Fasting Blood Glucose and low carb

(Q) I have a quick question related to my low-carb diet and a recent fast which
has resulted in elevated FBG levels. I hope you won't mind answering my
question, as I am really struggling to understand what is going on.

I generally eat a very low carb ketogenic diet and my blood sugar has
always been in the 80s or very low 90s. Right before Thanksgiving, I did a
7 day fast, following Thomas Seyfried's advice that this is something good
to do once a year.

My blood sugar got down to the low 50s and my ketones
got up to over 6. I was quite pleased with the results.

Since then however my FBG has been in the upper 90s to low 100s. I have no
idea what is going on and would love your thoughts. I ended the fast right
before Thanksgiving and the following couple of days I had some binge sugar
eating, as in a couple of cupcakes ( gluten-free) each night. Willpower is
always considerably less when around family :)

It certainly makes sense that my FBG would be high for a couple of
mornings, but I don't understand why this has continued. I worry that
somehow I've developed insulin resistance but don't know how.

Right after Thanksgiving, I resumed my typical low-carb diet (about 5% of calories)and
my FBG still has not returned to normal. It continues to be somewhere
between 98-105.

Needless to say, this is a bit unsettling. I don't understand what might be
going on. I'm now wondering if I should do another fast to try to reset
things?

Any thoughts about what might have happened and what I might do at this
point to lower my FBG would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!!
Best,
BG

(A)

B G

• I am not familiar with Thomas Seyfried or the type of fast he advises.

• I do not have any knowledge of Dr. Rosedale ever suggesting a 7 day fast.

Binge eating as you have stated would be a major stressor for a person's metabolic system. May take 1 to 3 weeks to start recovering.

As far as lowering your FBG - resume your prior WOE and see how it is doing after a 3 week period. Recovery would be different for each person.

Ken/   Rosedale Support Team

(Q)

Thanks Ken!!
Could something like glucose neogenesis be going on, for my body has started to produce its own glucose in response to the fast?
Does Dr. Rosedale suggest any kind of fasting at all? Just curious.
What is WOE by the way?
Thanks so much for your help. Really appreciate your responsiveness.
Best,
BG

(A) BG

• WOE: W ay O f E ating

• Fasting

• The body can make any necessary glucose from protein and fat, if there is too much protein consumed at any one time, it will be converted to glucose which can raise BG.

Ken/   Rosedale Support Team

(Q)

Thanks so much for your note. Really helpful!

Interesting what you said about protein, as most recently, I have joined A ketogenic Facebook group and they have a chart about the optimal macroNutrients one should be ingesting. This seems to be a group that emphasizes getting in the proper amount of protein and it seems to be on the high side in my opinion.

According to this chart, I should be in ingesting about 82 g of protein. Whereas on Rosedale's site, I should be ingesting closer to 49 g. I have been intentionally adding in more protein, and that might well explain my higher blood glucose.

I'm curious however about the huge discrepancy between what Rosedale is suggesting and what this Facebook group called optimal ketogenic living is suggesting and why?

I know you can't speak for them, but I've never heard of any kind of ketogenic diet suggesting such high amounts of protein as they are. If too much protein gets converted into glucose, I wonder how so many people on this Facebook group manage to stay in ketosis??

(A)

BG

Below is a quote from Dr. Rosedale in our Knowledge Database that addresses your question.

Ketosis and Ketones

• It is not ketosis that we are after. Many kinds of amino acids from protein also turns to ketones.. What we want is to burn fatty acids and ketones from burning fat, not protein that is unhealthy.

Therefore I have been against the term "ketogenic diet” since that term was introduced, because this can mean a higher protein diet also.

• Furthermore, one's blood (and urine) ketones are the ketones that are not being burned. These will do you no good and in fact some (minor) harm. If one is burning ketones appropriately, they will not build up to such a great extent in the blood.

• Reducing your protein to a lower / appropriate level, “example, a 50 g level” will lower your fasting blood sugar and also reduce considerably your risk of chronic disease and slow your rate of aging.

Ken/   Rosedale Support Team

BG, below is further protein information that may be of interest

Here and Here

Ken/   Rosedale Support Team

(Q)

Hi Ken,

I'm confused about one thing with regards to burning ketones, does this mean when I do the blood Ketone test with my Precision Extra meter, that I do not want to see elevated ketones?

Thanks so much for continuing this dialogue and helping me to understand all this a bit more!

(A)

BG, to further answer your question;

Yes, it is not particularly high ketones that we are after.

• High ketones can also mean that one is not burning them effectively. In other words, this is far from a perfect correlation between blood, or urine, ketones and the amount of fatty acids and ketones being burned.

• In general, Dr. Rosedale does not agree with measuring ketones routinely. As long as one is eating a proper high fat (not just any ketogenic) diet, one can generally be assured that their body will ultimately be burning fatty acids and the ketones they're producing.

Ken/   Rosedale Support Team