizing it needs to be individualized. 60-75 grams is the carbohydrate amount I would give to a very tall, large boned man or perhaps an active teen or young adult. I would never recommend that many carbohydrates for an average size man who was trying to lose weight; he would get 45-60 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15-30 grams for snacks. A women trying to lose weight would get 30-45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 grams for snacks.
As CDE’s, we individualize our recommendations for each of our patients. One person’s diet may not be appropriate for another person. For example, a six foot 6 inch tall man weighing 220 lbs of mainly muscle, who exercises 2 hours per day at the gym cannot have the same number of carbs per meal as a petite 5 foot 1 inch 75 year old lady who does not exercise.
These carbohydrate recommendations are not PER DAY, they are per meal. This is the major difference between Ketogenic diets and a consistent, low carbohydrate diet CDEs advocate for. 30-45 carbs per meal is considered a low carb diet. Eating this in the form of a Mediterranean diet is what I recommend and what my article outlined. In a perfect world, we try to have people steer clear of anything artificial or processed when possible. Just eat fresh foods, like our grandparents did, who never had these types of health problems.
There are many physiological reasons for eating enough carbohydrates throughout the waking hours to maintain a steady blood glucose level…a couple of important reasons are to minimize the hepatic release of glucose (from the liver) and to help prevent hypoglycemia which can be very dangerous and lead to hypoglycemic unawareness over a short period of time. Each person is different of course..if you aren’t taking insulin, or pills that lower your blood glucose levels, you may not have to worry about low blood sugars. The reality is, most people with diabetes do; it can be very dangerous for some to not get enough carbohydrates at each meal.
We are all supposed to be eating 5 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables per day. That provides you with all the essential vitamins and nutrients needed to run a healthy body along with the protein you choose to consume alone with them. I guess if you can fit those into a Ketogenic diet and make that work for you for a lifetime, I would have to say that is absolutely wonderful! I just know, I have a lot of willpower and I only made it 1 year back when I tried. It was just too restrictive. I see too many stories like that. The blogger I wrote about, all the studies, most participants had dropped out at 6 months. No study I have seen has shown anyone who has stayed on it for 10 years, 15, 20, 30, 40 years. If you know one, please let me know!
It’s your body, your health and together with your physician, I wish you luck on your journey! Let us know how long you’ve maintained it and please keep us updated!
Good luck Elizabeth!
Hi Tammy,
I have been eating a ketogenic diet for almost exactly one year, and I can’t ever imagine going back. Elizabeth lays it all out quite nicely — my favorite part is having almost no cravings whatsoever – talk about freedom! I won’t repeat her thoughtful message.
I’d like to add to her message and respond to yours a little.
It’s only dangerous to not get enough carbs at each meal if one is taking too much meds or insulin for the amount of carbs they are eating! Restricting carbohydrates doesn’t lead to hypoglycemia unawareness, but having lots of lows and lots of highs will (and decreasing insulin and carbs leads to way fewer highs and fewer lows, or at least it can). On the other hand, being in ketosis does make low blood sugars less negative as an experience. I still feel my lows just fine, but they are less of an emergency because my brain still works (feeding on ketones) and by body doesn’t freak out and release tons of adrenaline that then makes me want to eat a house. Mind you, I still wake up and know immediately if I’m low, I know from experience and how it feels in my head and body but without the crazy shakes. This is not unawareness but it is less reactive.
There are definitely people who have been eating this way for decades — there’s a facebook group of people who follow Dr. Bernstein (all are low carb, some are also keto) = TYPEONEGRIT and there are many on there who have been doing this for many years.
The crazy thing is it is not hard, if it matters. Sure I can see it being hard for someone who does it to lose weight, then when they get closer to their ideal, they want to have treats, etc. Well, for a type one diabetic there’s no end in sight, this is it, and it’s a relatively complication free life (many people reverse their complications when they bring their A1C down to normal) vs. one with inevitable complications. So, perhaps it was too hard for you after a year (you didn’t say, but I assume you are not a type one diabetic), but that is a choice you can make. Not I.
Thanks so much for starting this conversation and continuing to explore and learn along with the rest of us.
