Why Ketone Urine Strips are Great for Checking Ketone Levels as you Lose Weight
Ketone urine strips are thin paper strips used by millions of men and women these days to detect the presence of ketones in their urine. The extreme popularity of these strips can be attributed to the fact that they are cheap and convenient to use. Some of you may be curious to find out why would someone use keto urine strips in the first place and how do they function. If you are already following or looking to get started with a ketogenic diet, keep on reading because this article will answer many of your questions related to ketones, their role in weight loss, and the importance of measuring body ketone.
What is Ketone?
Ketones can be defined as water soluble organic molecules that are synthesized in the liver in the absence of glucose. The purpose of creating ketones in the body is to provide an alternative source of fuel. While consuming a standard high-carb diet, the energy required to run the body is generated from glucose. However, in a carb-starved body following a ketogenic diet, this fuel is created from fat and a part of the same is converted into ketone. When the ketone level in the body starts rising, the presence of ketones in the urine, blood and breath can be detected by simple tests. Ketone urine strips are used for measuring ketones in the urine. This is considered to be the easiest alternative for the keto dieters to identify ketosis.
What are Ketone Urine Strips?
The ultimate goal for every keto dieter is to achieve ketosis. During this altered metabolic state of the body, fat gets burned for energy instead of glucose. Once this state is achieved, the body is abundant in ketones. However, how does one understand whether he or she is in ketosis? Well, this is exactly why ketone strips are used.
Interestingly, ketone strips were originally developed to help type 1 diabetes patients that are extremely susceptible to ketoacedosis. In this life threatening condition, the level of ketones reaches a dangerously high level and makes the blood acidic. However, unless you are diabetic, there is no need to worry about ketoacedosis.
How do Keto Urine Strips Work?
All keto urine strips come with an absorptive pad on one of its ends. These pads contain chemical reagents capable of changing their color in the presence of acidic substances such as ketones. In order to use these strips, place them in the urine midstream for just a few seconds and wait for around fifteen seconds for the color change to take place. The ketonic measurement can be obtained by comparing the changed color with the reference chart provided with the kit. As a rule of thumb, a light pink shade refers to the presence of small amounts of ketone in the urine. On the other hand, dark purple indicates a very high level of ketosis. Any shade of pink means you are in some level of ketosis.
How Accurate are they?
Ketone strips are quite accurate while the body is in the process of adapting to a ketogenic diet. However, once the body starts using these ketones for energy for about a moth or so, the accuracy of ketone strips may reduce. That's because you body becomes “fat adapted” and the amount of ketones changes in your body.
Final Thoughts:
There is no denying the fact that these strips may not provide the complete picture about exactly how many ketones are in the system. However, it must be said that ketone urine strips are undoubtedly great tools for finding out whether your body has entered the ketosis state.