What are Ketones?
Ketones are a normal and efficient source of fuel and
energy for the human body. They are produced by the
liver from fatty acids, which result from the breakdown
of body fat in response to the absence of glucose/sugar.
In a ketogenic diet, such as Atkins ... or diets used
for treating epilepsy in children, the tiny amounts of
glucose required for some select functions can be met by
consuming a minimum amount of carbs - or can be
manufactured in the liver from PROTEIN. When your body
is producing ketones, and using them for fuel, this is
called "ketosis".
How do I test for ketones?
Ketone testing can be carried out at home. This
product will test for ketones in the urine.
Ketone Testing
Ketone testing is crucial if you have sustained high
blood sugar readings which can often occur if you are
ill or you are struggling to keep on top of your
diabetes. If your blood sugar is high, it is an
indication that you do not have enough insulin in your
system (or that the insulin that you do have is not
working effectively). There’s a chance that your body
will start breaking down protein in order to get some
energy. Although your blood is sugary, the cells in your
body are not able to use that energy (you need insulin
to let the energy in the form of glucose into the
cells).
Why are ketones produced?
Ketones are made when the body breaks down proteins.
Short-term, this is a way the body has of dealing with a
situation where it has no other way to gain energy to
keep going. But long term, ketones can build up. This
can be damaging, and is referred to as a state of
ketoacidosis, or in diabetes, DKA - specifically
Diabetic Ketoacidosis.
What should the ketone test results be?
Under 0.6 mmol/L - a normal blood ketone value
0.6 to 1.5 mmol/L - indicates that more ketones are
being produced than normal, test again later to see if
the value has lowered
1.6 to 3.0 mmol/L - a high level of ketones and could
present a risk of ketoacidosis. It is advisable to
contact your healthcare team for advice.
Above 3.0 mmol/L - a dangerous level of ketones which
will require immediate medical care.
Testing for ketones at home
If you do test for ketones when you are at home, should
you keep getting high blood sugar readings tests that
show positive for ketones then call for medical advice.
Diabetics on insulin should be taking insulin to bring
down high blood sugars but keep testing all the time as
sugars can go down suddenly once enough insulin has been
introduced.
How will ketosis help me to lose weight?
Most reducing diets restrict calorie intake, so you lose
weight but some of that is fat and some of it is lean
muscle tissue as well. Less muscle means slowed
metabolism, which makes losing weight more difficult and
gaining it back all too easy. Ketosis will help you to
lose FAT.
Being in ketosis means that your body's primary source
of energy is fat (in the form of ketones). When you
consume adequate protein as well, there's no need for
the body to break down its muscle tissue. Ketosis also
tends to accelerate fat loss --- once the liver converts
fat to ketones, it can't be converted back to fat, and
so is excreted.
But, isn't ketosis dangerous?
Being in ketosis by following a low carbohydrate diet is
NOT dangerous. The human body was designed to use
ketones very efficiently as fuel in the absence of
glucose. However, the word ketosis is often confused
with a similar word, ketoacidosis.
Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition for diabetics, and
the main element is ACID not ketones. The blood pH
becomes dangerously acidic because of an extremely high
blood SUGAR level (the diabetic has no insulin, or
doesn't respond to insulin .... so blood sugar rises ...
ketones are produced by the body to provide the fuel
necessary for life, since the cells can't use the
sugar). It's the high blood sugar, and the acid
condition that is so dangerous. Ketones just happen to
be a part of the picture, and are a RESULT of the
condition, not the CAUSE. Diabetics can safely follow a
ketogenic diet to lose fat weight ... but they must be
closely monitored by their health care provider, and
blood sugars need to be kept low, and stable.
How do the ketone test strips work, and where can I
get them?
Ketone urine-testing strips, also called Ketostix or
just ketone sticks ... are small plastic strips that
have a little absorptive pad on the end. This contains a
special chemical that will change colour in the presence
of ketones in the urine. The strips may change varying
shades of pink to purple, or may not change colour at
all. The container will have a scale on the label, with
blocks of colour for you to compare the strip after a
certain time lapse, usually 15 seconds. Most folks
simply hold a strip in the flow of urine. Other folks
argue that the force of the flow can "wash" some of the
chemical away, and advise that a sample of urine be
obtained in a cup or other container, then the strip
dipped into it.
The chemical reagent is very sensitive to moisture,
including what's in the air. It's important to keep the
lid of the container tightly closed at all times, except
for when you're getting a strip to take a reading. Make
sure your fingers are dry before you go digging in! They
also have an expiry date, so make note of this when you
purchase the strips ... that's for the Unopened package.
Once opened, they have a shelf-life of about 6 months --
you may wish to write the date you opened on the label
for future reference.
Ketone test strips can be purchased at any pharmacy, and
are usually kept with the diabetic supplies. In some
stores they're kept behind the counter, so if you don't
see them on the shelf, just ask the pharmacist; you
don't need a prescription to buy them.
I'm following Induction strictly; why won't my strips
turn purple?
