Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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This is my second question ever, I'm loving this website and finding it very helpful and informative. Gratitude to everyone who seems to dedicate a good deal of time and energy to providing helpful answers that are thoughtful and tactful.

I've been using ketone stix for the purpose of getting some regular feedback that inspires me to stick with my very low carb, adequate protein, higher healthy fat eating plan right now. (My goal is to lose thos last 5-10 lbs of fat.) I figure that if I'm showing moderate ketones then I'm probably generally on the right track. Dark purple, I should drink more water. Light taupe color, I should look at what I've eaten in recent day(s) to see what might be stalling me, make adjustment and see what happens from there. (I understand that a negative reading on ketones doesn't necessarily mean I'm not in ketosis, it might for example mean that my body is using them efficiently rather than peeing them out.)

Respectfully, I'm not looking for castigation for using these stix in the first place! I know a lot has been written on this site re ketone testing and ketosis and I've been reading through it.

My question is . . . .

I found and bought some stix that measure not only the presence of ketones in urine but also (separate square, different color code) glucose. Anyone have experience with these dual-purpose sticks or can share any information about the glucose side of this test? Is there any useful information I might be able to glean from presence or absence of glucose, when on a Paleo eating plan esp. in fat-loss mode? Or at least any information that's about as useful as the info that can be gleaned from the ketone side, in terms of feedback that may provide some degree of encouragement?

BTW the strips thus far are showing moderate ketones (medium purple) and zero glucose, for whatever that's worth.

Thank you!!!!

flag	asked Jul 12 2011 at 16:12 Pale-O-Girl 1,290●3●16

	You sure don't want glucose in your urine - that's the sweet pee of diabetes! You really shouldn't see any if you are healthy. Where did you find such strips and what is the brand? My dad is a very unhealthy diabetic in denial so I think I'll get him some for his birthday :) – none Jul 12 2011 at 16:20
	Bayer Keto-Diastix, purchased on drugstore.com. Same brand and packaging as the regular ketone stix that they sell, so be careful you don't buy the wrong one. I've found that these stix (in either format) are hard to find in pharmacies so online is a good option. – Pale-O-Girl Jul 12 2011 at 16:22
	thanks P_O_G.... – none Jul 12 2011 at 16:46

GHarkness · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-12 18:44:30Z UTC

Meredith is exactly correct: glucose in your urine is something you do NOT want to see.

I would take it one step further, though, and say: any glucose in the urine should be used ONLY as a signal that you or whoever is being tested should be checking their blood sugar for potential problems. The issue is that in order for urinary glucose to appear, blood sugar had to have been high at some time in the recent past (as in the past few hours), but it may not necessarily be high at the time of the urine test.

Back in the olden days before the invention of the home blood glucose meter, the urinary glucose test was all that was available for diabetics to use to test their condition. But because it takes time for high blood glucose to spill over into the kidneys, and then into the urine, the test was always too little, and especially too late!

Ketone Stix that also measure Glucose in Urine

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