The ketogenic diet consists of eating a lot of fat, a sufficient amount of protein, and very few carbohydrates. It is among the most widely used diet plans. The ketogenic diet has encouraged the consumption of high-fat foods to become more widespread.
It has become extremely popular for weight loss. In addition, keto diets have a number of other advantages, such as their influence on glucose levels and enhancing insulin sensitivity.
Research has demonstrated that a ketogenic diet can modify one’s metabolism and reduce blood sugar levels. This does not mean, however, that it is effective for every person. Because people are all different, people may respond in different ways to the same meal.
Therefore, there is not a single set of instructions for the use of these regimens. In general, the body goes into ketosis and blood sugar levels decrease when the amount of carbohydrates taken in is less than 50 grams per day.
Nonetheless, your body could reach the ketosis level when you ingest fewer than 40 grams of carbs each day.
Does Ketogenic Diet Affect Glucose Levels
A diet plan that is centered around low carb consumption, with an emphasis on high fat and moderate protein intake, is known as a ketogenic diet.
Experts suggest that the macronutrients in a diet should be roughly 55-60% fat, 30-35% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrates. In a diet of 2000 calories per day, the recommended daily intake of carbohydrates should be between 20 and 50 grams.
A review of studies has demonstrated that carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body. If the body gets less than 50 grams of carbohydrates on a daily basis, it will lead to a drastic decrease in insulin production.
Then the body switches into a catabolic state. The catabolic state is a condition in which the body is primarily focused on breaking down, rather than building up.
Once the body begins to break down its tissues, it concentrates on providing energy for its cells. It activates the glycogen storage in the body and uses it as a fuel source. This process is known as glycogenolysis.
After a while, the body’s stores of glycogen are exhausted, causing the body to switch to gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis. The body has a method of dealing with low sugar levels.
Glucose is formed in the body, especially in the liver, from lactic acid, glycerol, and amino acids, a process known as gluconeogenesis. When there is not enough glucose, the body cannot produce enough glucose to satisfy its requirements.
Ketogenesis takes over to provide an alternate energy source. In this state, ketone bodies take the place of glucose as the primary source of energy. The amount of insulin released is reduced because the amount of sugar in the blood has decreased. It, in turn, reduces glucose storage and mobilizes fats.
Fats disintegrate into fatty acids, which are then processed into acetone and beta-hydroxybutyrate. These are the primary ketone bodies. Your body will store ketone bodies as long as you follow a ketogenic diet.
Nutritional ketosis is a condition in which ketone bodies are used as the primary energy source. It should be noted that this is a safe state, and is distinct from diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a pathological state.
Insulin Resistance and Nutritional Ketosis
Studies have indicated that insulin resistance is a perplexing metabolic situation that influences how energy is used. This causes fat to be stored in organs not usually associated with fat storage, such as skeletal muscle, the heart, and the pancreas.
It impairs the muscles’ capacity to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. This leads to the liver taking in glucose, which it then changes into and retains as fat.
Nutritional ketogenesis promotes the sensitivity of the insulin receptor. A ketogenic diet guarantees the availability of essential nutrients and keeps a caloric deficit.
Decreasing carbohydrate consumption brings down the ups and downs of insulin secretion, which leads to better sensitivity to insulin.
Diabetes and Ketogenic Diet
A diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates has a beneficial effect on blood sugar levels and increases the body’s responsiveness to insulin. Hence, it can be employed as a substitute form of medical care. Studies have indicated that the ketogenic diet is beneficial in decreasing HbA1c levels and controlling the body’s blood sugar.
People with diabetes who use insulin or oral medications for hypoglycemia can experience extreme low blood sugar levels. It is essential to have a conversation with your physician prior to beginning a different diet plan.
What CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) Can Do For Keto
There are many factors that can impact ketosis. The four main elements are what you eat, physical activity, rest and tension. It is not coincidental that the same four main factors that have an effect on ketone levels also have an effect on glucose levels.
Ketones and glucose are interconnected. Using a glucose or ketone meter gives an immediate picture of the body’s condition at that time. At the present time, there is no apparatus that can constantly monitor ketones.
