I am doing Atkins. I have read the books, but I really do not understand Ketosis. From what I have discussed with my bariatric specialist (from the HCG diet) Ketosis is not good and it can cause health problems. Will someone explain ketosis to me like I am 2 year old.

Hey, Sandra. Here's the short version:

Ketosis is when your body burns fat for fuel which causes it to produce ketone bodies which, among other things, spill over into and are generally detected in urine.

There is a form of ketosis which is a problem, but not the result of low carbing. It generally occurs in type 1 diabetes if the person is not well controlled. In that case, the person is generally not taking enough insulin. Consequently, their body cannot convert what they're taking in to usable fuel. Blood sugar gets very high and both glucose and ketone bodies (which are are made from the fat burning process) will spill into the urine. This is diabetic ketoacidosis, and it is a very serious problem.

Benign dietary ketosis, on the other hand, is the result of dietary lipolysis (fat burning). When your body is burning fat, rather than carbs, for fuel there is generally a rise in the number of ketone bodies. If this is because the person is consuming a low carbohydrate menu, it is perfectly normal. There will be no excess sugar in the urine, but ketone bodies are present.

Unlike diabetic ketoacidosis, I'm not aware of any research showing that benign dietary ketosis produces any health problems.

__________________

Maggie, I have a question regarding ketosis. If someone is losing weight, no matter what method they're using, wouldn't they produce ketones? If it is caused by fat burning (which is ultimately the goal in weight loss) wouldn't they produce them no matter what? And it still gripes me that doctors lump ketosis in with ketoacidosis. They should know the difference. I just don't see what the big deal is. Of course, anyone dealing with diabetes should be under strict scrutiny with their doctor, but I would think weight loss would be the ultimate goal.

__________________

Maggie, thanks a million. It makes more sense to me now. I agree with Barb that doctors should not lump the two processes together when they know the difference. Now I feel much better about the process.