In this situation, insulin levels should be high to handle the blood sugar, but with the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells destroyed, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin. (This is why type 1 diabetics need to take insulin—their bodies simply don’t make enough.) Due to the lack of insulin, the body produces lots of ketones. But since there’s plenty of glucose in the bloodstream and the brain prefers to use glucose, the ketones are not burned for fuel. Instead they pile up outside cells, like unused logs of firewood. This creates a dangerous, even life-threatening situation.
Keto acidosis
