How To Use Urine Test Strips On A Low
Step 1: Wash your hands.
Step 2: Pee in a small, clean container, then dip the test end of the strip into the urine sample. Alternatively, you can pass the end of the strip briefly through your urine stream.
Step 3: Wait for a few seconds for the end of the strip to change color.
Step 4: Compare the color with the color chart on the test package.
Step 5: Discard the urine testing strip. Then wash your hands.
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How To Read The Test Results
Look at the Glucose Color Chart and the Ketone Color Chart on the bottle.
The Glucose Chart is the top chart. It will be similar to this example:
Use the top marker on the strip to compare the results of glucose to the boxes found on the Keto-Diastix bottle. Read this result at exactly 30 seconds.
The Ketone Chart is the bottom chart. It will be similar to this example:
Use the bottom marker on the strip to compare the results of ketones to the chart on the Keto-Diastix bottle. Read this result at exactly 15 seconds.
Advantages Of Urine Ketone Testing
For the cost-conscious, urine testing is one of the cheapest ways to measure ketosis. Typically, a pack of 100 test strips can be purchased for around $10. Plus, urine test strips dont require a fancy meter to read resultstheyre displayed right on the strip.
Urine testing is also super convenient. For one, the strips can be easily purchased. Testing is quick, seamless, and can literally be done anywhere, at any time. And if the thought of sticking your finger multiple times a day makes you queasy, no need to fear. Urine ketone testing is non-invasiveno blood required! Its a less expensive alternative to other methods of testing ketones.
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Types Of Ketone Tests
There are several different types of ketone tests as mentioned earlier. Some are more reliable than others and some more affordable and convenient.
Lets take a look at the various types of ketone tests available that help with getting into ketosis.
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Can I Use Ketone Strips To Track My Ketosis
Recently there has been a lot of hype about ketosis, or what some people call keto flu. As a result, some people are looking for a way to monitor their ketosis. A popular method of monitoring ketosis is with ketone strips. These strips look like regular blood glucose strips but contain ketone salts. A recent study found that ketone strips are a better way to monitor ketosis than urine strips, and can be used in place of urine strips. This means that its possible to track your ketosis with the use of ketone strips, but you still need to use urine strips. Urine strips arent the only way to monitor ketosis. There are also point-of-care blood ketone meters available, which can be used at home. Another option is to use a smartphone app that connects to the test strips to track your ketone levels.
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How To Read Ketone Strips To Measure Ketosis
But first, what is a ketone strip exactly?
A ketone strip, also known as keto strips or ketone tests strips, are comprised of thin plastic strips with a small reactive pad at the end that detects ketone presence in urine.
Being in ketosis or following a low-carb diet for an extended period of time causes a measurable increase of ketones in blood and urine. Keto strips are a low commitment way to start testing the waters with the keto or atkins diet. Read on to learn how to read ketone strips easily and effectively!
Can You Read Your Keto Strips
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. A keto diet is designed to get the body to burn fat for fuel. On a keto diet, your body enters a metabolic state known as ketosis. When your body is in a state of ketosis, the body produces ketones, or fat molecules, in the liver. These ketones are then passed into the blood where they can be detected in the urine. These ketone strips will detect the presence of ketones in your urine.
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How To Read Your Ketone Levels Chart/ What Level Of Ketones Indicates Ketosis
Here is a quick guide on how to read your ketone testing strips we will explain what each level of reading means and how you can change your readings if your reading is not where you want it to be. This reading guide is based on our KetoLean Keto Testing Strips however, it may also be used for other testing strips.
Why Are Keto Urine Strips Unreliable
Your ketone urine testing strips are not unreliable its more so that the information you are sending them changes due to your lifestyle. What I mean by this is your strips read the ketones in your urine, and your lifestyle impacts the number of ketones found in your urine at different times of the day. A great chapter to read is Chapter 3: Are my testing strips working/why have my ketone testing strips changed suddenly? Through to Chapter 6: Time of delay: how long does it take for my eating to impact my ketone readings?
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Assessing Your Carb Tolerance
We recommend people begin with 30 grams of net carbs per day on the keto diet, but this starting point isnt a hard and fast rule for everyone.
Due to your bodys unique makeup, you may have a higher or lower carbohydrate tolerance than someone else. As you learn what your body needs to get into and stay in a state of ketosis, you may want to play around with your daily carb load a bit.
Another, related consideration is the specific type of source of carbs that youre consuming .
