Glucose Ketone Index (gki) – What Ratio Do I Need For Nutritional Ketosis Benefits?
Generally these blog posts are a result of scratching my own itch (answering my own question), and this post is no different. At the time of writing this, I’m doing a 5-day fast, and wanted to understand the readings I’m getting for my blood glucose and blood ketone levels. Initially I thought that blood ketones were all that mattered, and certainly a lot of people only talk about that reading. But looking at Dr Thomas Seyfried’s paper on treating brain cancer (glioblastomas). It suggests that its important to take into account blood glucose also. In their study, they acheieved optimal results when their patients maintained what they called ‘nutritional ketosis’. And as part of the paper, they included a formula for what this means. The chart below describes visually what they mean by nutritional ketosis, and how it affected the tumour growth. The red is an increase in ketones as a fictional patient goes deeper into ketosis. The black line represents blood glucose, that decreases to a plateau, as carbohydrate sources are removed from the diet, and glycogen stores decrease. So that sweet spot they reach at the end is an optimum level of nutritional ketosis. Now… obviously in our case we are (hopefully) not trying to slow the growth of a glioblastoma. But by getting into ketosis we’re hoping to achieve a number of benefits including: Reduced IGF-1 Immune system rejuvenation (perhaps mainly lymphocytes) Increased cellular autophagy Reduced inflammation (often measured by improved C-reactive protein levels) The extent of these benefits will depend if you’re eating a keto diet, or doing a water fast/fast mimicking diet. But all 3 should improve the biomarkers such that you have a reduced risk of major diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disea Continue reading >>
The Glucose-ketone Index Approach To Cancer Therapy Some Early Insights
The Glucose-Ketone Index Approach to Cancer Therapy Some Early Insights Written by Chris on June 01, 2015 No comments This recent article appeared in March 2015. Thomas Seyfried and colleagues came up with a way to monitor the therapeutic efficacy for managing brain cancer by introducing the glucose ketone index. This tool measures the ratio of blood glucose to ketones (BOHB) and its helpful because it outputs a single number that would tell if a patient is predominantly burning ketones or glucose. It would assess whether the patient is successful into implementing a ketogenic dietary approach (or a fasting approach) to managing different pathological conditions. The Glucose Ketone Index (GKI) was created to track the zone of metabolic management for brain tumor management. The GKI is a biomarker that refers to the molar ratio of circulating glucose over -OHB, which is the major circulating ketone body. A mathematical tool called the Glucose Ketone Index Calculator was developed that can calculate the GKI and monitor changes in this parameter on a daily basis. The GKIC generates a single value that can assess the relationship of the major fermentable tumor fuel (glucose) to the non-fermentable fuel (ketone bodies). The formula is quite comprehensive and it can be used with different unit systems and devices: The graphics above show you how you can switch between mg/dL and mM (millimolar). So, far theyve used the calculator to estimate the GKI for mice and humans with brain tumors that were treated with either calorie restriction or ketogenic diets from five previously published reports.[1] They noticed that the optimal results in terms of the efficacy of the treatment would be when GKI was around 1, or lower. I suspect that lower than 1 would be even better. This would Continue reading >>
Is It Better To Be In Ketosis To A Greater Degree?
