KETOSIS VERSUS KETOACIDOSIS | Symptoms Of Ketoacidosis

Ketosis is a natural physical condition where our body produces ketones  ( a alternative fuel source for energy ) in liver during fasting or keto dieting .

In other hand, ketoacidosis is dangerous state when in our bloodstream contains extreme level of glucose (main energy source for body cell ) as well as ketones.

Some medical professionals confuse diabetic ketoacidosis, an extreme and dangerous form
of ketosis with the benign nutritional ketosis associated with ketogenic diets and fasting states
in the body.

The difference between the two conditions depends on whether the body has the
ability to make insulin, as insulin regulates ketone production.


Benign nutritional ketosis is an insulin regulated process which results in a mild release of fatty acids and a moderate conversion of fatty acids to ketone bodies.
 
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a condition in which insulin is unavailable, either because the
pancreas cannot make it (Type 1 Diabetes) or body cells are insulin resistant (Type 2 Diabetes).

As a result, blood glucose rises and excessive quantities of ketones are produced in an
unregulated biochemical state.

The table below shows ketone concentrations in the body to  help differentiate between ketosis and ketoacidosis:




Body Condition and Quantity of Ketones Being Produced  :

• After a meal = 0.1 mmol/L 

• Overnight fast = 0.3 mmol/L 

• Ketogenic Diet (Nutritional Ketosis) = 1.0-8.0 mmol/L 

• > 20 days of fasting = < 10.0 mmol/L 

• Diabetic Ketoacidosis = > 10.0 -15.0 mmol/L

The danger of ketoacidosis is in the amount of ketone bodies being generated.

Ketone bodies are slightly acidic in nature, and in the absence of insulin, so many are generated at
once that they build up in the bloodstream.

The sheer volume quickly overwhelms the delicate acid-base buffering system of the blood and the blood becomes more acidic than normal.

It is this acidic condition which is dangerous and not the ketones themselves.

Whenever I am in the initial stage of helping a friend ease into the keto diet or just plainly getting to know more about it, I am almost always certain that this question on ketoacidosis will crop up, so I thought it might be useful to
include this section to clear the air on this.


Ketoacidosis is primarily a situation when the body has little or no insulin to ferry the glucose present in the blood stream back into cells for use or storage.

The body then gets the impression it is starving and in need of energy, hence ketone production is activated in the liver to correct this issue.

However, the body does not get the signal to slow or stop ketone production
because there is insufficient insulin in the system to do this.

Ketones then build up in the blood, together with glucose, and the elevated levels cause
ketoacidosis.

Some of the symptoms of ketoacidosis would sound awfully familiar with
nutritional ketosis.

• Many trips to the toilet for urination
• Feeling really thirsty all the time
• Experiencing constant vomiting
• Stomach pains as well as constant nausea
• Feeling tired and mentally confused
• Feeling of insufficient air or shortness of breath
  

Frequent urination as well as being tired and in a state of mental fatigue are also common occurrences when someone is going through the initial stages of ketosis.

This is where the body is getting used to the low carb lifestyle and making its metabolic adjustments.

Those symptoms may be annoying but are
harmless, and more importantly, they will pass after the first few weeks of ketosis.

To be definitive in identifying ketoacidosis, the trick here is not to just zoom in on one particular symptom and become overly worried.


Ketoacidosis symptoms usually present themselves together, and if you were to be forced
to pick one particular symptom to pay attention to, that would be the constant vomiting.

When that is present together with stomach pains and a shortness of breath, immediate medical treatment is needed as ketoacidosis can be a life threatening issue.

The key here is the insufficient supply or lack of insulin. This is a situation where most type 1 diabetic patients would find themselves, as well as, to a lesser extent, some type 2 diabetics.

When the pancreas cannot produce the
level of insulin needed to signal the halt of ketone production, that is when ketone levels can go into overdrive and induce overly acidic conditions in the blood.


This does not mean type 1 diabetics or folks who rely on external insulin sources cannot be following the ketogenic diet.

 They still can, on the condition that they monitor and maintain adequate insulin levels in
the body.


In cases where the pancreas is still in relatively good shape and able to supplyadequate amounts of insulin, the keto diet will be able to effectively correct the insulin desensitivity of the body’s cells and improve or even reverse type
2 diabetic conditions.