The Causes And Solutions For Bad Breath (ketosis Breath)
If you’re on a low-carb diet, not all the outcomes are good. One of the side effects you could notice is bad breath. It’s commonly nicknamed ketosis breath, whether it happens when following the ketosis diet, but it can happen with all low carb/high protein diets. In fact, bad breath is becoming an epidemic. This is because so many people now are following these low carb diets. So, you’re definitely not alone. In fact, scientists say that 40% of people on these types of diets report bad breath as one of the worst side effects. I’ve been in your position before with my low carb diets. Your best friend likely has, too. We just get so embarrassed about our bad breath that we tend not to mention it. We just hope that we can mask it with some breath mints. But what is the real cause of bad breath on the ketosis diet? Just why do low carb diets make us stink? And is there anything that we can do to stop the problem? I can share some very positive news. You can stop ketosis breath becoming an issue. You don’t need to become part of the growing epidemic. I’m going to share everything that you can do to stop ketosis breath becoming a problem. So, Why Do We Get Bad Breath? Let’s start with how low carb diets work. When we stop feeding ourselves as many carbs, our bodies have to get the energy in other ways. They do this through the burning of fat, which means the release of ketones in the body. It’s a chemical process since the body can’t create the carbohydrates that it would need to help It’s this process that is causing the bad breath. The great news is that you’re sticking to your diet and you will see a smaller waistline. It will be successful, and you will be able to lose weight. Of course, the downside is that you have to deal with the breath. The mos Continue reading >>
Five Things To Know About Ketones
If you live with diabetes, you have probably heard that ketones are something to watch out for. That they have something to do with the dreaded diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). But do you really understand what ketones are and why they happen? It’s scary to think about, sure. But it’s also very important to be in the know about ketones and to be prepared. 1) What are ketones? If there isn’t enough insulin in your system, you can’t turn glucose into energy. So your body starts breaking down body fat. Ketones are a chemical by-product of this process. This can occur when people with type 1 diabetes don’t take insulin for long periods of time, when insulin pumps fail to deliver insulin and the wearer does not monitor blood glucose, or during serious illness (in type 1 or type 2) when insulin doses are missed or not increased appropriately for the stress of illness. Ketones can happen to anyone with diabetes, but the condition is more common in people with type 1. 2) Why are ketones dangerous? Ketones upset the chemical balance of your blood and, if left untreated, can poison the body. Your body cannot tolerate large amounts of ketones and will try to get rid of them through the urine. Eventually they build up in the blood. The presence of ketones could be a sign that you are experiencing, or will soon develop, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)—a life-threatening medical emergency. 3) When should I test for ketones, and how? There are several situations in which it is a good idea to check for ketones, usually every four to six hours. Talk to your doctor to know what makes the most sense for you and your diabetes management plan. Your blood glucose is more than 300 mg/dl (or a level recommended by your doctor) You feel nauseated, are vomiting or have abdominal pain You are Continue reading >>
How To Get Rid Of Ketones
If you’re a diabetic, you’re probably familiar with ketones, which are byproducts of burned fat in the body. Even people without diabetes, however, should be concerned about their ketone levels in certain situations. If your ketone test reveals that you have too many ketones in your body, you’re probably starving or in danger of developing ketoacidosis, a condition that can lead to diabetic coma or even death if not treated immediately. The key to getting rid of ketones is to eat a healthy diet and live a healthy lifestyle. How Does the Body Produce Ketones? The food you eat is digested inside the body in the form of glucose, a type of sugar. Glucose travels in the blood and is absorbed by your cells. Insulin is a hormone that acts like a key that unlocks the doors of your cells to glucose. Your body constantly needs glucose to function properly. At night, when you’re asleep, your liver releases stored glucose to maintain your energy. If you don’t eat for a long time, however, the glucose stores of the liver get depleted, and your body adapts by breaking down stored fat for energy. Ketones result from this burning process, and they show up in your urine, as a ketone test would reveal. A diabetic usually has problems with his glucose and ketone levels because his body can’t use insulin to unlock the doors of his cells for the glucose. When this happens, fat is burned up, producing lots of ketones. Glucose may also accumulate in his blood, resulting in ketoacidosis. Whether you’re a diabetic or not, it is important to keep your ketones in a normal level to avoid ketoacidosis and other illnesses. Getting Rid of Ketones for Non-diabetics Not a diabetic, but getting high ketone levels from ketone tests? Follow these tips to get rid of your ketones as quickly as Continue reading >>
Urine Tests For Diabetes: Glucose Levels And Ketones
