Ketones and NON-Diabetics (thought this was the best place!?)

[Andy_D85]

Thought this was the best forum to post this in as technically not diabetes related but also not really 'off-topic'

I'm aware the risk is probably quite small BUT I have a friend who insists on using varying Ketosis style diets and is on about their 11th attempt at 1 to lose weight (that they frankly do not need to lose!) via the Cambridge diet - I've been DKA only twice in my life but due to my lack of care and testing I've been wandering around with increased ketones for years now and know the damage it has done to me, so I'm just wondering with all the ketone experts I have access to here if someone knows where the best place to get info on this would be so I can try and either stop my pal from doing themselves any major damage - or stop myself from worrying if there's really nothing to be worrying about in the first place?

Thanks in advance for any help here Dudes & Dudettes! =)

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

DKA is not the same as ketosis due to a low carb diet. I am in ketosis right now and have been for a few months. I'm fine.

Your friend should check out http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf for a healthy, sustainable way of eating.

 

[AndBreathe]

Thought this was the best forum to post this in as technically not diabetes related but also not really 'off-topic'

I'm aware the risk is probably quite small BUT I have a friend who insists on using varying Ketosis style diets and is on about their 11th attempt at 1 to lose weight (that they frankly do not need to lose!) via the Cambridge diet - I've been DKA only twice in my life but due to my lack of care and testing I've been wandering around with increased ketones for years now and know the damage it has done to me, so I'm just wondering with all the ketone experts I have access to here if someone knows where the best place to get info on this would be so I can try and either stop my pal from doing themselves any major damage - or stop myself from worrying if there's really nothing to be worrying about in the first place?

Thanks in advance for any help here Dudes & Dudettes! =)

Have a read here: http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/ketoacidosis.html

 

[Andy_D85]

Hmmm. Interesting.

The article intimates it's not the ketones themselves that do the harm, it's the acidosis, which I can get behind...what I'm curious as to with myself then is I've been informed that my kidney damage is down to, in part, how long I've had untreated ketones 'floating' about my blood. I was quite accepting of this argument until reading the link you posted...

I've only ever been to hospital once with DKA, but I can accept with the amount of my life I've spent running high & uncorrected that I must have had ketones, in large volumes, for years now...surely that would have resulted in more instances of full blown DKA? I've got a few other health issues that mean I don't feel particularly 'good' most of the time, but it's only recently with my kidney functions declining that I've started feeling really poorly 24/7, I've always felt 'ok' if not a little tired/irritable...the one time I was admitted with DKA I felt like I'd had a building dropped on top of me :/.

As much as I no longer have the 'I don't want you to end up like me' argument to use on them anymore, I'm behind the theory of the article above...it just doesn't quite make 100% sense to me how it states the ketones themselves are 'harmless' but they've clearly contributed towards, if not caused, issue with my own health over the years if that makes sense?

Thanks for the link - I'll now need to research other reasons for this person not to follow that blasted diet! lol!

 

[jack412]

get your friend off the shakes and on a food ketogenic at dietdoctor

 

[diamondnostril]

Hmmm. Interesting.

The article intimates it's not the ketones themselves that do the harm, it's the acidosis, which I can get behind...what I'm curious as to with myself then is I've been informed that my kidney damage is down to, in part, how long I've had untreated ketones 'floating' about my blood. I was quite accepting of this argument until reading the link you posted...

I've only ever been to hospital once with DKA, but I can accept with the amount of my life I've spent running high & uncorrected that I must have had ketones, in large volumes, for years now...surely that would have resulted in more instances of full blown DKA? I've got a few other health issues that mean I don't feel particularly 'good' most of the time, but it's only recently with my kidney functions declining that I've started feeling really poorly 24/7, I've always felt 'ok' if not a little tired/irritable...the one time I was admitted with DKA I felt like I'd had a building dropped on top of me :/.

As much as I no longer have the 'I don't want you to end up like me' argument to use on them anymore, I'm behind the theory of the article above...it just doesn't quite make 100% sense to me how it states the ketones themselves are 'harmless' but they've clearly contributed towards, if not caused, issue with my own health over the years if that makes sense?

Thanks for the link - I'll now need to research other reasons for this person not to follow that blasted diet! lol!

Think of it like this . . . nutritional Ketosis (from a Low-Carb diet) is like a gentle wave lapping at the beach. Ketoacidosis is like a Tsunami killing everything in its path. They both consist of water, but clearly have very different effects. Because of the amount of water in a Tsunami, it will destroy.

In Ketoacidosis, the amount of Ketones will acidify your blood (hence -acidosis). In Ketosis, the much smaller amount of Ketones poses no threat to the pH balance of your blood.

Anybody with sufficient Insulin (either natural or injected) will never get Ketoacidosis, because presence of Insulin immediately switches off Ketone production.

 

[christi99]

Thought this was the best forum to post this in as technically not diabetes related but also not really 'off-topic'

I'm aware the risk is probably quite small BUT I have a friend who insists on using varying Ketosis style diets and is on about their 11th attempt at 1 to lose weight (that they frankly do not need to lose!) via the Cambridge diet - I've been DKA only twice in my life but due to my lack of care and testing I've been wandering around with increased ketones for years now and know the damage it has done to me, so I'm just wondering with all the ketone experts I have access to here if someone knows where the best place to get info on this would be so I can try and either stop my pal from doing themselves any major damage - or stop myself from worrying if there's really nothing to be worrying about in the first place?

Thanks in advance for any help here Dudes & Dudettes! =)

Sounds like your friend has perhaps an eating disorder. (Probably very little you can do to dissuade them!)- But ketones are not the same significance in a non-diabetic, but there also are negatives to ketosis long-term induced by dietary restriction (not so clear short-term- but it has been effective way for some to lose weight in the short term when other methods fail). Because you said they don't actually need to lose weight and this is like the 11th attempt- I doubt it will last- maybe they are just thinking/behaving obsessively but other than to find a good basic article about it, give it to them... and then let it go. You have your own disease to manage and I doubt you will be able to make them hear you! Focus on your own health and well-being- you will be a good role model to inspire healthier behavior and self-care in others.