Ketosis tests check for ketones produced by the body when burning fat for energy instead of stored sugars. It can be done at home using test strips or in a lab with a blood sample. Ketosis is often diet-induced and can be dangerous for some medical conditions, but it is deliberately induced for some weight-loss diets and to control seizures.
A ketosis test is a laboratory test conducted to check for signs of ketone bodies, also known as ketones, chemical compounds produced by the body when it burns fat for energy rather than relying on stored sugars. In addition to the laboratory, the ketosis test can be performed very quickly and easily at home. Drugstores and drugstores often carry ketosis testing supplies and can also be provided by a doctor if the doctor wants a patient to check for ketosis at home.
Ketosis is most often a diet-induced state. When people don’t get enough carbohydrates or don’t burn carbohydrates at a very rapid rate, their bodies cannot convert carbohydrates into stored sugar. As a result, the body turns to other sources of energy, including dietary fat and body fat. The process of converting fat into a usable form by the body generates ketones. Eventually, the ketones will be excreted in the urine. People in ketosis tend to have strong-smelling urine and may also have bad breath.
This state can be dangerous for people with certain medical conditions, but in other cases it is actually deliberately induced. Some diets for people with seizure conditions use ketosis to control seizures, and it’s also a component of some weight-loss diets, with the goal of forcing the body to tap into dietary fat for energy, thus losing weight. A ketosis test may be recommended for someone to identify and avoid ketosis or for someone to monitor controlled ketosis.
One of the simplest types of ketosis testing is to dip a test strip into a urine sample or urinate on a test strip. The test strip includes an absorbent pad with a chemical that will react with any ketone bodies in your urine, changing color. People can check for signs of ketones in their urine and may be able to estimate their concentration based on how much the color changes.
A blood test may also be used. One benefit of a blood ketosis test is immediate accuracy, as it can take some time for ketones to show up in your urine once they start appearing in your body. A blood ketosis test will require a small blood sample from the patient and can commonly be done in a simple lab at a doctor’s office or pharmacy. Blood samples can also be sent to a lab if there’s no rush on results.
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