The comments defending the keto diet suggest that the individuals are successfully using the keto diet to help them maintain a healthy weight and a healthier A1C level. The individuals also suggest that they view it as a way of life rather than a diet. This is good news for many of us who are facing the question of whether it will be helpful and necessary to reduce carbohydrate intake to keto producing levels in order to halt or reverse the onset of type II diabetes. I think like those individuals, Tami is speaking from her own personal experience where she had success losing weight, but had difficulty maintaining the keto diet long-term. I am sure that though you have been successful, you can understand that there are many who might find it difficult to maintain. I too have been given very bad guidance by Medical Doctors who lean on old Med School information to practice medicine rather than continuing to broaden their knowledge base and learn more about nutrition. I cannot get back the 20+ years of suffering with a debilitating disease that could have been cured because my doctors were not well informed or willing to listen to information that disagreed with their limited knowledge base. Those years are gone and the destruction to my body is not reversible. So I understand the anger you feel toward a system that isn’t working in the best interest of the patient. But I think that expressing anger toward those who disagree with our personal experience, is not solving the problem. Hopefully we can change the ADA guidelines by respectfully urging them to reconsider their position based on the sheer volume of the comments they receive from successful people like you, who are living the keto diet lifestyle and living better. I commend you for becoming your own best health advocates. Thanks for your encouragement and your passion. And thanks to Tami as well for sharing her personal experience and the information she had collected. We all have to be true to what we believe and we all have a right to come to our own conclusions. It is good to know that there are success stories out there. I wish you all good health and continued success. I also hope that one day medical training will do a much better job of preparing doctors to become their patient’s best advocates, actively learning and searching for cures rather than treating symptoms in ways that cause even more disease to develop. The system is failing so many of us.
Tammy, responded to your message!
I’m sick of non-diabetic educators who pretend to know everything… sorry, but you should feel it by yourselves. I will only believe diabetic advice from diabetics
Thank you for your wonderful comments Marcia. To share more about me personally with you all…I am not a completely non-diabetic Certified Diabetes Educator. I found out I had Prediabetes 15 years ago when I became a Diabetes Educator. I tested my own A1c and found it was 5.8%. The incredible news? There have been years when my A1c dropped to a normal level of 5.4%…out of the prediabetes range. My last A1c in May was 5.8%, so I still have Prediabetes 15 years later, but not diabetes, and without any medication, just the sensible diet I’ve discussed and exercise, so I really am living with this. I feel it everyday, I wonder what my A1c is going to be just like you every 6 months when I go to have it drawn.
My A1c did jump to 6.0% 2 years ago when I injured both of my rotator cuffs through too much exercise. The constant pain and inflammation for 6 months caused the increase. Once I had the manipulation done, completed physical therapy and the pain was gone, my A1c dropped back to 5.8% again where it has stayed since.
Many CDEs actually have diabetes…it’s what draws them to choose this career…to help others with diabetes, to share their knowledge. Most already wear an insulin pump and continuous glucose sensors (CGMs) also. When I first became certified on each new pump and CGM, I would wear them (and check my BG 4-6 times per day) for 2-3 weeks, not only to learn the technology really well, but to gain a sense of how my patients must feel having to wear them 24 hours per day. Since, I’ve started a 6 month old baby on a insulin pump and CGM all the way up to a 89 year old…there are no boundaries for people with diabetes!
For me, I chose to become a CDE because I had worked as a Registered Nurse first on a medical unit, then in a Medical ICU. These are the units where most of the people with diabetes are, so I had seen every horrific complication that diabetes can cause. When I had a chance to become a Diabetes Educator…to actually help PREVENT some of those horrible complications…I jumped at the chance!
We really do only want to try and share the knowledge we have through seeing thousands of different patients with complex issues over decades with all of you. Physicians jump at the chance to have a CDE see their patients in their practice or in the hospital because they know our value. They know how thorough we are when assessing their patients and often find issues that may have been overlooked for years. It’s all we do all day, so it’s our specialty…diabetes. We live and breathe it and are very passionate about helping people overcome their hurdles. I do hope sharing some of my personal experience with all of you will help, but I am here if you all have more questions anytime!
I have type 1 diabetes, diagnosed in 2001 when I was 24 years old. I’m currently using an insulin pump. Managing my diabetes has always been incredibly difficult and taxing for me, but thankfully, I don’t have any major complications from it (other than being 40 lbs overweight due to serious insulin resistance).
