The Facts and Misconceptions About Ketosis and Ketoacidosis
By Marcus J Michael | Submitted On July 26, 2012
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Expert Author Marcus J Michael
The break down of body fat into fatty acids has as one of its side effects the formation of what is known as ketones. These acidic by-products of fat metabolism have the tendency of raising the body's acidity level when they accumulate in the bloodstream and can degenerate into …show more content…
The combination of these two factors makes the use of a ketogenic diet a very effective means of achieving rapid weight loss.
Unfortunately, there has been some mix up concerning the state of increased ketone accumulation in the body. This is partly due to the fact that a lot of people fail to realize that apart from the ketosis effect of ketogenic diets, one other physiological condition can equally cause increased ketone accumulation.
Besides ketosis, ketoacidosis is the other condition that can cause an increased ketone accumulation. While there is no doubt that both conditions lead to increased accumulation of ketones and therefore acidity of the body, the precipitating conditions are however very different.
Ketoacidosis (also known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis - DKA) is a serious condition whereby ketone bodies accumulate in the bloodstream of Type I Diabetic persons due to the inability of the body to produce sufficient amounts of insulin. This condition is worsened by an increase in counter-regulatory …show more content…
To bring the situation under control, the body may on the one hand continue excreting glucose in the urine causing a more serious condition, Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemia State (HHS) - which has a known mortality rate of about 15% in people with this condition.
On the other hand, the body may begin breaking down more triglycerides (stored body fat) as a way to produce more energy to control the situation. However, this increased lipolysis (release of fatty acids and ketones from fat cells, muscle tissues and the liver) causes an elevated accumulation of ketones (the by-products of fat break down) in the urine and bloodstream raising the acidity of the blood. The combination of hyperglycemia and acidosis (abnormal increase in blood acidity) is what is known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis - DKA.
Therefore, while there is actually an elevated amount of accumulated ketones in both conditions, there is however an increased blood sugar level in the state of ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis can actually degenerate to hyperventilation causing subsequent impairment of central nervous system functions which can lead to coma and
By Marcus J Michael | Submitted On July 26, 2012
Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest
Expert Author Marcus J Michael
The break down of body fat into fatty acids has as one of its side effects the formation of what is known as ketones. These acidic by-products of fat metabolism have the tendency of raising the body's acidity level when they accumulate in the bloodstream and can degenerate into …show more content…
The combination of these two factors makes the use of a ketogenic diet a very effective means of achieving rapid weight loss.
Unfortunately, there has been some mix up concerning the state of increased ketone accumulation in the body. This is partly due to the fact that a lot of people fail to realize that apart from the ketosis effect of ketogenic diets, one other physiological condition can equally cause increased ketone accumulation.
Besides ketosis, ketoacidosis is the other condition that can cause an increased ketone accumulation. While there is no doubt that both conditions lead to increased accumulation of ketones and therefore acidity of the body, the precipitating conditions are however very different.
Ketoacidosis (also known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis - DKA) is a serious condition whereby ketone bodies accumulate in the bloodstream of Type I Diabetic persons due to the inability of the body to produce sufficient amounts of insulin. This condition is worsened by an increase in counter-regulatory …show more content…
To bring the situation under control, the body may on the one hand continue excreting glucose in the urine causing a more serious condition, Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemia State (HHS) - which has a known mortality rate of about 15% in people with this condition.
On the other hand, the body may begin breaking down more triglycerides (stored body fat) as a way to produce more energy to control the situation. However, this increased lipolysis (release of fatty acids and ketones from fat cells, muscle tissues and the liver) causes an elevated accumulation of ketones (the by-products of fat break down) in the urine and bloodstream raising the acidity of the blood. The combination of hyperglycemia and acidosis (abnormal increase in blood acidity) is what is known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis - DKA.
Therefore, while there is actually an elevated amount of accumulated ketones in both conditions, there is however an increased blood sugar level in the state of ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis can actually degenerate to hyperventilation causing subsequent impairment of central nervous system functions which can lead to coma and