However, we have the CGM in place, which keeps track of glucose levels constantly and should help sift through the chaos and differences. A CGM provides up-to-date information about what you are eating and any lifestyle habits you have.
This gives you exact and understandable information on what is influencing your blood sugar, which may be affecting your ketones. As an illustration, it can be tough for some people to reach and stay in ketosis. This is where CGM data can be so useful.
Identify Your Trigger Foods Using a CGM
Everyone has a unique response to carbs. We could compare the glucose responses of two different people if we had them both eat a banana. The results would likely be vastly different. This is because nutrition is very individualistic.
Figuring out how your body responds to certain carbohydrates and discovering which foods greatly raise your blood sugar level will assist in getting the most out of your ketogenic diet. Using a CGM, you won’t have to speculate if a particular food is causing you to no longer be in ketosis.
A CGM can give you the information necessary to make dietary changes and let you feel more relaxed. It is possible that you can handle consuming more carbohydrates than you initially believed.
Test Out “Keto-Friendly” Foods
Don’t believe those clever marketing labels! Not every “keto snack” is keto-friendly. If it is true, not everyone reacts favorably to them!
Foods that are suitable for a ketogenic diet may contain artificial sweeteners and highly processed starches, which can sometimes increase blood sugar levels. If you have a favorite “keto” food, try it out! A Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) will assist in giving you a better understanding of how your body reacts.
Meals that result in high and long-lasting increases in blood sugar (higher than 140 for more than 3 hours) should be limited.
For instance, a Nutrisense customer discovered that consuming Costco’s rotisserie chicken was resulting in major rises in their blood sugar. This appears to be strange, since chicken is typically a popular choice for those on the keto diet.
After examining the matter in greater detail, we discovered that the rotisserie chicken was injected with a number of extra components during the preparation process. These additional ingredients caused their glucose levels to spike.
Without the Continuous Glucose Monitor, we would not have been able to determine that this particular food was leading to a rise in glucose levels and disrupting the state of ketosis.
Experiment With Portion Sizes
Entering ketosis is one thing, however, remaining in ketosis is a completely different issue.
The quantity of carbohydrates that can be consumed while continuing to remain in ketosis varies from individual to individual. People who work out regularly and practice intermittent fasting may be able to eat more carbohydrates.
It is essential to be aware of your individual tolerance for carbohydrates for the purpose of maintaining a healthy diet and having metabolic versatility.
The Continuous Glucose Monitor can provide a great deal of information regarding how your body reacts to carbohydrates. A CGM can assist you in determining the optimal amount of carbohydrates to consume in a day, at individual meals, and when is the most advantageous time to eat those carbohydrates.
Test Your Protein Threshold
Much discussion is had in the keto community concerning the amount of protein that should be consumed – whether it is too much or not enough. The capacity of a single person to handle protein is highly individualized. It is advisable to experiment with both ketones and glucose to determine which works best for your body.
You probably need to keep tweaking your macronutrients until you determine what is best for you. Typically, the threshold for “excess” protein is very high.
Any surplus that isn’t used for fixing and maintaining tissues is changed into glucose for energy. Checking your blood sugar levels regularly will help identify any slight increases that may happen after eating too much protein.
Top Tips for Monitoring Glucose on a Keto Diet
It is commonly suggested by a number of well-known keto sources that consuming more than 30 grams of carbohydrates a day could lead to you no longer being in ketosis.
Test Your Carb Threshold
An initial trial you can run with a CGM while on a ketogenic diet is to ascertain your personal carbohydrate limit. Once you have achieved a stable condition of ketosis, you can begin to experiment with eating up to 30 grams of carbohydrates.
You would need to gradually raise your carbohydrate consumption, keeping track of your glucose and ketone levels every single day with your continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
For one meal a day, select something with more carbohydrates and have it after exercising or participating in physical activity.
Make sure to combine carbohydrates with proteins and fats for the most effective regulation of blood sugar levels. You might want to begin with 30 grams of carbohydrates daily, gradually increasing the amount by 10 g.
You can continue to increase your carbohydrate intake until the amount of ketones in your body in the morning is less than 0.5. When the measurement drops to less than 0.5, you have identified your carbohydrate limit.