For instance, you may find that you wake up in ketosis, but after breakfast, your ketones plummet. By checking ketones after meals, you can get an idea if there is a food item thats pushing you out of ketosis. Many mainstream keto-friendly packaged foods actually have more carbs than they suggest, so this is a common issue.
Its also a good idea to check ketones after you eat out at a restaurant where the ingredients are iffy. A meal that may, on the surface, check out as keto-friendly might actually have hidden sources of carbs in the sauces.
When Is The Best Time To Test Blood Ketones
Following the same logic as urine ketosis testing, the best time to test ketones in the blood will be at least 3 hours after eating your last meal or snack.
Simply put, this means that we will get the most accurate reading before drinking coffee/tea or eating breakfast.
That said, if you recently started keto or you have insulin resistance, you will likely get the most reliable results after waiting 2-3 hours. This is due to what is known as the dawning effect. when our blood sugar levels rise due to morning cortisol release.
Though this cortisol release is a natural phenomenon, it can have an initial negative impact on ketone production in first-time keto dieters and those with insulin resistance.
If waiting in the morning isnt feasible for you, try measuring immediately before dinner .
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What Is The Best Way To Measure Ketosis
This question has no clear answer, and it depends on what youre looking for.
- Ketone Urine Strips: Very cheap but low in accuracy compared to the alternatives
- Blood Meters:Highest degree of accuracy at the highest price
- Breath Ketone Analyzer: Expensive, but you only pay once since it needs no ketone strips. Probably somewhere in the middle when it comes to accuracy.
Time Delay: How Long Does It Take For My Eating To Impact My Ketone Readings
A useful tip to know when reading your ketones is that it takes time for your ketone production levels to impact your ketone readings in your urine.
Reading the number of ketones in our urine these are the ketones our body disposes into our urine stream, the leftover ketones. You need to factor in your ketone production, the use of those ketones, the disposal of the ketones not used, and the time it takes them to accumulate in your bladder.
So just because you cheated with a high carb snack and youre still in ketosis doesnt mean you can get away with that all the time. It could be that you got away with it that time, but doing it repetitively will compromise you becoming fat adapted. Or more often than not, the reason you still have high amounts of ketones in your system after a high carb cheat is that it takes time for your body to stop producing ketones and, in turn, for that to reach the readings of your urine/the ketones in your bladder.
So if you eat something you shouldnt have, dont expect your readings to drop immediately and if they dont, then dont take it as a hall pass. Likewise, when entering back into ketosis or going on a fast, dont be disheartened if you dont hit a high reading of ketones within the hour.
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Kiss My Keto Ketone Strips 200 Urine Test Strips
- February 24 2024 Best By
The length of time for “Best By” date depends on the type of product, as well as the brand.
Perishable items generally have shorter “Best By” dates. Although our warehouse is fully air-conditioned, these more fragile items are put in cold storage for maximum freshness.
Our receiving department does its best to verify and then enter the correct “Best By” dates for all incoming products. However, discrepancies do occur from time to time. This being said, the exceptionally high turnover at iHerb ensures that our inventory is among the freshest in the industry.
- Date First Available: May 27 2021
- Shipping Weight:Switch to Imperial unitsShipping WeightThe Shipping Weight includes the product, protective packaging material and the actual shipping box. In addition, the Shipping Weight may be adjusted for the Dimensional Weight of a package. It is important to note that certain types of products will often require protective packaging material. As such, these products will reflect a higher Shipping Weight compared to the unprotected product.
- Product Code: KMK-04155
- 11.2 x 4.8 x 4.7 cm , 0.07 kgSwitch to Imperial units
Match The Colored Strip to This Chart
Ketone 40s
Urine Ketone Tests For Keto Diet And Ketosis
People who are on a low-carb or no-carb dietspecifically, a ketogenic or “keto” dietsometimes test their urine for ketones at home to see if their body has started using fat for energy .
Using a home urine ketone test to check for ketosis is the same as using it to check your urine for ketones if you have diabetes.
The main difference is that once you’ve been doing a keto diet for a while, your body will adjust. If you test your urine often, you’ll probably notice only “trace” amounts of ketones. That doesn’t mean you’re not in ketosis, it just means your body has adapted to the changes you’ve made in your diet.
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Measuring Blood Ketone Levels
Blood ketone meters are the more accurate way to measure your level of ketosis. They show an exact and real-time measurement of the ketones in your blood, which is considered the gold standard. The biggest drawbacks of the blood strips are that they can get expensive quickly. They cost about $1 per strip, and most insurance providers dont cover them.
