Ketones & LCHF diet?

[Lucie S]

Hi,

I've just changed over to a LCHF diet and have read about the possibility of this increasing ketones.
Is this correct? And if so, should I be worried??

Also, is there a home kit where I can test ketone levels??

Any help/advise, much appreciated.

I'm type 2, insulin dependant & also taking metformin.

Many thanks!

 

[jack412]

Hi, you need your Dr to tell you what is applicable to you..
there are dietary ketones where your BG is normal and you are burning fat for fuel. normally = good
it's also common for T2 to have high BG but have no ketones from lack of insulin, T2's even on insulin can have plenty of insulin and can be insulin resistant.

ask dr, there is also 'normally T1 type ketones', where the BG is high from insufficient insulin and the body is burning fat for fuel and the rate can climb to very high levels, DKA = bad

ask Dr, you can use urine ketostiks at the beginning, after a while the dietary ketones may not show on the stick.
blood ketostiks can be more accurate and can be used long term.

 

[Lucie S]

Thanks for your reply,
I've got an appointment with my diabetes specialist this Wednesday, so i'll bring this up with them and see what they have to say about it!

 

[jack412]

Thanks for your reply,
I've got an appointment with my diabetes specialist this Wednesday, so i'll bring this up with them and see what they have to say about it!

first ask them do they know the difference between the two, there are a lot of medico out there that have no idea and think all ketones are DKA

 

[Robbity]

if you are going lower than 50g carbs a day on LCHF then your body will normaly go into ketosis and start burning fats for energy instead of the missing carbs. This is quite normal for this diet, and isn't the same as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) the condition that Jack's mentioned, which is very dangerous. This can mainly be a serious problem for type 1 diabetics due to a combination of high glucose levels and lack of sufficient insulin, but may also occasionally affect type 2's if their glucose levels go very high too.

If for any reason you are unable to get the blood ketone test strips prescribed (and they are apparently very expensive to buy and you'll need a meter that will read them too), then you can buy a gadget called the Ketonix that you breath into to test for ketones; this uses a coloured "traffic lights" system shows none, low, medium or high levels. It should always show your ketone levels, whereas the Ketostix usually only show the waste ketones in your wee as you progress into ketosis. The Ketonix's levels of accuracy are probably somewhere between the low accuracy urine test strips and the high accuracy blood ones.

Robbity

 

[Lenny3]

I get ketostix that you pee on to see if i have ketones

 

[Lucie S]

if you are going lower than 50g carbs a day on LCHF then your body will normaly go into ketosis and start burning fats for energy instead of the missing carbs. This is quite normal for this diet, and isn't the same as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) the condition that Jack's mentioned, which is very dangerous. This can mainly be a serious problem for type 1 diabetics due to a combination of high glucose levels and lack of sufficient insulin, but may also occasionally affect type 2's if their glucose levels go very high too.

If for any reason you are unable to get the blood ketone test strips prescribed (and they are apparently very expensive to buy and you'll need a meter that will read them too), then you can buy a gadget called the Ketonix that you breath into to test for ketones; this uses a coloured "traffic lights" system shows none, low, medium or high levels. It should always show your ketone levels, whereas the Ketostix usually only show the waste ketones in your wee as you progress into ketosis. The Ketonix's levels of accuracy are probably somewhere between the low accuracy urine test strips and the high accuracy blood ones.

Robbity

Great advice also, thanks very much!