Once you determine the maximum amount of carbs you can consume, you can either have that amount every day or just a few days a week. You may be amazed at how much carbohydrate you can eat in a day and still remain in a ketogenic state!
As a helpful hint, the more fasting and exercising you do usually allows you to consume more carbohydrates. Ketones and glucose should have an inverse relationship. If there is a lot of glucose in the body, it is probable that there is a small amount of ketones.
Test Your Trigger Foods
You should take note of your ketone and glucose levels before eating in order to determine which foods trigger you. It would be optimal to conduct this test when you are fasting or have not eaten for at least three hours. Next, eat your experimental food choice.
Take note of your ketone and glucose levels two hours after eating. This will enable you to observe how swiftly your parameters returned to normal after consuming your experimental food.
Once you complete the experiment check your results. We want a glucose delta of <30.
We would like ketones to remain at a level of less than 1.0 mmol/L and to return to their original value within two hours. If the levels of glucose and ketones are not in the desired range, try rechecking with a reduced amount.
Test Out Your Protein Threshold
The recommended amount of protein intake is usually quite high, however if more is consumed, it will be converted into energy and stored. Check your ketones and glucose when you haven’t eaten anything to see if you may be eating too much protein in a single meal. Record the results.
Record the amount of protein in the meal you have eaten. If the protein levels are too elevated, the CGM usually registers a slow increase in glucose readings. This increase can happen as soon as 24 hours after eating (depending on the other items that were consumed).
Is Ketosis More Advantageous for the Body
The majority of body tissues are able to utilize the ketone bodies that are present in the body. The heart, muscles, and kidneys are among the tissues. It is incorrect to think that the brain lacks energy during ketosis because ketone bodies can pass through the blood-brain barrier.
Red blood cells are unable to make use of ketones since they do not have mitochondria, and the liver is incapable of relying on ketones as it does not have the right enzymes.
The ketone body generates a greater amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the essential form of energy. This is referred to as “super fuel” due to its properties.
One way to put it is that when 100 g of acetoacetate is broken down, it produces 9400 g of ATP, while 100 g of beta-hydroxybutyrate yields 10,500 g of ATP, which is more than what 100 g of glucose yields at 8,700 g of ATP.
It enables the body to keep up effective energy production even when there is a lack of calories. Ketone bodies also decrease free radical damage. It also enhances the antioxidant capacity.
It improves insulin sensitivity and treats metabolic syndrome. In addition, it has been shown to aid in weight loss and enhance the lipid profile of some people.
It has been tried out in numerous long-term illnesses such as cancer, hypertension, polycystic ovarian syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease and has been found to be quite successful in numerous experiments.
How is Nutritional Ketosis Different From Ketoacidosis
Studies have found that uncontrolled high blood sugar and an abundance of ketone bodies are signs of diabetic ketoacidosis. Too many ketones in the body causes the body’s pH to be lowered, leading to a disruption in electrolytes and a lack of fluid in the body.
It is a severe condition with life-threatening complications. It is often confused with nutritional ketosis. Being in a state of ketosis is generally considered secure, as only a small amount of ketone bodies are created and the pH of the blood is not affected.
Side notes
A ketogenic diet consists of a high proportion of fat, moderate amounts of protein, and a low amount of carbohydrates. Consequently, it causes reduced blood sugar levels, bringing about a condition of nutritional ketosis in the body. This state’s main energy supplier is ketone bodies.
The body is better off in ketosis, as it aids in reducing fat storage and heightening the metabolic rate. This also aids in improving the levels of fats and cholesterol in the blood, as well as making the body more sensitive to insulin.
Ketosis can also be advantageous in reducing damage caused by free radicals and halting the aging of cells. It is important to take into account that everyone is unique and will respond in their own way.
Some individuals may require more limited carbohydrate intake to reach ketosis, though this could differ from person to person. Some individuals may experience negative consequences and reactions, while it has no effect on others.
The most significant reason for customizing a diet based on how your body reacts is the primary justification. By consistently monitoring your blood glucose levels and being mindful of your body’s condition, you can make it happen.
