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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Jul-06-17, 16:03
SKOL's Avatar
SKOL SKOL is offline
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Posts: 66
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 292/265/195 Male 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 28%
Default Measuring Ketones



I have a question for those who measure ketones. From my research I get conflicting information.

Some people say when you measure ketones you want high levels.

Others say you want small level, and if you show high levels it means you are spilling ketones. Those are unused ketones, meaning you are consuming too much fat and need to lower your intake to force the body to use the storage.

I get the best information here so I thought I would ask.
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  #2   ^
Old Thu, Jul-06-17, 17:40
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SKOL SKOL is offline
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Posts: 66
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 292/265/195 Male 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 28%
Default

After doing some more searching I found a post on here that helped me out.

JEY100 shared a link to a blog post that was very informative. It didn't really answer the question about what each reading meant per se, but it did open my eyes to whether ketone measurements really matter.

Thanks, JEY100. You can be in ketosis and not lose body fat, and you can lose body fat without being in ketosis.

Here is her link Being Fat Adapted Versus "In Ketosis"

I'd delete this post but I do not know how. So I'll just add what I found in case anybody is interested.

Last edited by SKOL : Thu, Jul-06-17 at 17:48.
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  #3   ^
Old Thu, Jul-06-17, 17:44
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teaser teaser is offline
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Posts: 15,075
 
Plan: mostly milkfat
Stats: 190/152.4/154 Male 67inches
BF:
Progress: 104%
Location: Ontario
Default

Two main factors determine urine ketones. The first is blood ketones, if blood ketones aren't elevated, they're not available to appear in the urine in the first place. The second is the kidneys. The kidneys can either allow ketones to pass out through the urine, or they can actively increase reabsorption of ketones. So low urine ketones can accompany high blood ketones--not because ketones are being "used efficiently," but because the ketones are being reabsorbed. This makes urine ketones an inexact measure of systemic ketosis.

You really can't tell by looking at the ketone strips whether you're eating too much fat to lose weight.

Low urine ketones don't tell you that you're drinking enough water. High ketones don't tell you that you're dehydrated. Hydration can affect these things, but you can't look at the strips and see that that's what's going on. It's a fairly blunt instrument that can tell you that you're definitely in ketosis, but can't really tell you for sure that you're not in ketosis.
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  #4   ^
Old Thu, Jul-06-17, 17:50
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deirdra deirdra is offline
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Plan: vLC/GF,CF,SF
Stats: 197/136/150 Female 66 inches
BF:
Progress: 130%
Location: Alberta
Default

Most people don't show "large" levels unless they are severely dehydrated, have just started a ketogenic diet, or are taking (but not utilizing) high levels of exogenous ketones.

And you are correct, if you are dumping large amounts of ketones into urine, you are probably not yet adapted to using ketones & fat instead of glucose for energy.

I've never recorded more than "trace" levels myself, and even bought a second batch of ketostix thinking the first batch might have been too old, but haven't bothered trying them again in the past 17 yrs, since I can just go by what I'm eating and how I'm feeling - full of energy and sharp as a tack with money left to buy better food instead of stix.

Last edited by deirdra : Thu, Jul-06-17 at 18:02.
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  #5   ^
Old Thu, Jul-06-17, 18:08
teaser's Avatar
teaser teaser is offline
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Posts: 15,075
 
Plan: mostly milkfat
Stats: 190/152.4/154 Male 67inches
BF:
Progress: 104%
Location: Ontario
Default

I sort of doubt the not adapted if you're spilling ketones idea. I often show high ketones on a diet that would leave me flat on my butt if I wasn't managing to get most of my energy from fat/ketones.
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  #6   ^
Old Fri, Jul-07-17, 03:40
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JEY100 JEY100 is offline
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Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

Thanks skol

The article can't tell you what each reading means because if you continue...

Quote:
Here is an exhaustive, comprehensive list of everything urine ketone test strips tell you:
There is acetoacetate in your urine.

That’s it. Nothing more. Nada más. Game over. Finito. The fat lady has sung, and Elvis has left the building.

Here is what they do not indicate:
Your worth as a human being
The efficacy of your low-carb or ketogenic diet
What your level of ketosis was an hour ago
What your level of ketosis will be three hours from now
Whether a specific food you ate “kicked you out of ketosis” (or, rather, caused there to be less acetoacetate in your urine)
Whether you are fat-adapted
Whether you are losing body fat


And although some can see a correlation between the urine reading and the Bhb in a blood reading...it isn't perfect, nor is a breathe analyzer. The third part of that series on Ketosis cover how the urine strips might be useful, just don't give the depth of color more meaning than deserved.

Last edited by JEY100 : Fri, Jul-07-17 at 03:47.
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  #7   ^
Old Fri, Jul-07-17, 16:24
VLC.MD VLC.MD is offline
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Posts: 220
 
Plan: Atkins/LCHF
Stats: 209/185/185 Male 69
BF:reducing
Progress: 100%
Location: Toronto, Canada
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Is that a Ketostix ?
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  #8   ^
Old Fri, Jul-07-17, 19:56
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deirdra deirdra is offline
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Posts: 4,324
 
Plan: vLC/GF,CF,SF
Stats: 197/136/150 Female 66 inches
BF:
Progress: 130%
Location: Alberta
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by VLC.MD
Is that a Ketostix ?
It appears to be a different brand (TruePlus as opposed to Ketostix by Bayer), but same idea - urine test sticks for ketones with the same possible colour ranges.
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Jul-10-17, 05:33
VLC.MD VLC.MD is offline
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Posts: 220
 
Plan: Atkins/LCHF
Stats: 209/185/185 Male 69
BF:reducing
Progress: 100%
Location: Toronto, Canada
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by deirdra
It appears to be a different brand (TruePlus as opposed to Ketostix by Bayer)

Thanks
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