February 5, 2003
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Chicago, Illinois, USA:
As a parent of a young child with type 1 diabetes I know to watch for and to avoid DKA [diabetic ketoacidosis]. I’m wondering how people on this Atkin’s diet are encouraged to enter into ketosis by not consuming any carbs for months at a time. Why don’t they get sick? Is it because there blood sugar is not high whereas someone with diabetes would have high blood sugar?
Answer:
This is a great question, and you are correct. People without diabetes who are on the Atkin’s diet will produce ketones but usually will not get sick due to their body’s ability to regulate blood sugars without insulin injections. The diet is not recommended for people with diabetes (especially type 1) for a wealth of reasons (ketone production, erratic blood sugar control, lack of vitamins/minerals, etc). A meal plan with moderate amounts of carbs, protein, and fat is a better nutrition outlook than the omission of all carb sources.
JMS