I have to say that following a keto diet has made managing my diabetes A LOT easier. Trying to manage by covering 45g of carbs per meal, then watching my BG spike, then plummeting soon after, was a daily norm for me. I hated it and no matter how many ways my doctors adjusted my pump settings, it just wasn’t working for me.
On keto, I’ve adjusted my basal rates and I barely need to bolus at all. My blood glucose numbers have definitely improved and what I find really extraordinary is that I’m needing about 60% less total daily insulin, than I did before starting keto. What’s even more fascinating to me is seeing a steady straight line across my pump for 6, 12, and even 24 hours – no crazy spikes or dips in my blood sugar.
AND i’m losing weight! I’m losing about 1 lb per week and actually have the energy again to workout regularly. If you have diabetes, you know how fatiguing of a disease it can be. I feel less sluggish, more “awake”, just better in general, while restricting my carb intake. Yeah, I miss some fruits, but I sure as heck don’t miss what I felt like after eating them. Besides, berries are allowed on keto 🙂
That alone tells me that keto is working for me. I hope my story has helped someone in some way.
Congratulations to you!! Keep up the good work. And, I have to say again, choosing the keto way of life as a type one diabetic is a lot easier than one would think, right?!. It is so rewarding, as you point out, and actually quite easy (lose the carb cravings and enjoy eating everything that you can!). I honestly feel more FREEDOM eating this way than I did eating the other way for 20 years and I love the normal sugars and better energy. Also the decrease in inflammation is awesome.
Of course I’m going to miss eating lots of fresh fruit – sugar is after all an addictive drug to the brain! But in reality I don’t miss it at all – though I do love my berries when I remember to have them.
Fruit is tasty and enjoyable, but it is not a necessity. As Elizabeth pointed out earlier, there are essential fatty acids and essential amino acids, there are no essential sugars/carbs. Also, there are plenty of vitamins and minerals in vegetables and nuts and seeds and eggs, etc. Fruit is mostly sugar, not mostly nutrition.
I love keto and I wish someone could have made me see the light many years earlier than I did.
I was diagnosed in 2004 with Brittle Type 1 diabetes, peripheral and autonomic neuropathy, and Hypothyroidism. A short time later with Gastroparesis due to the nerve damage from diabetes. Since then, I had followed every guideline and rule that the Endocrinologist and Primary Care Doctors had told me to follow. NOTHING WAS GETTING BETTER. In fact, I was gradually getting worse. So many ups and downs. Extreme highs (250-500 bgl ) to seizures from crashes (drop from 300 to 13 in no time). It was a constant battle with adjustments in insulin intake (and different insulins NPH, R, Novolog, Humalog, Lantus), carb intake, exercise and one contributing factor was the Gastroparesis. Meds were taken for the Gastroparesis but I always had side effects from meds. To my point. I was kicking a dead horse and I told them this. My sister and mom had come across the ketogenic way of eating and it dramatically improved thier lives. Mom was diagnosed way back with Type 2 and within a week or two she was off of her meds completely. I was totally interested. So, I decided to go for it on April 17, 2017. I did go through some rough patches of what they call Keto Flu. It did pass after a couple weeks. I was gaining so much energy like never before as well as mental focus. The even greater aspect of this all was, I had DRAMATICALLY LOWERED MY INSULIN INTAKE TO ALMOST NONE! My Lantus was always being adjusted from 30-40 units daily (and changed from AM to PM to splitting it to half AM, other half PM). I was on a sliding scale of Humalog or Novolog. From 4-6 units per meal and then there were the corrections throughout my day (some daily totals could be up to 40 UNITS)! Very exciting for me to only take 2 units of Lantus in the AM and daily totals of Humalog/Novolog….1.5-3 units! Other great things I began to notice, neuropathy pains were fading and finally GONE. No more nights up stinging, burning and RLS (restless leg syndrome). So, in my life, there are no questions or hardships on whether I can get off of this way of eating. It’s either do or die. If someone truly wants to have a better life, they can. The sad thing is, doctors and nutritionists aren’t being educated in the real facts. My primary care doctor isn’t willing to help me with all the labs I need nor listen. Always telling me “You need carbohydrates and insulin to live.” All that know me see the dramatic change for the better. I’m doing the Ketogenic way of eating with intermittent fasting for the rest of my life. The alternative IS NOT WORTH a lifetime of illnesses and suffering.