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Why measure your ketone levels

When following a ketogenic diet, you'll want to check that you're in ketosis, the state when your body burns fat instead of glucose. Without measuring, there is no way of knowing whether you are in ketosis. You can't feel it or see it. The ketones that your body produces can only be found in your blood, in your urine, and your breath by way of testing. That is why you need to measure. Checking your ketone levels regularly gives you the information that your keto diet is working and will motivate you to persevere.

Measuring ketones: what are your options

There are three main ways of measuring ketones. The ketone blood test with a ketone meter is by far your most reliable option. Let us tell you why.

Blood tests are the most accurate  way of assessing ketosis. They're user-friendly and reliable and give you an  instant result. And with a dual-purpose glucose and ketone meter, you also have  the possibility of checking your blood glucose levels.

Blood ketone testing is the most  precise way of measuring ketones because it measures β-hydroxybutyrate.  This substance is present in the highest quantities in the blood. By measuring  BHB, you are measuring the actual ketones that your body will be using. The  other testing options only calculate the ketones that you haven't used, as they  leave your body through your urine or breath.

How to measure ketones  in blood?

It's quick and easy to measure BHB  in blood with a blood ketone meter. You produce a tiny drop of blood from your  fingertip by giving it a little prick with a lancet. You can then use the  droplet to give a reading of the levels of β-hydroxybutyrate  in your blood.

Blood ketone meters are battery  operated and are convenient to carry with you or when traveling. You'll use a  new test strip for every test, plus a disposable lancet.

How often should you  measure your ketones?

When you start your keto journey, it  pays to closely monitor your ketone levels. Keep a diary of what you eat, your  activity level, and your ketone (and glucose) levels.

Measuring often will help you to  find out how you react to certain foods and food combinations and adjust your  diet and exercise accordingly.

For the first 2 months of your keto  diet, we recommend you measure your ketones 5 times a day:

• When you get up in the     morning  
• 1 Hour after each meal
• Before you go to bed

Once you are well adapted to the  keto lifestyle, measuring 1-3 times a day will be sufficient.

If you measure glucose as well, you  might do this up to 3 times a day.

Important: Choose the right brand  for your ketone test as some meters might be cheap but the test strips may be  very costly.

Urine Ketone Sticks are a low-tech  option that can be very helpful in the early stages of your keto diet when you  want to know if you are really in ketosis. They are cheap, readily available,  and easy to use.

Urine sticks show the level of  acetoacetate – the ketone bodies that are excreted in the urine. The paper  strips are impregnated with sodium nitroprusside, which reacts and changes  colour to show the ketone levels.

Urine sticks give you a rough idea  whether you are in ketosis or not. This might sound good, at least in the  beginning of your keto journey, but within a few days, you will want to find  out exactly what the effect of specific foods is on your ketosis. And then you  will want to use a keto meter.

How to use a  urinalysis stick?

Dip the stick in urine and then wait  for the recommended number of seconds, which varies between different brands.  You will see a colour change in the squares printed on the strip that will show  whether you are in ketosis.

Important: over time, when you are  longer in ketosis, the ketone levels in your urine drop, making the urine  testing less useful.

A breath analyzer does not measure  the actual ketones, but instead the acetone in your breath. This is a way of  checking ketosis, but it's less accurate than blood testing.

Acetone is one of the substances  created when the body breaks down acetoacetate, and the acetone concentration  reflects the rate at which the body is burning ketones. It's thanks to this  process that you can sometimes smell acetone on the breath of someone who's in  ketosis.

Choosing a good breath analyzer is  difficult. The affordable ones are far from precise, while the better devices  are very expensive. And doing a breath test is not as easy as it seems. If you  don't follow the exact breathing instructions, the results may be inaccurate,  without a warning from the analyzer.

How to use a ketone  “breathalyser”

These devices are battery operated  so you can use them anywhere. With set-up complete, exhale deeply into the  device. Make sure to force all the air out of your lungs. The ketone level will  then appear in the window of the device.

Even a small glass of wine can cause  a breath analyzer to show much higher ketone levels, so wait until all the  alcohol is out of your system before testing.

Important: bear in mind that  acetone levels in your breath can be affected by factors such as hydration  levels and alcohol consumption, so they don't always reflect blood ketone  levels accurately.

Important: over time, when you are  longer in ketosis, the acetone levels in your breath drop, making the breath  analyzer less useful.

Choosing the right keto blood meter

When you choose your meter, just keep the following points in mind.

To begin with, to measure, you need:

• A meter (your lancing pen is always  included)
• Test strips (decide if you want  just ketone test strips, or glucose test strips as well)
• Lancets

As the next step, you need to decide on the number of test strips and lancets that you need. If you follow the ketone measuring plan for beginning ketonians outlined above, you will measure your ketones five times a day. You can use each strip and lancet only once, so based on that, you can choose the correct number of strips and lancets (5 per day of each).

Remember that you need to make the same calculation if you want to test for glucose as well, including the lancets.

Measuring glucose in mmol or mg/l?

Finally, when you order a Go-Keto ketone and glucose meter, we ask you if you want your meter to measure glucose in mmol/l or mg/l. Why is this? Historically, different countries have adopted a different standard measuring unit for glucose (ketones are always measured in mmol/l). If you wish to measure glucose, this is important because this cannot be changed later in the settings of your meter. And you will want to measure in the unit that's in use in the country where you live. You can easily select the glucose measuring unit as you order your meter. If you don't care which glucose unit you get, please select the mmol/l option.