Keto, Kidneys and Diabetes
A lady on Instagram asked me a question on Keto and Kidney health and I simply had to do a post.
Thank you so much @elizabeth.danawa for your question!
Here's the story. I posted a video explaining how my degrees and formal education do not support keto. I received my bachelors degree in 2010 and masters in 2012, but today is 2019. Science unveils new findings daily and I would be remis to base my position on my degree and not on what science has changed to be.
Elizabeth was moved by my video and she asked,
" Would you mind sharing why you now support it, and any considerations for kidney health? I am a type 1 diabetic so the rules never apply to me the same, but in general ketoacidosis is very bad news for me. I have also had two friends express that they experienced kidney pain while following this diet (they also lost 60+ pounds in less than 45 days) and were encouraged to back off of it."
I was so excited she asked this question and I took about 1 hour researching to verify my answer before I shared.
After I came down from my high of excitement, here is my response:
I now support the Ketogenic Diet because it's scientifically sound while promoting optimal health! The only type of person who should not go Keto is a person who has gallbladder issues and cannot process fat. Keto is safe for the Type 1 diabetics due to the push for insulin control and the ability to create and use energy without glucose which requires insulin to pass into the cell. The reduction in HbA1C is also a major benefit to Type 1 diabetics.
ARE YOU KETO??
Are you keto? Use this amazing keto macro calculator to help you understand your numbers. CLICK ME! The Keto diet is a high fat diet and a moderate/adequate protein diet. When protein is eaten in moderation researchers are claiming that 10-20% protein intake is too low to cause kidney issues. Kidney function is also often improved.
If your friends experienced kidney pain, they probably didn't have a well formulated ketogenic diet. Most people think Keto is bacon, lettuce wrapped burgers and eggs with cheese. But these people are grossly wrong. Keto is primarily veggies and fat, with moderate protein and low carbs. If they (your friends) didn't intake enough veggies, and therefore lacking in micronutrients, they weren't feeding the body properly. If they took in too much protein, the excess nitrogen, lack of water and other factors may have contributed to kidney pain. The kidneys are damaged by:
• high carbs and high sugars • high protein: protein breaks down releasing high amounts of nitrogen which turns into urea causing extra stress on the kidneys • inflammatory vegetable oils • processed foods Kidney function: Purpose of the kidneys is to remove waste and excess water from blood to form urine. Ketoacidosis is a terrible condition where your body produced 10x the amount of ketones necessary in the Ketogenic Diet. Ketoacidosis is a state of emergency for the body where your body requires so much energy that it hasn't been able to process glucose for various reasons. Because of this, your body becomes fiercely catabolic and breaks down fat for the purpose of creating ketones to rush to the body's cells.
Ketoacidosis compared to Keto is like 1 million ambulances rushing to the same house (way too much).
Curious about Keto Diet Results?
In type 1 diabetics, outside of taking insulin, a natural way to reduce ketoacidosis is to Increase veggie content especially foods with potassium, sodium and magnesium which is protective on the kidneys, increase water intake, reduce sugars and even alcohol.