Ketosis - Metabolisms Gone Wild Vol. 2

That's right, dear reader! Barely legal chemical compounds doing what comes naturally to them!

Y'know, sometimes I wonder if my sense of humor is designed for an audience of one: me.

Aaaaanyway, we need to talk about what this previously shared image represents:

Your friend KETOSTIX has

some bad news for you.

He forgot his wallet, so

can you spot him $20?

Hyperglycemia, high blood sugar, is just the beginning of things going awry when there's no insulin to feed cells their sugar. Those pesky cells demand energy. Without sugar, the body goes after fat, entering a state of ketosis.

"That's great, Rob! I wanna lose some fat. BRING ON THE KETOSIS!" 

Well, if you were aiming for a controlled ketogenic diet, I'd say that's great. A very mild state of ketosis can help you lose weight. The keto diet, in case you were wondering, reduces the intake of carbohydrates, forcing the body to burn off that fat.

HOWEVER... when a diabetic enters a state of uncontrolled ketosis, they've started down a path of destruction. Because instead of a low presence in the blood and urine, ketones just keeps climbing.

Let's look at ketosis symptoms, shall we?

Bad breath - To be honest, I don't know what this smells like. It's commonly described as a "fruity" smell, but that makes me think of Froot Loops, and who wouldn't want their breath to smell like Froot Loops? (Confession: I first wrote "Foot Loops," which I'm assuming would make for TERRIBLE breath!)

Fatigue - Just like with hyperglycemia, your body isn't getting the energy it needs. Machines both mechanical and biological don't function without power. This is simply cranking the fatigue higher.

Ketones in blood and urine - A diabetic won't feel this one. Once upon a time, a long time ago, the only way to test for spilling ketones was using Ketostix or putting a single drop of urine on an acetone tablet. Both methods then required the use of a color chart. The darker the color, the worse the situation was. (I'll cover why it's so bad in my next post. I promise.) Today, there's a device very much like a glucometer that can detect ketones in the blood.

Let's compare controlled and uncontrolled. For the former, if you start experiencing the signs of ketosis, you just eat some carbs and your body will return to the use of carbs for energy. A diabetic without or with too little insulin, however, doesn't have that kind of control available. Carbohydrates will simply add more sugar to the bloodstream, driving the body to increase its production of ketones. It changes from a minor metabolic issue to poisoning one's self.

I'm going to close this post because there's only so much I can say about this middle ground of chemical imbalance without tripping directly into the next phase. Not only will I have plenty to explain, but more than a little experience to share.

~ monotone ~ That'll be fun.