Some slight drawbacks of blood ketone meters are their accuracy per device and their failed readings. Blood ketone readings will vary between device and strips, even if theyre from the same brand. They can also occasionally fail readings, which means a wasted strip.
Remember as well that you do have to prick your fingers to draw a sample of blood for each reading. If youre squeamish or dont like to take blood, this may not be the best option.
You can frequently find deals online for a free meter since they are cheap. The meter companies usually use a proprietary strip that only works on their machine so they are more interested in you purchasing strips. If youre not a deal hunter and want the most accurate way to measure ketone production, consider ordering the Precision Xtra .
How To Use Your Ketone Testing Strips
There are two ways to use the ketone testing strips: 1) pee directly onto the strip, or 2) pee into a container and dip your strip into it.
I prefer to pee directly onto the strip to avoid having to manage and clean up containers I have peed in, plus it makes things a lot faster.
However, when urinating on your ketone strip, I encourage you to do it mid-flow, when your flow has slowed down and try to just touch the strip on your urine rather than holding it under the full flow, as the chemicals on the strip can be washed off and I have noticed lower readings when I urinate full flow directly on the testing patch. A trick I do when peeing on the strip, is to pee on the opposite side of the testing patch. This means I dont urinate directly on the strip, but the testing patch still gets exposed to my urine.
Once you have urinated on the strip, compare your readings with that on the container within 45 seconds. I would encourage you to wait longer than 15 seconds but no longer than 45 seconds to get an accurate reading. Then dispose of the strip in your recycling bin.
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How Can I Use Keto Strips For Weight Loss
The key to using keto strips for weight loss is knowing how each level of reading relates to your weight loss ability. You can read more about ketone levels in Chapter 8: How to read your ketone levels chart. However, a quick cheat way to know if you are at the right level for weight loss is by aiming to be Moderate 4.0 consistently, and not going below Small 1.5 or above Large 8.0 for long periods of time.
Quick Tips For Urine Ketone Testing
If you want to improve the accuracy and reliability of your results, there are a few key tips you should follow if you plan to use urine ketone test strips.
Most obvious is that you should consistently check and stay up-to-date on the expiration date on the urine test strips youve purchased. Typically, test strips will expire within six months of opening the bottle. Dont use your urine test strips if the date on the bottle has passed.
Storage is important too. Make sure that you store test strips with the lid closed tight, and keep the bottle in a cool, dry place. Any excess heat or moisture can influence the strips and the chemicals they contain. Do not store in the refrigerator, and protect them from direct sunlight and heat.
Dont remove the desiccant in the bottlethats the tiny white packet. The desiccant holds something called silica gel, which absorbs and holds water vapor, limiting moisture that could potentially ruin the urine test strips.
During testing, make sure you arent overly hydrated, and similarly make sure you arent dehydrated, as each could skew the test results. This is why early morning testing makes the most sense. Otherwise, test at the same time of day in order to control for outside influences that might affect urine ketone readings.
Last but not least, keep your hands away from the test strip material. Along with the above tips, this will improve the consistency of your results.
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The Bigger Picture: The Keto Diet Ketone Levels And Long
The hallmark of keto that sets it apart from any other diet is ketosis. However, this doesnt mean that ketosis should be your primary focus.
What matters most is achieving your weight loss goals in a sustainable way for you, your health, and your lifestyle. Though ketosis can help you along the way, aiming to keep ketone levels as high as possible is unnecessary.
A more effective approach is to prioritize eating healthy keto-friendly foods in the right amounts for your goals. After a few days, ketosis will likely come along for the ride and provide you with an extra energy and satiety boost.
If youd like to learn how to formulate a keto diet for your macro needs, weight loss goals, and food preferences, weve included several resources below:
- Keto Calculator Calculate your daily macro goals for ketosis and weight loss.
- How to Start a Keto Diet A three-step process for formulating your own keto diet.
- me Keto Meal Plan App Skip the tedious task of planning and get a keto meal plan made for you.
What Should The Ketone Test Results Be
- Under 0.6 mmol/L a normal blood ketone value
- 0.6 to 1.5 mmol/L indicates that more ketones are being produced than normal, test again later to see if the value has lowered
- 1.6 to 3.0 mmol/L a high level of ketones and could present a risk of ketoacidosis. It is advisable to contact your healthcare team for advice.
- Above 3.0 mmol/L a dangerous level of ketones which will require immediate medical care.
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