Ketones will spill into the urine ONLY when there is
more in the blood than is being used as fuel by the body
at that particular moment.
You may have exercised or worked a few hours previously,
so your muscles would have used up the ketones as fuel,
thus there will be no excess. You may have had a lot of
liquids to drink, so the urine is more diluted. Perhaps
the strips are not fresh, or the lid was not on tight
and some moisture from the atmosphere got in.
Some low carbers NEVER show above trace or negative even
... yet they burn fat and lose weight just fine. If
you're losing weight, and your clothes are getting
looser, you're feeling well and not hungry all the time
.. then you are successfully in ketosis. Don't get hung
up on the strips; they're just a guide, nothing more.
Will I lose weight faster if the strips show dark
purple all the time?
No. Testing in the darkest purple range all the time is
usually a sign of dehydration -- the urine is too
concentrated. You need to drink more water to dilute it,
and keep the kidneys flushed.
The liver will make ketones from body fat, the fat you
EAT, and from alcohol --- the ketone strips have no way
of distinguishing the source of the ketones. So, if you
test every day after dinner, and dinner usually contains
a lot of fat, then you may very well test for large
amounts of ketones all the time. However this does not
indicate that any BODY fat was burned.
The strips only indicate what's happening in the urine.
Ketosis happens in the blood and body tissues. If you're
showing even a small amount, then you are in ketosis,
and fat-burning is taking place. Don't get hung up on
the ketone sticks.
Does caffeine affect ketosis?
This is questionable. There ARE a few studies that
suggest caffeine may cause blood sugar to rise, with
consequent effect on insulin ... The studies involve
consuming 50 gm glucose orally, followed by a dose of
caffeine. This is quite different from a low carber, who
is consuming only 20 gm carbs, in the form of high-fiber
vegetables, spread throughout the day.
Many low carbers continue to enjoy caffeine-containing
beverages with no serious impact on their weight-loss
efforts. However, there are some sensitive individuals
... and persons who are extremely insulin resistant may
need to restrict or even eliminate all caffeine. If you
have been losing successfully then find your weight loss
stalled for a month or two, and you are following your
program to the letter, you might consider stopping all
caffeine for a while, to see if that will get things
started again.
Will drinking alcohol affect ketosis?
No and yes. The liver can make ketones out of alcohol,
so technically, when you drink you'll continue to
produce ketones and so will remain in ketosis. The
problem is ... alcohol converts more easily to ketones
than fatty acids, so your liver will use the alchol
first, in preference to fat. Thus, when you drink,
basically your FAT burning is put on hold until all the
alcohol is out of your system.
This rapid breakdown of alcohol into ketones and
acetaldehyde (the intoxicating by-product) ... tends to
put low carbers at risk for quicker intoxication ...
especially if no other food is consumed to slow
absorption.
Indications
For In Vitro Diagnostic Use.
As with all laboratory tests, definitive diagnostic or
therapeutic decisions should not be based on any single
result or method.
Warnings
-
Store at
temperatures between 15°-30°C(59°-86°F) and out of
direct sunlight. Use all strips within 1 hour of opening foil.
-
Read enclosed
directions carefully.
-
Do not use
after expiration date. These are the diagnostic reagent strips used by
physicians, clinics and hospitals to initially screen
for suspected and/or existing health conditions. Simple
to use, urine diagnostic reagent strips can provide
early indications of developing health problems and
identify potential abnormal functions requiring more
extensive testing. Additionally, routine use is
frequently recommended by physicians for monitoring
certain existing and chronic health conditions.
Procedure and Use:
-
Collect a fresh urine sample in a clean, dry
container preferably glass. First morning samples
contain the highest concentration of target markers.
-
Remove
one reagent strip from the foil.
-
Completely immerse the reagent pads of the strip in
the urine sample and then remove immediately to
avoid dissolving out the reagent pads.
-
While
removing the reagent strip, run the edge of the
strip against the rim of the specimen container to
remove excess urine. Hold the strip in a horizontal
position to prevent possible cross contamination of
chemicals located in adjacent reagent pads.
-
Compare the colour change of reagent pads to the
corresponding colour chart on the foil label. Read
results according to the chart's time frame for each
panel tested.
-
Record
the results of your readings for discussion and/or
evaluation with your physician or healthcare
provider and then discard the used reagent strip.
Reading
the results:
Each vial
of urinalysis reagent strips includes a colour coded
chart on the front of the foil.
The
reactive colour of each panel on the test strip is
compared to the closest corresponding colour on the
result chart. The concentration level range for each
chemical marker is indicated below each colour block on
the result chart. As with all tests dealing with colour
intensity or colour matching, it is often recommended to
obtain another person's interpretation of the test
result. The closest colour match indicates the test result. Use
of reagent strips are intended as an initial indication
only of elevated chemical markers and not conclusive of
a specific diagnosis. Further testing and consultation
with a healthcare professional is necessary to confirm
the presence of specific disease or health conditions.
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