Does GKI tend to normalize (avg 18/6 IF)?

fasting
gki
(Mike) #1

I had seen a very low GKI of 1.0 in the past very rarely.

About 2 weeks back, it tightened up on IF and carbs in an effort to lose a few pounds if put back on.

After about a week, I took my reading before the big meal (last meal of the day) and had 3.0 glucose and 6.8 ketone so 0.44 GKI. Felt great …

Continuing the same eating pattern I am seeing both variables slowly creeping the other direction with averages about 4.5g - 3.8k and 1.1 - 1.2 GKI

3 month average for me is 5.0g - 2.0 g and 2.5 GKI

Does the ketone production normalize with the diet to “needed levels” ?

Ps my activity level is fairly sedentary (3000 steps) until the weekend then varies with maybe 7500 steps per day average.

Thanks ,

(Mike) #2

Ps I have lost about 6 pounds in that 2 weeks so something is working !

#3

My hypothesis is… Heat wave or increased body temperature decreases GKI?

Higher body temperature increases metabolism.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

I’m not sure that the GKI is really as manipulable as people seem to think it is. If you are eating minimal carbohydrate, then your serum glucose is going to be normal, but not necessarily all that low, and I don’t know of any way to increase circulating serum ketones, except by taking exogenous ketones.

Unless you are trying to fight cancer, I don’t really understand why your GKI would even be worth computing, and even then, I’m just not sure of the logic. Serum glucose is a valuable number, because an excess can cause damage, and many cancer cells thrive in an abundance of serum glucose. But serum β-hydroxybutyrate measures the gap between production and use, not the actual turnover (i.e., how much your liver is making and your cells are actually consuming).

If I understand the last lecture by Dr. Seyfried that I watched, the key to keeping cancer in check is minimal glucose (from eating a ketogenic diet); I did not get the impression that he feels a particular ketone level is even relevant.

Granted, I could be wrong about all this, so any information you’d like to share would be useful.

(Mike) #5

Interesting

(Mike) #6

I agree that the consensus appears to be that super low is not better for an otherwise healthy person.

Mostly curious about how my body reacts to different eating patterns. I am eating to satiety twice in 4 hours then fasting except for a bulletproof coffee (with some mct) so I am good with whatever it is.

When in steady low carb my blood glucose is very stable no matter how long since I’ve eaten.

Was surprised when it dropped about 2 points lower than that norm.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

We occasionally get people reporting that theirs has dropped to somewhere around 40 or 50 (in American units), which is dangerously low for the carb-adapted. But as Cahill demonstrated in the 1960’s, when there is enough circulating β-hydroxybutyrate to feed the brain, low glucose is not a problem.

(Mame) #8

I am not sure what the original poster meant by the question… I think it meant does your average GKI get lower as you eat keto? I would say yes because as you eat keto your ketone measurement is probably going to trend up which means your GKI will trend down. It just how the formula works… I currently only do IF and my GKI average keeps trending down

I like to calculate the ratio between BS and BK but then I am a math nerd. I do put way more value on my HOMA-IR value but for that you need a fasting insulin test and you cannot do that at home. I see the GKI as a proxy for that… if your average GKI is trending down that more than likely your HOMA-IR is as well. (and this number is a very important metabolic health indicator) However N=1 here, who knows if it will work that way for others. :slight_smile:

(Bob M) #9

Does “it” mean blood sugar? If so, and you’re taking blood sugar via pin-prick meters, 100% accuracy means plus or minus 15% from the real value. So, 2 points (on the US scale) is meaningless. 2 points on the European scale (where each point = 18) would be a lot.

For any of these to mean anything, the values we measure would have to be exact, and they are far from that. I think assuming “a lot” of error is what should be done. I have a picture of a blood test with the same blood and three meters (two Keto Mojos and one Precision Xtra), and readings of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 mmol/l BHB ketones. Which was it?

You could attempt to quantify the error as follows. Take a day or a few days. For each blood sugar/ketone reading you do, do two of them. Prick one finger, test blood sugar/ketones. Prick another finger and test blood sugar/ketones. You get two blood sugar and two ketone readings each time you test.

After a bunch of these, see what your error is, particularly in the GKI calculation. Hmm…maybe I’ll have to do this one of these days.

(Mike) #10

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Glucose dropped to 3.0 (55) when it averages 5.0 (90)…

Very rare for me for it to drop below 4.5.

Mine is Keto-Mojo

(Mike) #11

I felt fine during that morning/afternoon-