Avoiding misinformation: A need-to-know presentation on ketogenic diets in type 1 diabetes
Ketogenic diets are misunderstood as a tool for managing metabolic disease. The scientific base for ketogenic metabolism and nutrition is available and widely practised in many areas, especially mental health and for general health, but they have failed to reach the mainstream of diabetes practice. The ketogenic diet has a solid basis for recommending it in type 1 diabetes, yet there is only one option offered by most clinicians. This presentation looks at the results of a survey of type 1's on a keto diet and explores the reasons given for not recommending it and the evidence that counters this. The presentation moves through insulin pharmacokinetics and metabolism and looks at fasting and exercise on a keto diet. It will touch on the clinical dilemmas of ketogenic diets used in other disciplines and how these might work if a person with, say, bipolar disorder, subsequently develops type 1 diabetes.
- What actually is a ketogenic diet?
- Why carbohydrates are a challenge in type 1 diabetes
- Nutritional ketosis and ketoacidosis sound the same but are totally unrelated.
- The evidence for ketogenic diets in type 1 diabetes
- Keto diets in children