WARNING The ketogenic diet does not cure diabetes, it only treats its symptoms
Because how else can you describe a treatment method that eliminates sugar, but after reintroducing it causes the same symptoms that were present before following the diet? Nevertheless, it is effective in a short time for those who are allergic to fruit, vegetables and most plants (and such cases do exist) and who have no alternative in the form of a plant-based diet, for example the one described in more detail here Leczenie cukrzycy dietą roślinną, so I am providing this for information purposes:
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Reduce your carbohydrate intake and eat mainly fats (about 80% of meal content). Carbohydrates should make up less than 5%. Do not eat processed sugar, corn or any sweets. Under no circumstances and in no form should you eat grains.
- The key to success is to bring blood glucose levels to between 55 and 65 mg/dl or lower, and ketone body levels should range from 3 to 7 mmol/l. In the case of diabetes, much more frequent blood monitoring is recommended in order to adjust the diet if necessary.
- Measurements should be taken before breakfast, 2 hours after the afternoon meal and 2 hours after dinner/supper. In children, measurements can be taken twice a day.
- If it is not possible to measure ketone bodies in the blood, they can be measured in the urine. “Keto-Diastix” strips giving an approximate result or other specialist strips for measuring ketone bodies are available in pharmacies.
- Start the transition to this diet with a 2–3 day water fast, where the only “meal” is pure water and nothing else.
- A slower introduction of the diet should be carried out in people who are in very poor condition or of very advanced age (80+). In such cases, carbohydrate intake should be limited to below 12 g/kg of body weight per day. The rest should be fats, preferably in the form of coconut oil. With this approach, the same effect as after a fast will be achieved within a few weeks.
- After achieving glucose of 55–65 mg/dl and ketone body levels of 3–7 mmol/l, meals should be adjusted so as to maintain these levels further. The composition of meals can be arbitrary, provided that glucose and ketone body levels are maintained.
- The ketogenic diet has a diuretic effect. Therefore, people who take diuretics must be careful not to become excessively dehydrated.
- Following a ketogenic diet, but without restricting calories, may cause side effects in some patients. YOU MUST NOT OVEREAT. YOU SHOULD EAT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE, MUCH LESS THAN WE NORMALLY DO.
- Because on a ketogenic diet the body is forced to burn fat, overweight people will lose about 1 kg/week. Weight loss will be caused mainly by the loss of abdominal fat.
- Because this diet may mean deficiencies of vitamins and minerals, supplementation with calcium preparations, vitamin D, Omega-3 fats as well as a B vitamin complex is recommended.
- At the very beginning, in people accustomed to eating sugar and bread, a withdrawal syndrome may appear, as with any other addictive substance: headache, stomach ache, vomiting. In such cases, everything should be introduced more slowly. There is no obstacle for the whole family to follow the same diet.
- Refraining from meals (fasting) has a therapeutic effect even in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
- The ketogenic diet does not work at all in the case of steroid use. The use of steroids, although sometimes necessary, is comparable to pouring oil on the fire.
- Intense physical exercise is not recommended. Walking yes, running no.
- After stopping tumour growth, the amount of calories can be gradually increased so that the patient regains weight.
If this diet includes high-quality vegetables, egg yolks, vitamin C or A, D, E and K, then special supplementation may not be necessary.
Source: Ukryte Terapie II, Jerzy Zięba
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Important! The ketogenic diet significantly reduces the diversity of your body’s microbiome, and this is one of the best-documented markers of chronic diseases, so for therapeutic purposes it should not be used for longer than a few months.
After about 20 years of following a ketogenic diet, the circulatory system and liver give out, so it is not a lifelong diet, but a way to temporarily deal with the symptoms of chronic diseases. It is also recommended in the fight against some cancers as support for certain therapies (e.g. the metabolic therapy of cancer treatment by Prof. Thomas Seyfried). The more plant-based the ketogenic diet, the healthier it is.
I will add that even on a keto diet close to Carnivore (where you eat only meat!) it is good to eat large amounts of vegetables, as well as blueberries and raspberries, because they have a low glycaemic index and provide fibre that increases the diversity of the microbiome.
