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MyFitnessPal Community

Question about Ketostix

peabean26

Ok, so I know there is a lot of debate over the usefulness of ketostix, but they are currently the only thing I have to test whether or not I'm in ketosis.

For the last 2 weeks my diet has been really good, but I can't seem to test any more than the 'small' amount on the ketostix. Its driving me nuts!! I've been doing keto for ~2 months but I've really buckled down in the last month or so and in the past was able to get to the darker portions on the stix. Now, it just seems impossible! Even doing an egg fast didn't do it for me this time.

So, I've never understood if you stop getting positives on the sticks once you are 'keto adapted' or have reached nutritional ketosis. Is this true? Could it be that I can't test positive because I'm keto adapted?

For the record, the ketonix breathalyzer thingy is on my Xmas wish list!

Replies

deansdad101

peabean26 wrote: »

Ok, so I know there is a lot of debate over the usefulness of ketostix, but they are currently the only thing I have to test whether or not I'm in ketosis.

For the last 2 weeks my diet has been really good, but I can't seem to test any more than the 'small' amount on the ketostix. Its driving me nuts!! I've been doing keto for ~2 months but I've really buckled down in the last month or so and in the past was able to get to the darker portions on the stix. Now, it just seems impossible! Even doing an egg fast didn't do it for me this time.

So, I've never understood if you stop getting positives on the sticks once you are 'keto adapted' or have reached nutritional ketosis. Is this true? Could it be that I can't test positive because I'm keto adapted?

For the record, the ketonix breathalyzer thingy is on my Xmas wish list!

Pea;

There might be "a lot of debate...." but (at least IMO) the science says that the styx are basically, totally useless when it comes to determining IF you are actually in Nutritional Ketosis (NK) or not.

First, they are not designed (or intended) to do that, and secondly, they are measuring only one type of ketone bodies - the type that are being expelled.

The ONLY measure that will tell you for sure is blood ketones (which CAN be measured with a home meter).

The third type, which is what the ketonix measures, does appear to be nearly as accurate (although more actual testing is required to confirm), but it too is not measuring blood ketones.

The biggest problem with the ketonix is that it only produces a "relative" result - NOT an actual, digital count and while those results are many times more informative than those of the urine testers they are still not telling you an actual mmol number.

I have the ketonix and love that there are no ongoing costs (strips), but finally bit the bullet and bought a meter to get more exact, digital results.

The meters are cheap ($15-20 USD or even "free" with strip purchase) but the strips can be pricey ($4-5) although they can be had for ~$2 if you search. A second benefit is that these meters can do double duty and measure glucose levels as well.

If it's an "either/or" question, it's a tough call but I think I'd go with the meter if I were you.

peabean26

Thanks for your reply. I feel like I must be in ketosis, given my diet, but it is very frustrating not to know. I've not seen the ~$2 price for the strips, so perhaps the blood meter is worth it.

There are 3 people in my house doing Keto, which is why the ketonix seemed like the best choice for our situation, since everyone wants to measure.

sljohnson1207

Well, if you are registering any color on the ketostix, I'd take that as you are in ketosis, as your body is excreting one of two ketones, acetoacetic acid.

If it registered "beige", then I'd worry you are not.

Why does it matter if you excrete more acetoacetic acid in your urine? I still have found no information claiming it matters whether you register light pink or dark purple. Our excretory system is pretty amazing and complicated. Any number of things may affect what color the strip is.

I've been doing my own n=1 with ketostix since I started in early June. I register usually "small", however, the morning after intense exercise, it may go toward the next level, but it's usually in between "small", and "moderate" in color. I've only seen darker purple on a couple of occasions, and I actually don't know why.

First morning urine always registers the darkest, and sometimes a couple hours after a meal, it may register lighter. I just don't care what color, as long as it registers a color.

When I went on an intentional vacation from low carb over Labor Day, my stix didn't register me in ketosis the morning after the first evening there (I ate a piece of my daughter's birthday cake w/buttercream frosting). I imagine I was possibly in and out of ketosis during that 5 days because I mostly ate low carb, and we were pretty physically active (fishing, mountain-biking, walking, etc.), but I wasn't checking once I saw I was out that morning. When we returned, I went right back to low carb, and it took 2 days for me to register pink again on the stix.

