Changes

Low carbohydrate diets cause of the kidneys to excrete more sodium. This is known as "natriuresis of starvation", and may be due to low insulin<ref name="Stenvinkel-1995"/>, increased dopamine excretion<ref name="Swaminathan-1983"/>, or elevated Glucagon<ref name="SaudekBoulter1973"/>. If carbohydrate and sodium intakes are both limited, then the body will secrete the hormone aldosterone<ref name="Phinney-2011-p312"/> which will cause the kidneys to excrete potassium and conserve sodium<ref name="Lote2012"/>. This loss of potassium can cause muscle cramps [[Cramps| Muscle Cramps]] and heart arrhythmias, as well has the loss of muscle tissue[[Muscle| Muscle Tissue]].

Uncontrolled diabetic patients can suffer from diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition where very high levels of ketones are produced. In diabetic ketoacidosis not only are their high levels of ketones, but also their blood glucose is high, and there is often potassium [[Potassium]] depletion and dehydration (citation required.) Acidosis is not a common problem on the ketogenic diet, but it can occur and symptoms are lethargy, nausea[[Nausea]], vomiting, and headache<ref name="Kossoff-2011-p318"/>.

While the Ketogenic Diet can be beneficial for those suffering from insulin resistance [[Insulin Resistance]] or diabetes<ref name="Veech-2004"/>, there are also concerns that the Ketogenic Diet may also result in some insulin resistance<ref name="Jornayvaz2011"/>. This would not be expected to be an issue while on a Ketogenic Diet, but it may mean that care should be taken when exiting the Ketogenic Diet.