Now that you are on the Paleo-ketogenic diet, how to measure ketones?
According to Paleomedina, you should stay in constant ketosis and aim to be at 2mmol/L. If you go above 2 that is fine as well, however the clinic didn’t notice any more benefits by going deeper into ketosis.
Here are the devices you can use to measure your ketones:
Urine Test Strips – definitely the easiest and the most inexpensive way to measure ketones are urine ketone strips. They are easy to use and quickly give you an idea if you are in ketosis. The colors of the strip will give you a range of ketosis. They are less accurate but give you a sense of direction. The results may be off if you drink too much fluids or are dehydrated.
Blood test – this test is a gold standard in the world of keto. It quite precisely measures the amount of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the ketone energy unit, in your blood. It’s a kit that consist of a small devise to read the results, pen to prick your finger, and a set of strips. The kit is relatively inexpensive, but you will need to get new strips whenever you run out of the current batch.
Ketone breathalyzer: This devise measures the amount of acetone present in your breath. The amount of acetone in your breath corresponds, relatively accurately with the amount of BHB in your blood. The good thing about this devise is that you don’t need to buy additional supplies to carry out the test, whereas with the blood test you will need to continuously invest in the strips.
I started my journey with ketosis by getting urine strips. Then I upgraded to the blood test kit. It came really handy when I started the Paleo-ketogenic diet. Paleomedicina recommends also to check your glucose along with the ketones. You are aiming for ketones to be at or above 2 and glucose below 5.
You can actually get a glucose and ketone meter in one device. At the time of buying my ketone meter, I wasn’t educated enough about glucose and so I had to get another device later.
I would have bought both in one device if I knew then what I know now!
