Ketogenic diet - very bad side effects

Hi @bhk

I wonder if your ketones were too high - my blood ketones are normally between 1-3 mmol/l.

I got up to 6 a few weeks ago (not sure how or why) and was quite sick, even with normal blood sugars, so it's something to keep an eye on. Probably best if you get some blood ketone strips if you have a meter that can use them.

Here's a useful ketone chart for low-carbing

I wonder if the fats were making you nauseous? If I eat too many fats at a time I do get nauseous. Different fats act differently too. Olive oil makes some people nauseous and some saturated fats. Too many nuts as well.
I do best with small meals and small snacks or it gets too hard to digest and I will get nauseous.
I do well with avocado, a few nuts or pumpkin seeds in between, a drizzle of olive oil on salads or mayo on lettuce wraps but I cannot eat loads at one meal.

Adjusting to a high fat diet can take time. Grease does not work for me, such as bacon or lard etc. too rich. I could eat a little but not a steak with butter on it.

Just a thought ....sometimes it takes playing around and balancing all meals. I eat 20 c or less a day, about 4-5 oz of protein and then JUST ENOUGH FAT TO SATISFY. I don't gorge on it or I would be sick. Fat hangs out in our digestive track the longest and slows everything else. Maybe experiment with different fats and quantities.

50g of carbs a day isn't necessarily ketogenic.. did you measure your ketones while you were dieting. Most keto eaters try and do less than 20g of carbs per day. Maybe you were hovering and not becoming fully fat adapted. Have you looked at or listened to the 2ketodudes podcasts and website? They also have a helpful Facebook page (with fruity language if you are easily offended let that be a warning) but everyone there seems very helpful and supportive and I'm sure there are other Type 1's following the keto way there.

bulkbiker said:

50g of carbs a day isn't necessarily ketogenic.. did you measure your ketones while you were dieting. Most keto eaters try and do less than 20g of carbs per day. Maybe you were hovering and not becoming fully fat adapted. Have you looked at or listened to the 2ketodudes podcasts and website? They also have a helpful Facebook page (with fruity language if you are easily offended let that be a warning) but everyone there seems very helpful and supportive and I'm sure there are other Type 1's following the keto way there.

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True that on the carbs! Wondering if 100 G protein is too much too?

bhk said:

Thanks a lot so far for your help, your replies are much appreciated! As I stated, my ketones were every day between 1.5 and 4 mmol according to the urine strips that I used 2x/daily. I guess this means that did not eat too much carbs or proteins as these would decrease the ketones and eventually make them disappear if I took too much of them...

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Well maybe or maybe not.. the pee strips only work while you are getting into ketosis (I have read) once you are fully in ketosis then your body is using all the ketones for energy and you shouldn't pee any out. Or at least that's the theory.. so a lot of keto dieters don't use pee sticks but blood tests. I'm new to trying the keto way of eating but managed to get well into nutritional ketosis during my last fast. As soon as I went back to eating normally with some veg carbs I was out (well down to 0.6 from a high of 3.5mmol/l). I'm no expert but just my thoughts.

I'm not sure on this but I vaguely remember that dietary fat can produce ketones? Also high blood sugar? And maybe even fat in your blood if you're losing weight? All things to consider. We are all unique but I do know there are other ways to make ketones. I only tested in the beginning and then kind of found it useless. I don't think there is any hard and fast rules to measure ketones unless of course it's keto acidosis.
I do remember there were times I showed very little ketones either before or after some strenuous exercise. There were too many variables that altered my ketones to come to any real conclusion.

Might be worth a little research

The more others experience the more you have things to consider. Knowledge is power

The documented adverse effects from a ketogenic diet (long term) but can start from a period of one month are but not limited to:

• Gastrointestinal disturbances (diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, constipation, GER)
• Inflammation risk
• Thinning hair/hair loss
• Kidney stones
• Muscle cramps or weakness
• Hypoglycemia
• Low platelet count
• Impaired concentration/cognition
• Impaired mood
• Renal tubular acidosis
• Nutrient deficiency
• Disordered mineral metabolism
• Poor growth in children
• Skeletal fracture
• Osteopenia/osteoporosis
• Increased bruising
• Sepsis, infection, bacteria overgrowth
• Pneumonia
• Acute pancreatitis
• Long QT intervals
• Cardiomyopathy
• Shift towards atherogenic lipid profiles (including hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia)
• Heart arrhythmia
• Myocardial infarction,
• Menstrual irregularities and amenorrhea
• Death

Ketogenic, like every diet, isn't for everyone. Some people will have the desired effect others wont, some people will have no adverse effects and others will. It could just not be the diet for you.

Edit: i should write a disclaimer that the general outcome of ketogenic diets is positive.

Source as you can see a lot of positive effects alongside adverse effects.

qe5rt said:

The documented adverse effects from a ketogenic diet (long term) but can start from a period of one month are but not limited to:

• Gastrointestinal disturbances (diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, constipation, GER)
• Inflammation risk
• Thinning hair/hair loss
• Kidney stones
• Muscle cramps or weakness
• Hypoglycemia
• Low platelet count
• Impaired concentration/cognition
• Impaired mood
• Renal tubular acidosis
• Nutrient deficiency
• Disordered mineral metabolism
• Poor growth in children
• Skeletal fracture
• Osteopenia/osteoporosis
• Increased bruising
• Sepsis, infection, bacteria overgrowth
• Pneumonia
• Acute pancreatitis
• Long QT intervals
• Cardiomyopathy
• Shift towards atherogenic lipid profiles (including hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia)
• Heart arrhythmia
• Myocardial infarction,
• Menstrual irregularities and amenorrhea
• Death

Ketogenic, like every diet, isn't for everyone. Some people will have the desired effect others wont, some people will have no adverse effects and others will. It could just not be the diet for you.

