Ketogenic diets are high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets that are often followed for losing weight. Regardless of whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, if you feel like the ketones levels in your body are increasing, it’s important to take notice. You might even notice that you have a bit of fruity breath if your levels are increasing, leading you to ask yourself – is it time to take a home ketone test?
There are several ways to test your ketone levels at home. Some home ketone tests are very cheap and easy to use. But depending on the kind of test, you might find that some of them are more invasive and expensive.
There are three main types of tests that you can take to track your ketone levels.
Let’s delve into what options are available, and look at the pros and cons of each. We hope this can help you decide which type of home ketone test you want to use to track your ketone levels.
What are the three types of ketone testing?
You can test your ketone levels by testing either your blood, urine, or breath. All of these tests can be taken from the comfort of your own home. Read on to learn more about each test type:
1. Home ketone test using blood
The first way to test for ketones from home is a blood test using a blood ketone meter. These tests require you to prick your finger to get a drop of blood for testing. It’s an easy and quick way to check your ketone levels.
Blood ketone meters are very practical and small, and they usually require a battery, which means there is no need to plug the meter in to charge the test.
2. Home ketone test using breath
The second way to test ketones at home is the breath test. Compared to the other test types, this is a more difficult method of testing ketones at home because each product operates differently and may produce different results. The fruity smell in your mouth only starts when you have elevated ketone levels in your body. That’s why it's good to monitor your ketone levels as early as possible.
3. Home ketone test using urine
Last but not least, the last testing method is a urine home ketone test. This also happens to be our favorite testing method. You might ask why? Well, there are plenty of at-home urine tests, and although the instructions can vary slightly depending on the home urine analysis product you purchase, they are all easy to use because there is only one way to test using home urine analysis tests: you have to urinate on it.
Home urine analysis tests come with strips, and there are two ways of using the strips. The first is to directly saturate the strip under your urine stream. The second is to fill a urine plastic cup and soak the strip inside the cup for about 40 seconds. It’s up to you to decide which way works best for you. Afterwards, all you need to do is wait about a minute for your results.
The next step is to read the results. A typical ketone strip test product you buy will come with a urine color chart on its packaging. The charts are made up of different shades ranging from light to dark. Once the strip has finished changing color, all you need to do is take the strip and match the strip color with the color tone provided on the chart. Remember, since this is a home ketone test, the strip's color might not be identical to the colors on the chart. But rather than looking for the exact corresponding color, you are looking to compare it with a similar shade.
Are you confused about which test to buy?
There are a lot of ketone test options out there on the market. But breath tests are generally pricey, and blood urine tests can be painful to use due to the need to prick your finger for blood. That’s why our favorite method is to test using your urine!
And what better product is there out there than Vivoo? Vivoo is a smart, at-home urine test and App that gives you real-time data on your body’s wellness based on 9 wellness parameters like ketones, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and so much more. Vivoo uses advanced image processing technology and artificial intelligence to analyze your results so that you don’t have to interpret them on your own as you would have to with other ketone tests on the market. You just urinate on the strip and scan it to the Vivoo App to get your results in 90 seconds! The App will tell you whether you’re in ketosis or not, and give you personalized advice prepared by dietitians to help you improve your wellness. Try it now!