The human body primarily runs on glucose. When your body is low on glucose, or if you have diabetes and don’t have enough insulin to help your cells absorb the glucose, your body starts breaking down fats for energy. Ketones (chemically known as ketone bodies) are byproducts of the breakdown of fatty acids. The breakdown of fat for fuel and the creation of ketones is a normal process for everyone. In a person without diabetes, insulin, glucagon, and other hormones prevent ketone levels in the blood from getting too high. However, people with diabetes are at risk for ketone buildup in their blood. If left untreated, people with type 1 diabetes are at risk for developing a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). While rare, it’s possible for people with type 2 diabetes to experience DKA in certain circumstances as well. If you have diabetes, you need to be especially aware of the symptoms that having too many ketones in your body can cause. These include: If you don’t get treatment, the symptoms can progress to: a fruity breath odor stomach pain trouble breathing You should always seek immediate medical attention if your ketone levels are high. Testing your blood or urine to measure your ketone levels can all be done at home. At-home testing kits are available for both types of tests, although urine testing continues to be more common. Urine tests are available without a prescription at most drugstores, or you can buy them online. You should test your urine or blood for ketones when any of the following occurs: Your blood sugar is higher than 240 mg/dL. You feel sick or nauseated, regardless of your blood sugar reading. To perform a urine test, you urinate into a clean container and dip the test strip into the urine. For a child who isn’t potty-trained, a pa Continue reading >>
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High Blood Glucose (hyper) & Type 1 Diabetes
Key points Hyperglycaemia happens from time to time to all people who have diabetes. Hyperglycaemia is a major cause of many of the complications that happen to people who have diabetes. For this reason, it’s important to know what hyperglycaemia is, what its symptoms are, and how to treat it. Untreated hyperglycaemia diabetes can lead to a life threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). If you have Type 1 diabetes, you will often develop high blood glucose levels. Managing your Type 1 diabetes is a lot to do with developing problem solving skills and learning to use them. Remember that if your body is producing its own insulin, it alters the amount all the time (minute by minute). When you have Type 1 diabetes you have to do this consciously by using your knowledge and making sensible choices. Your diabetes nurse educator can help you learn the skills you need to do this. Some people prefer to get guidance on any of the choices they make. Everyone is different. If you are making choices you haven’t previously put into practice, get advice and support from your diabetes team before and while you make the changes. The effects of high blood glucose levels are probably what first led you to visit the doctor when your diabetes was diagnosed. Normally the human body keeps its blood glucose level very stable (between 4mmol/L – 7.5mmol/L). The body has various systems (regulated by hormones such as insulin and glucagon) for keeping the blood glucose level in this range. This doesn’t happen if you have Type 1 diabetes. Symptoms of high blood glucose levels Feeling thirsty Passing a lot of urine (you may need to get up often during the night) Feeling very tired Treatment for high blood glucose levels Try to work out why your glucose level is high. If it is Continue reading >>
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How Dka Happens And What To Do About It
Certified Diabetes Educator Gary Scheiner offers an overview of diabetic ketoacidosis. (excerpted from Think Like A Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes With Insulin by Gary Scheiner MS, CDE, DaCapo Press, 2011) Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) is a condition in which the blood becomes highly acidic as a result of dehydration and excessive ketone (acid) production. When bodily fluids become acidic, some of the body’s systems stop functioning properly. It is a serious condition that will make you violently ill and it can kill you. The primary cause of DKA is a lack of working insulin in the body. Most of the body’s cells burn primarily sugar (glucose) for energy. Many cells also burn fat, but in much smaller amounts. Glucose happens to be a very “clean” form of energy—there are virtually no waste products left over when you burn it up. Fat, on the other hand, is a “dirty” source of energy. When fat is burned, there are waste products produced. These waste products are called “ketones.” Ketones are acid molecules that can pollute the bloodstream and affect the body’s delicate pH balance if produced in large quantities. Luckily, we don’t tend to burn huge amounts of fat at one time, and the ketones that are produced can be broken down during the process of glucose metabolism. Glucose and ketones can “jump into the fire” together. It is important to have an ample supply of glucose in the body’s cells. That requires two things: sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream, and insulin to shuttle the sugar into the cells. A number of things would start to go wrong if you have no insulin in the bloodstream: Without insulin, glucose cannot get into the body’s cells. As a result, the cells begin burning large amounts of fat for energy. This, of course, Continue reading >>
