Keto...blood ketone levels

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Hello everyone,

I’m fairly new to the Ketogenic way of life. As a Chef, I like to research different dietary lifestyles, and Keto really caught my attention. After dealing with inflammation, hormone imbalance, and overall feeling like crap, I decided to work my way into it. Iv been going at it for about 3 weeks. I used to check my ketone levels through urine, but that wasn’t accurate or reliable. Iv been tracking my levels through blood testing for about a week. Iv noticed that in the morning my ketone levels are so low, 0.5-0.8 at best. My blood glucose is also “high”, averaging 78-87. When I test again in the afternoon it’s a different story. My ketone is 1.8-2.1 and my blood glucose is at 68-71. What could be accounting for this huge fluctuation?
I don’t eat sugar, and I don’t eat and “Keto” or “low carb” pre packaged items. I cook everything from scratch, and come very close to my macro ratios.
Thoughts? Experiences? Advice?

Thank you.

Replies

  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    It's completely normal. Here's a concise explanation from czechnology:

    When you wake up in the morning your cortisol levels are at their peak due to circadian rhythm. Among other things, cortisol spikes glycolysis in the liver to convert and release glycogen to glucose in your blood. The pancreas responds to this elevated blood sugar (sometimes called Dawn Phenomena) by releasing insulin. Elevated insulin down-regulates ketone production. It's a natural daily cycle you don't need to worry about.
  • rkmeyer41
    rkmeyer41 Posts: 58 Member
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  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    It's completely normal. Here's a concise explanation from czechnology:

    When you wake up in the morning your cortisol levels are at their peak due to circadian rhythm. Among other things, cortisol spikes glycolysis in the liver to convert and release glycogen to glucose in your blood. The pancreas responds to this elevated blood sugar (sometimes called Dawn Phenomena) by releasing insulin. Elevated insulin down-regulates ketone production. It's a natural daily cycle you don't need to worry about.

    This^^^

    BG levels rise in the morning to help wake you up, so ketone levels are usually lowest then. Evening ketone levels are often the highest of the day.