Ketone level and benefits?

(Elvis Presley) #1

Hey, I tried keto last year and I noticed appetite suppression which is great, but I got into it because I read that your body is literally more efficient at burning fat. Is there any truth to this? Because I believe, it’s still calories in vs out and that’s how much weight you will lose regardless keto or not.

Additionally, I’ve been monitoring my mmol levels with a blood tester. Last year when I was on keto I averaged at 1.4 mmol. But I was consuming more carbs. Right now I’m less than 3 weeks in and at 2.9 mmol. Unless u have any health defects, is there any point in having a higher level? I mean I rather just allow for more carbs in my diet and just monitor my levels, as long as I’m staying in kethosis there are no other benefits, right?

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

What you measure by whatever method are ketones that are not being utilized. You may have a lot of ketones that end up in the toilet and/or exhaled, or you may have less that get used efficiently but measure lower concentration. More is likely better than less in the sense that you’re better off awash in ketones rather than glucose. But there is no definitive evidence I’m aware of that supports that claim. There may be specific medical conditions that require specific minimum ketone concentrations, but other than that just having measurable ketones suffices to identify ketosis. If you remain consistently in ketosis, your liver will produce whatever concentration of ketones are necessary.

The problem with simple ‘calories in / calories out’ is that it ignores a lot of complexities and imprecisions. It also ignores that your metabolism processes nutrients from different sources differently. Nutrients from carbs, fats and proteins (also minerals and vitamins) are processed differently and have different effects on overall nutrient utilization, ie whether energy gets stored or used and how long it takes to do it. Reducing carb intake sufficiently to remain consistently in ketosis has a profound effect on how your metabolism processes fats.

Calories can be used as general measure of energy intake/output. However, ketosis is a process of metabolic ‘normalization’ which will ultimately lead to homeostasis. How long it takes depends how much damage has to be fixed. Burning excess stored fat is part of the process but how much and how fast it gets fixed depends on a lot more stuff than measuring calories.

#3

Nope, not really. People like to obsess about ketone number but only people with very specific medical things going on would really want to keep them high all the time. They don’t correlate with fat loss speed.

I don’t monitor my levels anymore, I feel it’s a waste of money and time, but I eat anywhere from 60-100g net carbs on my lifting days and have no issues, still fat adapted, no carb cravings or anything, but you want to make sure they’re not junk carbs either.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

The caloric value of the food we eat is not nearly as important as the hormonal response to the types of foods we eat. A ketogenic diet is intended to lower the chronically elevated insulin levels that result from eating too much carbohydrate. Insulin is, among many other things, the primary hormone that causes our fat tissue to store fat. As long as insulin is elevated, the adipose tissue is prevented from releasing fatty acids to be metabolised. Carbohydrate, being chains of glucose molecules, elevates our blood sugar and stimulates a strong insulin response. The response to the amino acids in the protein we eat is markedly less, especially in the context of a ketogenic diet. Dietary fat has virtually no effect on insulin, other than the bare minimum necessary for survival (we have to have some insulin in our blood in order to live, we just don’t want too much).

As for circulating ketones in the blood, Dr. Stephen Phinney is on record as saying that his research indicates that, while 0.5 is good, 1.0 is better—but that levels exceeding 1.0 don’t seem to provide any increased benefit. As long as you are showing ketones at all, you are fine.

(Troy) #5

First of all Welcome! Aboard !

Per your avatar and name

Let us know once you have an awesome recipe or Keto version of your favorite sandwich :smile:

Peanut butter, bacon, and banana slices if I’m not mistaken?

Maybe almond butter?
Low carb Tortilla?

Just some suggestions

:wink: good luck