leptic wrote: … snip
I'm not too concerned about the gout issue because I was eating all the stuff that causes gout before, and have been able to reduce quantities of the latter thanks to reduced cravings.
Correct. Gout risk is enhanced by ketosis only if you are already at risk and K-citrate should mitigate that should it become an issue for you.
leptic wrote: We have what seems to be a fairly good health food shop near my home and it was no problem to find the ion supplements in citrate form. However the person looked at me like I had two heads when I asked about BCAA and leucine. I suspect that is more of a bodybuilder type thing and prices are probably better online anyway. If I can resume my former habits, I will be doing 12km/day of strenuous biking (over some of the steeper parts of Mt. Royal) and doing dumbbell lifts with moderately weight (circuits with 15 reps) so suspect I'd be a candidate for the BCAA.
Yes. BCAAs are generally found at stores that provide body building supplements or online. Be aware that you do not want to overdo either the protein or the physical exercise … better to build up slowly as you become keto adapted.
leptic wrote: I can't believe how much the K and Mn supplements have helped - the 'flu' feeling has been totally replaced with a general feeling of wellbeing.
Hopefully you meant Mg and not Mn.
leptic wrote: Regarding whether I am actually 'in ketosis', can I ask how does one approach testing? as noted earlier I'm using the blood tester and it's been quite straightforward to use. I have heard that the optimal value is 2 mmol/L, but anything over 0.5 is indicative of some level of ketosis. I measure ketones (and do weigh-in) late afternoon right before dinner, as this is usually my largest meal of the day. My highest value has been 1.4, but it often drops back to around 0.6 probably meaning I've overdosed on proteins. Is there any value to also measuring glucose levels?
The ideal blood ketone levels depend on your goal(s). For cancer remission therapy, 5 to 7 mmol/L is the target. For neurologic disorders such as epilepsy, ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and traumatic brain injuries, a target between 3 and 7 mmol/L may be appropriate. For optimal reversal of the metabolic syndrome diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, PCOS, hyperlipidemia, heart disease/stroke risks, and of course the primary disorder of hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance – an effective therapeutic range is between 1 to 3 mmol/L. For peak physical endurance capacity/performance, by competitive or amature athletes as well as by Navy Seals and other high performance military professionals, a minimum target range above 0.75 mmol/L should be maintained understanding that the levels above 0.75 will vary significantly according to physical/mental exertion. Then lastly, for those seeking longevity, the objective is to minimize the absolute production of insulin hormone and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) enzyme over the course of your lifetime … so ketone levels are not as important except for use as a surrogate bio-indicator of insulin levels. Interestingly, it is leucine that stimulates mTOR, and to a lesser degree insulin too. So depending on your goal(s) … compromises are necessary. You can strive for longevity or optimal physical performance, but not both at the same time.
I track glucose in addition to ketones because I want to better understand how my body responds to various environmental factors from dietary nutrition to physical exertion to sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation, etc. – simply for the general scientific and observation of my own body.
For those who cannot afford to measure their blood ketones, tracking glucose is better than nothing …. As long as they understand that monitored glucose levels can miss insulin spikes caused by certain proteins, specifically but not exclusive to milk proteins. In general, people in deep ketosis (above 2 or 3 mmol/L) will maintain steady average blood glucose levels in the low to mid 60’s mg/dL while keeping post prandial glucose levels under 100 mg/dL after ketogenic meals.
I’ve also been collecting data to test the use of cheap breathalyzer devices for correlation to blood ketone measurements … to see if these cheap breathalyzers can be used as a cheaper alternative to buying blood ketone strips which can get expensive for high daily sampling rates for ketones. The devices are found on eBay and designed to measure blood alcohol but also inadvertently measure blood acetone levels and thus a good proxy for blood ketone levels. So obviously, if you are not drinking alcohol, then the measurement should be of the blood acetone (another primary ketone substrate produced by the liver in conjunction with beta-hydroxybutyrate). The more expensive breathalyzers may not work because they exclude the measure of acetone but if you get pulled over and the cop asks you to take a breathalyzer test – it would still be safer to kindly request a blood test because being in ketosis may show a false positive for blood alcohol with a breathalyzer device.
leptic wrote: I'm also curious: do high ketone levels mean that reflect a high supply of lipid fuels? or the restriction of carbohydrate fuels? what types of dietary mis-step would cause ketones to go way down, and does that matter?
Ketone production by the liver is signaled by insulin levels … elevated insulin reduces blood ketones while suppressed insulin stimulates ketone production. The body is a symphony of numerous hormones and enzymes all of which affect each other’s production. However, insulin is the master … and all others submissively bow under its power. And so your blood ketone levels will vary throughout the day as do your insulin levels.
Insulin is suppressed when glycogen storage is depleted. The body has two major glycogen storage depots, the liver (about 100 to 125 grams of glycogen) and muscle tissue (varies by individual but average anywhere from about 300 to 600 grams of glycogen). Liver glycogen is converted and released as blood glucose as needed by various tissues in the body, whereas muscle glycogen can only be released through myocellular metabolic conversion into ATP energy used for muscle contractions – and of course the liver will only release its glycogen as blood glucose when insulin is suppressed …. the same as when liver converts lipids into blood ketones.
Ergo, for ketones to go way down, insulin must be elevated. So what causes insulin to become elevated? Dietary carbs and certain proteins (primarily whey and casein but others too like leucine – so keep BCAAs to less than 5 grams per day) as well as elevated blood glucose levels produced by the liver as previously noted, via gluconeogenesis.
Becoming well “keto adapted” takes time on average about 6 weeks for “normal” people. It all depends on the individual’s insulin sensitivity/resistance. Those with higher insulin resistance (lower sensitivity) may take longer or shorter… everybody is different in how quickly they respond to developing metabolic transport mechanisms and mitochondrial adaptations -- only cellular mitochondria can convert ketone substrates into ATP. High intensity exercise, depending on the type, can either stimulate the growth of new additional mitochondria and/or stimulate the growth in the size of existing mitochondria as well as the production of needed enzymes and other transport mechanisms.
leptic wrote: My wife is actually slowly accepting this, although it is still a very grudging acceptance. I will probably ask for some help in addressing her critiques in another post.
Sorry but that’s your personal problem …. she either has trust in your ability to make your own decisions or she doesn’t.