Edit: i should write a disclaimer that the general outcome of ketogenic diets is positive.

Source as you can see a lot of positive effects alongside adverse effects.

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Do you have a link to where this comes from?
Thanks
Mark

bulkbiker said:

Do you have a link to where this comes from?
Thanks
Mark

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When you click on source you should be redirected to a pdf file with all the research with both positive effects and adverse effects.

qe5rt said:

When you click on source you should be redirected to a pdf file with all the research with both positive effects and adverse effects.

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Thanks for that.. a huge amount of input although it seems that a lot of the adverse results are when young children follow the diet apparently to assist their epilepsy/autism.

bulkbiker said:

Thanks for that.. a huge amount of input although it seems that a lot of the adverse results are when young children follow the diet apparently to assist their epilepsy/autism.

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Yes indeed a lot of children with seizures but that's also for the positive effects, a lot of the positive research is also done on obese people. There is a research in there (or two) about Type 2 with only positive effects though. But it does show that ketogenic (or any diet for that mater) is not 100% effective for all people and can cause adverse effects. Also recently read that one of the most common research quoted by advocates of ketogenic diet (think it was about cycling performance) actually advised against long term use in the end. The part quoted by advocates is literally just a very small part of a comprehensive research. I'll try to find it again if you're interested.

qe5rt said:

Yes indeed a lot of children with seizures but that's also for the positive effects, a lot of the positive research is also done on obese people. There is a research in there (or two) about Type 2 with only positive effects though. But it does show that ketogenic (or any diet for that mater) is not 100% effective for all people and can cause adverse effects. Also recently read that one of the most common research quoted by advocates of ketogenic diet (think it was about cycling performance) actually advised against long term use in the end. The part quoted by advocates is literally just a very small part of a comprehensive research. I'll try to find it again if you're interested.

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Always interested as I'm experimenting with extended ketosis myself. Many thanks.

bulkbiker said:

Always interested as I'm experimenting with extended ketosis myself. Many thanks.

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Started a conversation with you so the topic at hand doesn't derail too much.

Try backing-off of the gym sessions to maybe two per week (using the same work-out routine). And the fat grams seems way too high-maybe that's what is wrecking your digestive system. I would say that 50 grams of carbs seem a bit much to be in ketosis, but protein seems ok. So you must get a ketone meter to know for sure where you're at, urine strips won't do it over the long term.
Best of luck,

On any Ketogenic diet you need to up your fluids and up your salt. This is because a LCHF diet has a diuretic effect. If you don't up fluids and up Sodium you end up Potassium deficient because the body hangs on to Sodium and excretes Potassium instead in urine. The healthiest thing to do is to make home made bone broth, well salted with natural grey sea salt (which contains loads of minerals - I always think of it as the seagull ****) there are loads of recipes on the Internet, but basically you roast bones, add loads of veg and water and a slug of cider vinegar and natural sea salt and you simmer for ages. The resulting stuff is full of vitamins and minerals and will provide you with the salt you need, the fluid you need and you will feel better. The other alternative is to drink a stock cube dissolved in boiling water twice a day - oxo works for me. When you first change over to a Ketogenic diet you should lay off strenuous exercise for 2-3weeks then build it back up gradually. Your body has to change from glucose burning to ketone burning.

I think that the stated side effects of a Ketogenic diet (posted earlier) are utter rubbish, I have been on a Ketogenic diet for in excess of 5 years and I have not felt so well for decades before. The Ketogenic diet cured my GERD, normalised my blood pressure, improved my sleep patterns, reduced my arthritis pain. I am now drug free - apart from anti-coagulants, I had a DVT and I do wonder if that was linked to dehydration - I wasn't always the best at drinking fluids and I struggle with it even now, I just forget. Give it another try, increase fluids and salt and cut back on physical activities for 2 - 3 weeks, that's my advice.

bhk said:

Hello all!

Last spring I tried the ketogenic diet; I wanted so much to see and feel all of its benefits for my type 1 diabetes. Indeed, my blood sugar was so nice compared to the usual fluctuations that I have! But the problem is that I had side effects that would not disappear. Headaches, blurry vision, nauseas, at the end, I was spending 2 hours per night in front of my toilet trying to avoid vomiting and I decided to stop after 5 weeks of ketogenic diet.

I carefully checked my "macros" and I was not taking TOO much protein (app. 90-100g. and I weight 75 kg, going to the gym 5-6 times a week), about 50g. of carbs per day, and about 300g of lipids a day. I kept the same weight so I was consuming enough calories, and always had a decent quantity of ketones in my urine.

The thing is I would really like to try the ketogenic diet again, I am very motivated, especially since I have a very labile diabetes, hard to control, but I don't want the intense side effects again considering they just worsen my quality of life!

Does anyone have tips? Did this situation ever happen to anyone? You help would be MUCH appreciated!

Thanks!

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If you have these kinds of symptoms, perhaps it is your body telling it doesn't like the diet. Why not try to go a little low carb without going ketogenic?