What You Should Know About Diabetic Ketoacidosis
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a buildup of acids in your blood. It can happen when your blood sugar is too high for too long. It could be life-threatening, but it usually takes many hours to become that serious. You can treat it and prevent it, too. It usually happens because your body doesn't have enough insulin. Your cells can't use the sugar in your blood for energy, so they use fat for fuel instead. Burning fat makes acids called ketones and, if the process goes on for a while, they could build up in your blood. That excess can change the chemical balance of your blood and throw off your entire system. People with type 1 diabetes are at risk for ketoacidosis, since their bodies don't make any insulin. Your ketones can also go up when you miss a meal, you're sick or stressed, or you have an insulin reaction. DKA can happen to people with type 2 diabetes, but it's rare. If you have type 2, especially when you're older, you're more likely to have a condition with some similar symptoms called HHNS (hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome). It can lead to severe dehydration. Test your ketones when your blood sugar is over 240 mg/dL or you have symptoms of high blood sugar, such as dry mouth, feeling really thirsty, or peeing a lot. You can check your levels with a urine test strip. Some glucose meters measure ketones, too. Try to bring your blood sugar down, and check your ketones again in 30 minutes. Call your doctor or go to the emergency room right away if that doesn't work, if you have any of the symptoms below and your ketones aren't normal, or if you have more than one symptom. You've been throwing up for more than 2 hours. You feel queasy or your belly hurts. Your breath smells fruity. You're tired, confused, or woozy. You're having a hard time breathing. Continue reading >>
How To Treat Diabetic Ketoacidosis
1 Call emergency services. Diabetic ketoacidosis can be a life-threatening condition. If you are experiencing symptoms like your blood sugar not lowering, you should immediately call emergency services or visit the emergency room.[2] Symptoms that require you to call emergency services include severe nausea, being nauseous for four or more hours, vomiting, being unable to keep fluids down, inability to get your blood sugar levels down, or high levels of ketones in your urine.[3] Leaving DKA untreated can lead to irreparable damage and even death. It is important to seek medical care as soon as you suspect you are having a problem. 2 Stay in the hospital. Ketoacidosis is usually treated in the hospital. You may be admitted to a regular room or treated in ICU depending on the severity of your symptoms. During the first hours you are there, the doctors will work on getting your fluids and electrolytes balanced, then they will focus on other symptoms. Most of the time, patients remain in the hospital until they are ready to return to their normal insulin regimen.[4] The doctor will monitor you for any other conditions that may cause complications, like infection, heart attack, brain problems, sepsis, or blood clots in deep veins. 3 Increase your fluid intake. One of the first things that will be done to treat your diabetic ketoacidosis is to replace fluids. This can be in the hospital, a doctor’s office, or home. If you are receiving medical care, they will give you an IV. At home, you can drink fluids by mouth.[6] Fluids are lost through frequent urination and must be replaced. Replacing fluids helps balance out the sugar levels in your blood. 4 Replace your electrolytes. Electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and chloride, are important to keep your body functioning p Continue reading >>
How To Get Rid Of Ketones In Urine
When this happens, the body, not having sufficient insulin to get energy into the body's cells, breaks down body tissue (fat and muscle) into ketones, which can be used as fuel without the need diabetes sometimes get ketones during an illness. Ketones in urine is most common . Eventually they build up in the blood. 3) When Apr 29, 2006 1. Your body gets rid of ketones by emptying them into your urine. This happens when your body does not have enough insulin to turn sugar into energy. What can I do to get rid of these ketones? said i did really good. . Ketones are made when your body turns fat into energy. The presence of ketones could be a sign that you are experiencing, or will soon develop, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)—a life-threatening medical emergency. It will take much more rapid insulin than normal to bring blood sugars down when ketones are present in the urine or blood. Ideally, ketone readings should be negative to a trace. You should test again in a few hours. The body tries to get rid of these ketones by spilling them into the urine. If your body is producing lots of ketones, your body will become acidic. The build-up of ketones in the blood is called ketoacidosis. Drinking plenty of water WILL help you to get rid of ketones, but it won't prevent your body from producing more not whilst your blood glucose levels are Checking for ketones. You might also have ketones if you are not eating enough carbohydrates and your body uses fat for energy instead. I went back into the bathroom and grabbed my Ketostix to check my urine for Ketones. So I'm thinking that the ketones must be Mar 13, 2015 Your body cannot tolerate large amounts of ketones and will try to get rid of them through the urine. This is caused by the increased level of ketones, rather than the high Continue reading >>
