Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Peeing on a ketone strip
• Part 2 of 3: Measuring your ketone levels
• Part 3 of 3: Interpreting the Ketone Strip Results
• Tips
• Warnings

Ketosis strips are small strips of paper that measure the amount of ketones, also known as ketone bodies, in your urine. Ketosis urine strips use a color-coding system to indicate the level of ketones in your urine. High levels of ketones in the urine indicate large amounts of fats in the urine, indicating that the ketogenic diet is having the desired effect. On the other hand, for diabetics, high amounts of ketones in the urine can indicate dangerously high blood sugar.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Peeing on a ketone strip

1. Buy the ketone strips from a drugstore. Ketones are mainly measured by people on a ketogenic (keto) diet. They can also be used by diabetics. Ketone strips are readily available at drug stores and major pharmacies. Look in the diet food section or in a section devoted to medical equipment for diabetics. The strips come in a plastic jar or cardboard box and must have "Keto" printed on the side.
   • Ketone strips are also available from the pharmacy section of most major supermarkets and major online retailers.
2. Dip the ketone strip into a urine sample. Pee in a disposable plastic cup to collect the urine sample. Then dip about 1 cm of the ketone strip into the urine. Make sure to submerge the tip that contains the ketone-detecting chemicals. This end is slightly thicker than the other.
   • You can buy disposable plastic cups from a supermarket. Check the oral care section or the plastic plates and other plastic items section.
3. If you'd rather not take a sample, pee directly on the ketone strip. For most people, it is easiest to urinate directly on the strip. Do this over a toilet. After urinating, hold the ketone strip over the toilet bowl to prevent urine from dripping onto the floor.
   • If you urinate while sitting, try not to dip the ketone strip in the toilet water. This will dilute the urine and ruin the sample.

Part 2 of 3: Measuring your ketone levels

1. Wait for the ketone strip to change color. The urine strip turns yellow, maroon, or purple in color due to the reaction of your urine with the chemicals. Follow the directions on the side of the package, which tell you how long to wait. Most ketone strips will ask you to wait 40 seconds for best results.
   • Waiting too long to read the results - or not waiting long enough - can lead to a wrong reading.
2. Compare the ketone strip with the color indicators on the packaging. If you look at the ketone strip jar, you will see a series of colored squares on one side. Hold the colored ketone strip against the side of the jar and find the colored square that best matches the urine strip.
   • The color of your urine strips may fit between two of the colored squares on the package. In that case, assume that the higher reading is a more accurate result.
3. Read the numeric value under the corresponding color box. Once you've matched the color of your urine strip to a color square, look closely to find the number and description that match the color. The standard descriptors for ketone content include: "Trace", "Small", "Moderate" and "Large".
   • The colors also correspond to numerical values: 0.5, 1.5, 4.0, etc. These measure the amount of ketones in your urine in units of milligrams per deciliter, or units of millimoles per liter.
   • Healthy people who are not on a keto diet have very low levels of ketones in their urine.

Part 3 of 3: Interpreting the Ketone Strip Results

1. Increase protein intake and reduce carbohydrate consumption if you have a low result. If you've recently started a keto diet, your body will eliminate large amounts of ketones through the urine. This results in a dark and maroon urine strip, which corresponds to a "large" amount of ketones in your urine. If you are on a keto diet and you read "Trail" or "Small" on the urine strip, follow a stricter diet.
   • This could include eating fewer carbohydrates or consuming more protein.
2. Expect the color of the ketone strip to lighten as your keto diet progresses. When you start a keto diet, your ketone streak will turn dark maroon or purple. By the time you've been on the diet for a few months, the urine strip results will lighten, and may only indicate a "moderate" amount of ketones in your urine. This is normal and certainly not a sign that your diet is not working.
   • Once your body gets used to burning stored fat for energy, it has fewer ketones to remove through the urine.
3. Contact your doctor if you have high ketone levels in type 1 diabetes. In type 1 diabetics, high ketones in the blood can indicate dangerously high blood sugar levels. Test for ketones if you are concerned that your blood sugar could be dangerously high. If the test shows a large amount of ketones in your urine, see your doctor right away.
   • Other signs of high blood sugar are: weakness, nausea or vomiting, intense thirst and breathing difficulties.

Tips

• A keto diet involves burning stored fat by eating low amounts of carbohydrates, few calories and high amounts of protein.
• If you're on a keto diet, ketosis urine strips are a great way to confirm that your body is in ketosis. Ketosis is a state in which your body burns stored fat for energy, instead of burning the glucose from carbohydrates.
• Keep in mind that ketone strips are not 100% accurate. Urinary ketone concentrations may fluctuate when measured at different times during the day (e.g. immediately after waking up versus after eating).
• Also, certain prescription medications can interfere with the accuracy of the ketone streak results. These include medications used to treat urinary tract infections. Consult your doctor if you are concerned that taking a medication regularly may interfere with the reading of the ketone strip.

Warnings

• Individuals with type 1 diabetes should also monitor ketone levels in their blood for medical purposes. However, it is recommended that diabetics do not use urine strips for this. Medical blood tests can pick up many more types of ketones than ketone strips and are also less likely to give false results.
• If you have diabetes, you can get diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which can be life-threatening. This is more common in type 1 diabetes, but can also occur in type 2 diabetes. Symptoms include high ketones in the urine, increased thirst, increased urination, high blood sugar, nausea, fruity breath, difficulty concentrating and fatigue. If you experience symptoms of DKA, seek emergency medical care.
• For people with diabetes, ketones in the urine or blood are a bad thing. They can indicate a lack of insulin and a high level of acid in the blood.