Alcohol Testing Policy at Work and Keto

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#1

Hi everyone, this is my 3rd day around these parts (but not to keto) and so far I’m really digging the fourm (thanks Carl and Richard!), this place is going to be so much better than my previous online keto hangout.

So here I am with a potentially serious question:

My workplace is requiring us to do our yearly acknowledgment of company policies and I’m hung up on our alcohol testing policy because it gives absolutely no “outs” if you blow above a 0.02 on an Evidential Breath Testing (EBT) device. Other methods can be used to test at the sole discretion of the company but they don’t say what the levels or consequences will be. Basically the consequence of blowing over a 0.02 is that you “will be removed from duty immediately, suspended without pay, and may be subject to other or additional discipline, up to and including termination of employment.”

While I have never tested my BAC while in ketosis, I know that I have some serious keto breath going on and since I’m clumsy, I’m afraid that if I fall, then I’m going to be subject to this policy and blow over an 0.02 and be immediately suspended without pay due to the verbiage of the policy. Obviously I don’t want that.

In my email to HR I’ve said that I would like to see an addendum that would be something like “if you have a positive on the EBT device that the blood testing method will be immediately required. This testing method will allow those that follow a low-carb high-protein diet to prove that they are metabolically in a state of ketosis (a blood test will show an alcohol level of 0). Additionally, some diabetics can have a false-positive EBT if their blood sugar is low due to the presence of acetones in breath, so this addendum could possibly cover many others.”

I need legitimate sources to back up my statements of keto/LC and diabetics blowing false-positives before I hit send on this email. Right now all I’m finding are blog posts and such. Could anyone help me out here? Or come up with a better way to approach HR?

Thankfully, my manager is well aware of my keto diet and has done well with a LC diet himself, so I have that working for me. It just makes me side eye this policy when they give a ton of “outs” if you have a positive drug test, but nada when it comes to the alcohol policy.

#2

You might be able to talk to them about the type of EBT, rather than looking for blood testing. It appears most EBT devices SHOULD be able to distinguish alcohol from acetone. From what I’ve found, only a small number cannot.

This government guideline says EBTs they use must be able to make the distinction anyway: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/drug-alcohol-testing/implementation-guidelines-alcohol-and-drug-regulations-chapter-7

Evidential Breath Testing Device (§40.229).

An EBT is a breath testing device that is capable of measuring a driver’s blood alcohol concentration. It must be able to distinguish alcohol from acetone at the 0.02 alcohol concentration level.

Interesting to me that your work is so gung ho about alcohol. My workplace regularly provides us with alcohol, and we have beer and liquor in the fridge or elsewhere pretty regularly. We’re usually expected not to drink any until after work hours, at the end of the day, or during special events/celebrations (like when a new version is officially released, my boss would give everyone shots). For myself, I don’t drink alcohol anyway, but it’s fine around here (and I’ve never seen anyone drunk during work hours).

Side note: are you actually doing a ‘high-protein’ diet, rather than a nutritional ketosis diet (low-carb, moderate protein, high fat)?

#3

Thank you for your reply. I will ask about that instead of throwing my book of an email at them at the first go. I didn’t even think of looking up what the guidelines for an EBT were.

I work for a company that has A LOT of relatively unsupervised people out in the field doing risky hard labor so I imagine it is because of that. We have to abide by DOT and other government regulations so random testing out the wahoo around here. I’m in the corporate office so the most likely thing to happen to me is to trip over my own feet or an open file cabinet, and unfortunately I manage to trip over my own feet a lot.

My macros are based off the keto calculator, so I’m assuming it’s moderate by what you are asking? Personally, I think the difference between moderate and high is relative. I eat more protein than fat and more fat than carbs, so for me my diet is high protein. I just think it is easier to say I have a high protein diet and to say keto diet if I don’t feel like explaining myself. :smiley: If there is a big difference then I’m all ears. edited to add, I stand corrected, I do eat more fat than protein, I’m not really sure WTF I was talking about. I was on day 1 of getting back on the keto bandwagon and my mind was obviously in a haze.

(Richard Morris) #4

In Australia you can request a blood test at most police offices, that would rule out any false positives and I would expect if they don’t want to open themselves to potential liability they would want to give you that as an option.

When we don’t eat sugar or starch, we make glucose to keep our brains alive, and in that process our livers make a ketone called Acetoacetate. That’s quite unstable and degrades spontaneously to the volatile chemical Acetone which escapes from our blood into our breath from the surface of our lungs.Ethanol (Alcohol) does the same.

Breath alcohol testers use a metal oxide silicon sensor to detect volatile gasses. Older alcohol breath testers use an organic solvent vapour sensor like this Tin oxide one ( http://www.figarosensor.com/products/822pdf.pdf ) that picks up Carbon monoxide, ammonia, acetone, toluene, sulphur dioxide, ethanol, gasoline.

The newer devices should rule out more false positives but it is possible for your cells to naturally reduce acetone to isopropanol which can produce a false positive even in the newest sensors.

I would take a ketone meter just in case so you can prove that you have unusual chemistry happening in your body caused by your diet that could produce false positives.