Diabetic Ketoacidosis
A Preventable Crisis People who have had diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, will tell you it’s worse than any flu they’ve ever had, describing an overwhelming feeling of lethargy, unquenchable thirst, and unrelenting vomiting. “It’s sort of like having molasses for blood,” says George. “Everything moves so slow, the mouth can feel so dry, and there is a cloud over your head. Just before diagnosis, when I was in high school, I would get out of a class and go to the bathroom to pee for about 10–12 minutes. Then I would head to the water fountain and begin drinking water for minutes at a time, usually until well after the next class had begun.” George, generally an upbeat person, said that while he has experienced varying degrees of DKA in his 40 years or so of having diabetes, “…at its worst, there is one reprieve from its ill feeling: Unfortunately, that is a coma.” But DKA can be more than a feeling of extreme discomfort, and it can result in more than a coma. “It has the potential to kill,” says Richard Hellman, MD, past president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. “DKA is a medical emergency. It’s the biggest medical emergency related to diabetes. It’s also the most likely time for a child with diabetes to die.” DKA occurs when there is not enough insulin in the body, resulting in high blood glucose; the person is dehydrated; and too many ketones are present in the bloodstream, making it acidic. The initial insulin deficit is most often caused by the onset of diabetes, by an illness or infection, or by not taking insulin when it is needed. Ketones are your brain’s “second-best fuel,” Hellman says, with glucose being number one. If you don’t have enough glucose in your cells to supply energy to your brain, yo Continue reading >>
Ketones.
Headache. Check. Eyes that weighed at least a pound apiece. Check. Mouth full of sweaters. Check. Looks like they're all here - the symptoms of a high blood sugar. Sitting down to catch up on some emails, I absently fish my meter out of my gym back and lance my fingertip. I hit send, graze against the new infusion set on my left thigh, and see a meter result of 420 mg/dl. "Oh, that is just fantastic." Taking out my pump, I calculated the massive correction bolus and felt the quiet sting of the insulin as it coursed through the infusion set I had placed an hour earlier. Normally when I'm at an elevated blood sugar, I feel lethargic and generally Crumbs Morrone, but this one had a different feel to it entirely. My stomach felt like it was playing host to a hamster wheel, and my headache was blinding. I brought the ketone strips into the bathroom and watched uneasily as the pad on the ketone strip turned a deep purple. Large ketones. I hadn't seen those suckers since my days at Clara Barton Camp. I never, ever have ketones, and I test regularly for them. So where did this come from? My stomach in knots, I wandered back into the living room and filled Chris in on the situation. "I'm high. Like crazy high - 420 mg/dl. And I just tested for ketones. I have large ketones. I feel like complete shit, and my stomach is really nauseous." He rubbed my back. "So what do we do?" "Drink a ton of water and try to flush out the ketones, I guess. If I can't keep the water down, we're off to the emergency room." It dawned on me that I had the process of treating a low blood sugar down to a science, but navigating a serious high was unfamiliar territory. Normally, I just bolus and wait for the numbers to fall, but this high came with an added bonus of ketones. The word "ketones" was enough Continue reading >>
What Are Ketones?
What are ketones and what causes them? Ketones are the result of the body burning fat for energy or fuel. For a person with diabetes, ketones are often the result of prolonged high blood sugar and insulin deficiency. Without the right amount of insulin, glucose starts to build up in the blood stream and doesn't enter the cells. The cells burn fat instead of glucose, and ketones form in the blood and spill into the urine. Some causes of high blood sugar are: Missing an insulin dose or skipping some oral medications. A disconnected or blocked insulin pump tube. Being sick with the flu. High levels of stress. Eating more carbohydrates than your medication covers. What are the signs that I should test for ketones? Symptoms of high blood sugar include frequent urination, frequent thirst, blurry vision, dry mouth, vomiting, and fatigue. There are several scenarios that should prompt a test for ketones. If your blood sugar is over 240 mg/dl for two tests in a row. When you are ill. When your blood sugar is over 240 mg/dl and you are planning on exercising. If you are pregnant, you should test for ketones each morning before breakfast and whenever blood sugars are elevated. How do I test for ketones? There are two ways to test for ketones - by testing your urine or your blood. Ketones appear first in the blood stream and are later present in the urine, so testing your blood for ketones is the best way to check for an early problem. To check urine for ketones, you must collect a urine sample or dip a ketone test strip into a fresh stream of urine. After waiting for the time suggested by the ketone strip manufacturer, you compare the color strip to the chart on the bottle. The darker the color, the higher the amount of ketones in the urine. At this time, there are just a few mete Continue reading >>
