Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting for Diabetes

Warm Greetings !!

Human Body maintains a Blood sugar level at a constant value of 90-100mg/dl. Alterations in this number leads to the following interpretations,

FASTING GLUCOSE VALUES	CONCLUSION
>126 mg/dl	Diabetes (Hyperglycemia)
110-125 mg/dl	Pre-Diabetes (Insulin Resistance)
100-110 mg/dl	Concern (Gray Area)
80-90 mg/dl or less	Normal

Insulin is a dominant hormone produced by β-cells of Pancreas. When we eat any type of Carbohydrates (Sugars) or Proteins, we raise our blood sugars significantly. This triggers the release of Insulin, which binds to the excess Glucose and undergoes either of the three fates:

• Glucose can be used as an Instant Fuel by the Body.
•  If the body does not require it as fuel for the time being, Insulin will store the excess  Glucose as Glycogen in the Liver and Muscles for future use. But this storage requires an important electrolyte known as Potassium. Potassium is an electrically charged mineral which is required in huge amounts (4700mg) by the body.
• Since many people don’t have the said availability of Potassium reserves, the sugar is neither used as fuel nor stored as Glycogen. Lastly, all of the sugar is converted to FAT & CHOLESTEROL.

This is more dangerous than it actually looks. Every time we eat, Insulin is triggered and a similar vicious cycle keeps occurring until the Liver stops accepting Insulin. Frequent insulin interaction makes the Insulin receptors on the Liver become resistant over years of carbohydrate (sugar) abuse. This condition is termed as Insulin Resistance.

It does not stop here, it becomes progressively worse. Since Insulin does not reach its destination (Liver) and the Blood glucose levels are high, there is no return communication back to the pancreas. Pancreas think that it has not produced significant amount of Insulin to control the blood sugar situation. So the β-cells pump out more insulin but all in vain, as the Liver is not accepting Insulin in the first place.    

Because of this phenomenon, Diabetes is further classified into two types:

   a)   Type II Diabetes – It’s a similar condition mentioned above in which the β-cells of Pancreas are pumping out Insulin but it is not accepted by the Liver. Thus Pre-diabetes or Insulin resistance has now resulted in Diabetes where the Blood sugars are always high. Medicines are designed either to Boost more insulin production (Sulfonylurea) or improving the receptivity of Insulin by making it more sensitive (Metformin)
                                                   

   b)    Type I Diabetes – It’s a condition in which the β-cells have been completely exhausted and they no longer produce Insulin. It is a highly fatal condition.

Why we are so much obsessed with Insulin? Because as I mentioned earlier, Insulin is a dominant hormone which also acts as a key to the door of our body cells. Without Insulin, neither glucose nor amino acids, minerals or vitamins are able to enter the cells. Absence of Insulin starves us of nutrients at the cellular level.

Higher levels of Insulin in the blood leads to some serious inflammation on tissues and organs.

So what can we do about it? Diabetes is curable at the very beginning itself. Let us focus on the How’s and the What’s of the puzzle.

As discussed, Insulin is triggered when we eat in general. But what if we don’t eat anything? I know that’s not even remotely possible, because we’ve been taught that we need ‘Glucose’ as our energy fuel to run our brains efficiently. What if I tell you, we’ve been taught wrong? I know you won’t believe but give me an opportunity to convince you.

There is a term called as ‘Essential’ which simply means that we need certain things from the Diet only as our bodies cannot synthesize them. For example, we have essential amino acids (Proteins) and essential fatty acids (Fats) but surprisingly we do not have a term known as Essential Carbohydrates (Sugars). What does this imply? We don’t need glucose as our primary energy fuel.

We can run our bodies on fat fuel that we’ve been storing all our lives in our belly. So the moment Fat is mentioned, many of us link cardiovascular problems like Heart attacks due to high calories associated with fatty foods. Proteins and Carbohydrates/Sugars have 4 Calories/gram whereas Fats have a whopping 9 Calories/gram. But surprisingly, fatty foods have negligible effect on Insulin release and thus zero effect on Blood sugars.

Upon reducing (<25-50 gms) or negating refined carbohydrates (sugars) from the Diet, the body taps into Fatty acids for a much more efficient fuel source. Ketone, a by-product of fatty acids, is formed and utilized by the Brain as well as other body organs. This process is termed as Ketosis.

Now the quickest question that pops up is - How will we maintain our Blood Sugars if we don’t provide the sugar it needs? The answer is very simple. As I mentioned earlier, the body does not depend upon external sugar at all. It can maintain the blood sugars by breaking down proteins or fats (Non-carbohydrate sources) into Glucose by a process called as Gluconeogenesis. Limiting carbohydrates will take care of the high insulin situation of a person suffering from Diabetes.

