Keto diets: good, bad or ugly?

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes is a rapidly growing disease carrying potentially devastating complications. Despite its apparent inexorable increase, type 2 diabetes can be reversible with weight loss. (Lean) Current official dietary recommendations for diabetes are generally to adjust calorie intake to control energy balance/ body weight, limit fat (especially saturated) and sugar but not to restrict carbohydrates with advice to aim for 40—60% of total calories as latter. Conversely, low carbohydrate diets, particularly ketogenic diets which are low enough in carbohydrates to induce ketosis (typically < 30g carbohydrates daily termed “keto-diets”) continue to grow in popularity in the general population. Many report significant weight loss with low carbohydrate diets and it is hardly surprising that some with diabetes become frustrated with attempts to control weight and blood glucose on conventional diets and turn to these. Additionally, in type 1 diabetes, lower carbohydrate intake might reduce the potential for error when calculating insulin doses based on carbohydrate intake.