Ketones In Gestational Diabetes
As part of your gestational diabetes management, your doctor may ask you to test for ketones in your morning urine. If you have gestational diabetes, you should know about insulin, glucose, and ketones. When you eat, your body breaks down foods into usable sources of energy. Glucose is the sugar that results. Your body needs glucose for energy and your baby needs it to grow. In order to get glucose out of your blood and into your cells, insulin is required. Insulin is a hormone that you produce in your pancreas. "In gestational diabetes, hormones produced during pregnancy can interfere with insulin and make it hard to use glucose. If the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to overcome the effects of the hormones, the blood sugar will rise," explains Louise McDonald, RN, clinical manager of maternity and pediatrics at Cleveland Clinic Home Care. "The body cannot use sugar without enough insulin. That causes the body to break down fats as a source of energy. Ketones are the waste products that are left over when the body burns some of its own fat for fuel. The ketones pass from the bloodstream into the urine," says McDonald. Why Are Ketones Important in Gestational Diabetes? The treatment of gestational diabetes is aimed at keeping your blood sugar under control. This is done with a combination of diet, exercise, and sometimes insulin treatment. Finding ketones in your urine is a warning sign that your blood sugar control is out of balance. High blood sugar. If you are taking in more sugar in your diet than your insulin can manage, your blood sugar goes up. This is dangerous for you and your baby. If your baby is exposed to more sugar then the baby needs, the baby will grow too fast. This condition, called macrosomia, can lead to problems during delivery. Low blood sug Continue reading >>
Diabetic Ketoacidosis
What Is It? Diabetic ketoacidosis is a potentially fatal complication of diabetes that occurs when you have much less insulin than your body needs. This problem causes the blood to become acidic and the body to become dangerously dehydrated. Diabetic ketoacidosis can occur when diabetes is not treated adequately, or it can occur during times of serious sickness. To understand this illness, you need to understand the way your body powers itself with sugar and other fuels. Foods we eat are broken down by the body, and much of what we eat becomes glucose (a type of sugar), which enters the bloodstream. Insulin helps glucose to pass from the bloodstream into body cells, where it is used for energy. Insulin normally is made by the pancreas, but people with type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes) don't produce enough insulin and must inject it daily. Your body needs a constant source of energy. When you have plenty of insulin, your body cells can get all the energy they need from glucose. If you don't have enough insulin in your blood, your liver is programmed to manufacture emergency fuels. These fuels, made from fat, are called ketones (or keto acids). In a pinch, ketones can give you energy. However, if your body stays dependent on ketones for energy for too long, you soon will become ill. Ketones are acidic chemicals that are toxic at high concentrations. In diabetic ketoacidosis, ketones build up in the blood, seriously altering the normal chemistry of the blood and interfering with the function of multiple organs. They make the blood acidic, which causes vomiting and abdominal pain. If the acid level of the blood becomes extreme, ketoacidosis can cause falling blood pressure, coma and death. Ketoacidosis is always accompanied by dehydration, which is caused by high Continue reading >>
The Ultimate Guide To Ketones And Ketosis
Ketones and Ketosis are one of the hottest health trends right now and are rising in popularity - so what’s all the fuss about? Many people still don’t know what ketones are or why ketosis would be a desirable lifestyle, but as more and more people experience the benefits a ketogenic lifestyle can offer, the clearer it becomes. We’re here to help you sift through the facts and fallacies so you can understand what ketones and ketosis are and whether or not a ketogenic diet is right for you. We’ll start with the basics of what it means to be ketogenic or live in ketosis. Then you’ll get a break down of the best diet tips and recipes. BONUS: Access the FREE Ketosis Cheat sheet What are Ketones? Humans naturally get energy from glucose which is the result of broken down carbohydrates. Ketones are an alternative fuel source to glucose made by breaking down fats for energy as opposed to glucose. People who suffer from epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimers or even those who just have an aging brain tend to have dysfunctional glucose uptake in the brain. In fact, more and more research is providing evidence that these are diseases of lifestyle - brought on by insulin resistance and too many carbohydrates consumed over a lifetime. When the liver is in ketosis and is able to construct ketones from fatty acids for energy for the brain to function, our bodies are able to function for longer periods of time without needing to constantly be fed. Cognitive Benefits of Ketosis The benefits of following a ketogenic diet and using ketones for brain function aren’t restricted to those with an aging, epileptic, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer's brain. Even healthy people can drastically improve their brain function and overall health with ketones. The trend of high fat, low-carb diets Continue reading >>