Since we are trained in eating sugars since the beginning, it will take a valuable amount of time in adapting to Ketosis. Thus there are certain steps that need to be taken apart from just Carb-limitation. They are as follows,

a)  Increasing the consumption of Vegetables (7-10 Cups per day): Vegetables belonging to the cruciferous family eg. Kale, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Brussel sprouts etc. are highly nutritious as they have anti-cancer and anti-toxic properties. You can either juice them or lightly steam them to keep all the nutrients intact. Vegetables give you plenty of Potassium and other minerals which allow better Insulin receptivity in our cells. Ketosis with enough nutrient dense vegetables is termed as Healthy Ketosis.

b) Avoiding Hidden Sugars: Refined Grains (Rice/Dal/Rotis), breads, pasta, cereal, crackers, biscuits, waffles, pancakes, muffins, soda, sugar-alcohols as in Diet-free foods etc. are all high on the Glycemic Index (GI). GI indicates the rate at which a food turns into sugar in the blood. 

c) Moderate amount of Proteins: Proteins provide the building blocks known as amino acids. One must consume not more than 3-6 ounces of proteins per day. Whole eggs, cottage cheese (Paneer) are some wonderful sources of proteins. One must not overdo on proteins as excessive amounts get converted to Sugar which we are trying to curb.

d) Fasting Intermittently: Usually people suffering from blood sugar issues are told to eat at an interval of 2 hours. This keeps on releasing Insulin constantly thus affecting the blood sugars continuously. Well, one should listen to their bodies. We need to identify our hunger and stick to that pattern of eating. Starting with three meals per day, an individual should gradually make their way up to two meals or one meal a day (OMAD). Intermittent fasting, when done correctly, promotes Autophagy which involves self-cleaning of old proteins and recycling them. Intermittent fasting induces growth hormone which is extremely anti-ageing in nature and it protects the muscle mass too.

e) Understanding the difference between Fasting and Starvation: We must make sure that we do not starve at any point during this diet. Pushing oneself when hungry by either drinking water or just starving will force the body to break down muscle proteins to satisfy itself and maintain the blood sugars accordingly.

f)  Consuming Healthy Fats: Since fatty foods do not trigger insulin, one should consume saturated fats at the end of the meal in order to go longer between meals. Certain fats like Avocados, butter, cheese, ghee provide copious amounts of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K_1, K₂ ). A majority of population fear consuming fats as they don’t want to Die. We’ve been following so many things blindly and I hate to inform you that 75% of Cholesterol within our bodies is made by our Body for synthesizing Stress and Sex hormones. It is the sugar that gets converted to Cholesterol faster than the actual fat consumed.

g) Apart from the macro nutrients, one must focus on the trace minerals and vitamins too. B-vitamins and Vitamin C are water soluble and may be obtained from Green leafy vegetables and lemons respectively. 

h) Acidity of the stomach: A majority of symptoms like burping, belching, bloating and Acid re-flux are caused chiefly by low stomach acids. Low stomach acids decrease the breakdown of proteins and prevent proper absorption. Certain acidifiers like Apple Cider Vinegar should be consumed before each meal to maintain proper digestion.

i) Omega – 3 fatty acids: These are the most essential fatty acids which maintain the hydration of the skin, maintains good vision etc. Flax seeds and hemp seeds have significant amounts of Omega 3-fatty acids which have anti-inflammatory properties.

j) Hydration with Water: I don’t know who started this but we are not supposed to drink 8 glasses of water every day as an obligation. Our bodies don’t have just water, it has minerals and electrolytes mixed together. Drinking tons of water flushes out the nutrients and surprisingly, we become dehydrated in process of hydration. We should drink water only when thirsty and always add natural electrolytes (Lemon, Sea salt) with it to replace any lost mineral reserves.

Thus healthy ketosis and intermittent fasting improves the very cause of Diabetes – Insulin resistance.

In Type 1 diabetes, people do not synthesize Insulin and they misunderstand this diet in causing Ketoacidosis.

Ketoacidosis is a condition where the ketone bodies make the blood acidic. But this is a rare case as Insulin is present in minute amounts always. In addition to this, vegetables will alkalize the acidity produced by these Ketone Bodies.  

High levels of glucose can damage the retina and throw the brain off by providing temporary fuel refills. Following healthy Ketosis and intermittent fasting can greatly help people suffering from Diabetes.