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Originally Posted by Ruthxxx
I have never used them so don't know. Why are you using them?
Ketone strips measure the ketones in your urine. It's very important for T1 diabetics to keep track of ketones, because for them it can be a sign of a high PH in the blood due to very high sugar (they don't have the insulin to bring the sugar down). In T1s, high ketones can lead to a very dangerous condition called ketoacidosis... it's the acid from the high PH, indicated by the ketones in the urine, that can do damage.
For T2s, ketoacidosis is usually not a concern, because we make some insulin... we just don't respond well to it (insulin resistance). Strict low-carb diets like Atkins and Bernstein are "ketogenic diets", meaning they aim to restrict carbs so much that the body switches for fuel from carbs to ketones. Thus, some low-carb dieters use ketone strips to see if they're "ketogenic" -- producing ketones for fuel.
Pretty good overview of the difference:
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Being in ketosis by following a low carbohydrate diet is NOT dangerous. The human body was designed to use ketones very efficiently as fuel in the absence of glucose. However, the word ketosis is often confused with a similar word, ketoacidosis.
Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition for diabetics, and the main element is ACID not ketones. The blood pH becomes dangerously acidic because of an extremely high blood SUGAR level (the diabetic has no insulin, or doesn't respond to insulin .... so blood sugar rises ... ketones are produced by the body to provide the fuel necessary for life, since the cells can't use the sugar). It's the high blood sugar, and the acid condition that is so dangerous. Ketones just happen to be a part of the picture, and are a RESULT of the condition, not the CAUSE. Diabetics can safely follow a ketogenic diet to lose fat weight ... but they must be closely monitored by their health care provider, and blood sugars need to be kept low, and stable.
Hope that helps clarify.
Personally, I don't use them, even though I eat low-carb. If I'm not craving bread and I'm not hungry all the time, I'm in the right low-carb zone for me.
Butter_Butt , 06-09-2010 06:37 PM