This is an awful lot of typing to say that if you want to know a precise level of "ketosis", then buy the blood meter and strips and start tracking.

peabean26

Thank you, I actually didn't realize that the first morning urine was the best testing time. I've been testing at night!

deansdad101

sljohnson1207 wrote: »

Well, if you are registering any color on the ketostix, I'd take that as you are in ketosis, as your body is excreting one of two ketones, acetoacetic acid.

If it registered "beige", then I'd worry you are not.

Why does it matter if you excrete more acetoacetic acid in your urine? I still have found no information claiming it matters whether you register light pink or dark purple. Our excretory system is pretty amazing and complicated. Any number of things may affect what color the strip is.

<snipped>

This is an awful lot of typing to say that if you want to know a precise level of "ketosis", then buy the blood meter and strips and start tracking.

SLJ;

It doesn't "matter if you excrete...." (IMO - it's that "Any number of things may affect what color the strip is." (as you said and with which I absolutely agree).

A fully adapted >1.0 person in NK "might" have so successfully made the switch to burning ketones & nutritional fat that there are 0 excreted thus no reading on the styx despite being totally adapted. (Don't have the cite handy but if I trip across it again I'll post).

The key point (for me) is that pretty much everything the styx tells you "might" be accurate, or "might" not be and one is left to "guess" why (or why not).

So yes, in the end we agree -
"If you want to know......"

Certainly not everyone either "wants" (or "needs") to know and that's fine.

Some either can't afford, or just don't "do" needles (I'm one of those<G>), but it's really not that bad and being able to correlate glucose levels with k levels can be a BIG advantage when "fine tuning" k levels and there is only one way to achieve that.

nill4me

I love my blood meter. I buy my strips for both glucose and ketones in bulk on amazon and/or ebay. Usually ebay. I log both my glucose and ketone readings into an app on my phone multiple times a day. I'm a diabetic hypothyroid data freak.

mherbert0

nill4me wrote: »

I log both my glucose and ketone readings into an app on my phone multiple times a day.

What app are you using to log that data? I've been logging mine the old fashioned way in an excel spread sheet.

nill4me

It is called "Diabetes App" and is by BHI Technologies in the app store. not sure if it is out there for android or not. You can log just about anything you want. There is no specific category for ketones, but i log them in the "notes" when i take my glucose reading. You can set a goal reading you are trying to reach - i.e., 100 and display data in graph form, etc. its pretty cool (i think). I really like the fact that you can choose a date range to output, and the app will email you a CSV file of your recorded readings for that range. This came in handy when my endo wanted me to fill out her log by hand for two weeks. I asked her what two weeks she wanted and emailed it to her. It will also track meds...etc, but I find that a little cumbersome myself.

wonderfullymadebyhim

LOts of responses but remember you ketostix have an expiry date once they've been opened!

I basically stopped using them because I keep my carbs low and I'm losing weight just fine.

DAM5412

Hello peabean26, I know how you feel wanting that color shift on the stix. I think, especially for those of us who are fairly new to the keto lifestyle, we like the "affirmation" that our efforts are paying off. When we were all brand new, one of the first things we heard about were the stix so it's kind of hard to stop relying on them, especially because overall, they are pretty cheap!! I think the longer we follow this eating style, the less useful the stix become. Many people have success transitioning to the breathalyzer and blood meters, I think a few people get to the point where they are confident in their food control that once the stix stop showing colors, they just trust in their food journals, weight loss/control or are more in tuned with how they feel. To each their own, right.

For me, I love the stix still...love that purple color, and get frustrated when I've been on a good stretch (diet wise) and can't get that dark color! Usually it's because I've been pounding water (I regularly drink almost a gallon a day) like it's my job. So I take an hour break from drinking and then test. Usually that shows the color for me. And sometimes in the morning, although I usually wake up middle of the night to use the bathroom and then drink a glass of water (my husband thinks I'm crazy).

From all that I have read, I do believe when you are keto adapted, you won't show any color on the stix. I haven't gotten to that point yet, but am interested in seeing that for myself and will then decide if I'll transition to another tool or just trust that my diet is controlled.