Ketone Level


(William Wessels) #1

I started Keto about 5 days ago. The Urine strips have me at the two highest levels but my blood tests have only resulted in me being at around .8-1.0 mmol. Which is right and is it high enough?


(Todd Batitis) #2

Keep in mind too that the sticks and the blood are measuring 2 different ketones. The urine is measuring excess acetoacetate. The blood is measuring betahydroxybuterate that is floating around.

Nutritional ketosis is generally considered blood levels between 0.5 and 3.0 mmoL. So if you are showing that your body is starting to produce pretty good ketones.

Keep in mind too that everyone is different. Richard Morris of the 2 Keto Dudes podcast (well, formerly, we will miss him but we LOVE Carrie!) is very keto and does extended fasts and for him, IIRC, he can only get above 1.0mmoL when doing really long fasts. By comparison, now that I am fat adapted, I am routinely seeing 1.6-2.6 on a daily basis. Different people and different bodies. :slight_smile:

As for which is right, both are likely right as they are measuring different things. You will likely find that as you become fat adapted, the urine sticks will not be very helpful because as your body gets used to using ketones for fuel, you will have less that are considered excess as more of them are being use up. It doesn’t mean you aren’t producing them, simply that your body knows what to do with them better. Your hydration level can also affect the level of the sticks as well.

Welcome to the club!


(William Wessels) #3

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. I appreciate the information.