What does a ketone level of 2.9 mean?

A ketone reading of 2.9 means that you are currently experiencing nutritional ketosis.

Nutritional ketosis is a natural metabolic state in which your body is fueled mainly by fats and ketones, instead of carbohydrates (glucose). Nutritional ketosis happens when carbohydrate consumption goes low enough that a person’s liver can convert adipose tissue and dietary fats into a molecule known as ketones, then burn the ketones for energy.

This typically happens when dietary carbohydrates are significantly reduced (<30 to <50 grams per day) and the body’s production of ketones increases to maintain a blood level at or above 0.5 mM. When you restrict carbs below 30 to 50 grams and consume a moderate amount of protein it is normal to have ketone levels of 0.5-5.0 mM.

• Increased ketone levels, reading above 0.5 mM
• Decreased hunger and appetite
• Temporary fatigue
• Temporary reduced athletic performance
• Weight loss
• Fruity breath smell
• Temporary sleep disturbances
• Headache

• Sustained ketone levels reading above 0.5 mM
• Decreased hunger and appetite
• Increased physical energy
• Improved cardiovascular athletic performance
• Increased mental focus
• Sustained weight loss
• Improved mood
• Improved sleep

The easiest way to sustain nutritional ketosis is to maintain a well-formulated ketogenic diet. This diet helps your body to use fats instead of carbs for energy, enabling you to utilize ketones as a primary fuel source.

Restricting your carb intake via a ketogenic diet that emphasizes fats over carbs helps you maintain your current state of nutritional ketosis. A well-formulated ketogenic diet includes delicious and healthy fats like butter, avocado, olive oils, fatty meats, and more, along with healthy and nutritious vegetables.

As you continue to restrict carbs below 30 to 50 grams/day and consume a moderate amount of protein, you should normally remain in the ketone level range of 0.5-5.0 mM, which means that you are still in nutritional ketosis. Because it can be helpful to adapt your food preferences and choices to fit within the ketogenic diet, it can be helpful to work with an expert like those at Virta Health to help guide you through the process.

Over time, the body begins to get used to being in nutritional ketosis. When maintained for several consecutive weeks, nutritional ketosis fundamentally changes the way cells in your body work. This includes switching the mix of fuels they use, as well as awakening metabolic pathways that are silenced by high-carb diets. Over time the body refines its metabolism to run on fat and ketones, ultimately manifested by two-fold higher rates of whole-body fatty acid oxidation. Meanwhile, glycolysis, insulin concentrations, constitutive inflammation, and oxidative stress are all decreased. As a result, nutritional ketosis can have prompt and potent therapeutic effects; most notably the reversal of clinical signs of metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes. Many other disorders/diseases may be amenable to nutritional ketosis. This is an early-stage but burgeoning area of scientific investigation.