Chances are, either you or someone you know has type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This disease is incredibly common, affecting over 34 million people in the US alone. In addition, cases are expected to rise a whopping 55% by 2035.
What is type 2 diabetes?
If you are familiar with diabetes, you’ve likely heard of insulin as well. Your pancreas produces insulin in response to sugar intake. Insulin regulates blood sugar levels by enabling glucose to enter the cells in your muscles, liver, and fat tissue so it may provide much needed energy for your body.
However, in cases of T2DM, your body becomes resistant to insulin or does not produce enough to efficiently process blood sugar. This frequently goes unnoticed until the disease advances to a point of developing challenging symptoms.
Common symptoms include:
- fatigue
- excessive thirst
- frequent urination
- hunger
- blurred vision
- Numbness in hands or feet
Who’s at the greatest risk of developing T2DM?
There are a variety of factors that contribute to T2DM risk. With that said, over 85% of people living with T2DM are overweight or obese. This suggests weight and body composition is the leading contributor to disease onset. Thankfully, T2DM is highly preventable and treatable by making key lifestyle and dietary changes. For example, the ketogenic diet is rapidly gaining popularity as an effective medical nutrition therapy to manage symptoms in recent years.
Keto at a glance
Let’s delve into the ketogenic diet. This approach to nutrition and weight loss has become incredibly popular. The keto diet involves consuming a very limited amount of carbs with a high amount of fat and protein. This tricks your body into believing you are fasting. As a result, your liver starts creating ketones as an alternative fuel source, also known as ketosis.
When we enter a state of nutritional ketosis, your body reduces the intestinal absorption of sugar (monosaccharides). From here, overall blood glucose levels are decreased, regulating overall blood glucose metabolism.
Nutritional vs diabetic ketosis
For those of you who live with T2DM, you have likely already heard of the term diabetic ketosis. This happens when this disease is uncontrolled. During diabetic ketosis, you begin to accumulate excessive ketones in the body. If not addressed, it can lead to serious and potentially fatal health consequences.
Thankfully, nutritional ketosis does not carry the dangers to your health like diabetic ketosis. That’s because with nutritional ketosis, your pH levels remain within normal limits, your blood glucose levels are reduced, and your circulating ketones remain in a safe range of 0.5-3mmol/L.
How the ketogenic diet may help improve T2DM symptoms
Experts continue to study the role of the keto diet in T2DM management, with promising findings. Research suggests that consuming less than 55 grams per day of carbs combined with a high fat and protein intake improves sensitivity and weight loss in type II diabetics.
With that said, some nutrition experts have differing opinions on the safety of a high fat and protein diet on the kidneys and overall blood lipid levels. This controversy inspired researchers to delve into this topic further in an effort to gain more insight on the matter.
Meta Analysis of studies on keto for T2DM
In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis, researchers reviewed studies to date that assessed the effects of a ketogenic diet on people who’ve been diagnosed with T2DM. Thirteen studies with the combined total of 567 participants were included.
What did the research find?
Those who consumed a ketogenic diet experienced a significant improvement in insulin sensitivity, weight loss, decreased waste circumference, and lipid markers.
For those of you who would like the specifics, patients experienced the following changes, on average:
- Fasting blood glucose levels decreased by 1.29 mmol/l
- Hemoglobin A1C decreased by 1.07%. Hemoglobin levels provide you with an idea of your long term blood sugar levels, unlike the snapshot you get from measuring glucose.
- Triglyceride decreased by 0.72 mmol/l
- Total cholesterol decreased by 0.33 mmol/l
- LDL, also referred to as “bad cholesterol” decreased by 0.05 mmol/l
- HD, or “good cholesterol” increased by 0.14 mmol/l
- Weight decreased by 8.66 kg
- Waste circumference decrease by 9.17cm2
- BMI decreased by an average 3.13
As for side-effects, some patients experienced the following symptoms over the first two weeks: fatigue, nausea, constipation, or diarrhea. Others experienced mild constipation and low blood pressure when standing after 10 weeks. However, symptoms were not considered clinically significant as they were mild and only lasted a brief period.
The take away
If you are concerned you may be at risk for T2DM, testing your hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) levels is the first crucial step to find the answers you need. HbA1C status provides you with an idea of your long term blood sugar levels, unlike the snapshot you get from measuring blood glucose levels. Let’s Get Checked offers an in-home test to help you get the answers you need, all from the comfort of your home. Use code ‘GOHEALTH20’ for 20% off your order.
It’s important to contact your health provider if you would like to explore whether the ketogenic diet may help you manage your T2DM. When it comes to medical nutrition therapy, working with a registered dietician is key to safely integrate nutritional changes in your treatment plan.
Source
Citation
Missy Sturges. Can the ketogenic diet help you manage type II diabetes? Go Integrative Health, 2021.