Is it better to be in ketosis to a greater degree? Will one become better at intense fat burning during exercise if one is in ketosis to a relatively greater degree? I can not run at 80% of max heart rate while in ketosis. I hope to get there. Will I get there faster if my ketones are 2.5 all the time instead of 1.5 all the time? If so, how do I get more ketones? Will 10g net carbs daily produce more ketones than 30g net carbs daily? I know that Dr. Phinney has said that he stays above 0.5 ketones with 50g carbs daily. Many others in this forum seem to have less carbs and more ketones. Is there an advantage to that? try it! you have to experiment for things like this because so much depends on the individual. I have found that body goes through so many changes with this that you basically turn a little mad scientist sometimes to see what works for you. You sound like a bit of a numbers fanatic though which i am not. If I want to run faster I just swig some coconut oil And run fast. If i want to burn up stored fat i just dont eat and run slow until I am borderline passing out. I try to focus more on what and how I am feeling more than things like numbers. From what Ive read, it doesnt matter what your level of ketosis isyou are either in ketosis or not, and thats whats important. From what Ive read, it doesnt matter what your level of ketosis isyou are either in ketosis or not, and thats whats important. Yes, probably because what your meter sees is probably only a rough approximation of whats really going on. e.g. are you burning fat? Are you burning ketones? bit of each? While its better than pee-ing on paper, its still a bit of an approximation, and thats not even talking about meter accuracy. There are therapeutic advantages for people that have metabolic diseases, Continue reading >>
How To Easily Track Your Glucose Ketone Index (gki) On Your Ketogenic Diet
Tracking ketone levels is a large part of success on the ketogenic diet. It helps you know how far you are into ketosis and where we might need to make changes. But did you know that there’s an even better way to step it up a notch? The glucose ketone index is a simple calculation that allows you to find out how ketosis works best for you individually. Without it, you could be in full, high-level ketosis yet still not getting the full benefits. In this post, we’ll be looking at how to easily track your glucose ketone index for different aspects of health along with your ketogenic diet. Basics of the Glucose Ketone Index Here’s what you need to know about the glucose ketone index (GKI): Researchers have used the index in studies on the ketogenic diet, fasting, and more. Additionally, it has been used for tracking changes and progress regarding weight loss, athletic performance, management of metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, and even cancer treatment. Now that we’ve covered the basics of what the GKI does, let’s talk about how you can use tracking it to your advantage. Tracking Your Glucose Ketone Index What’s so special about the glucose ketone index is that it lets you track both glucose and ketones at the same time, taking into account how they work together. It’s a way to know your optimal state for addressing all sorts of health conditions. Tracking this number benefits you over simply measuring ketone levels. That’s because even if you’re deeply in ketosis, you could still have high blood glucose levels that throw things off and affect your health. Essentially, it gives you a more full picture of your metabolic health. The numbers you can expect to target depend on your intentions for being in ketosis. Is your goal weight loss, better overa Continue reading >>
Ketogenic Diet – The Big Mistake
Watch the rest of the series – let us notify you when future videos become available Ketogenic diets are all the rage these days for weight loss, mental clarity and dealing with cancer or epilepsy. What was once looked at as a therapeutic diet for medical issues has now gone mainstream with athletes and extreme dieters using it to push the limits. America is the land of extremes so it’s the perfect diet at the perfect time because if it’s done right, it is as extreme as you can get. The ketogenic diet is based on a type of fat called a ketone. Your body has the capability to break down fat and convert it into ketones as an alternative fuel for your brain and heart. It’s a survival mechanism that is built-in to fuel survival in times of starvation. The body runs out of sources for sugar and then switches to ketones to survive until you can find food. Fifty years or so ago the ketogenic diet was discovered as a successful treatment for epilepsy. The advent of the pharmaceutical industry pushed it out of the spotlight and soon it was discarded in favor of the new and easy solution of prescription drugs. Well it’s back now and bigger than ever in part due to the cancer epidemic and partly because low carb diets are so popular. Eating a ketogenic diet is extremely low carb with over 70% of calories coming from fat. Throw in 15% calories from protein and there isn’t much room left for carbs. This type of diet raises ketones and drops blood sugar. You’re eating less sugar and the ketones themselves influence your levels of insulin and blood sugar, limiting access of both to the cells. Combined with herbs like adaptogens, the ketogenic diet is probably the best blood sugar regulating diet you can be on. Why adaptogens? Because outside of carbs and simples sugars, Continue reading >>
Tracking The Glucose Ketone Index
In this post we will examine the “glucose ketone index” as a biomarker for tracking metabolic health. We will also explore some of the primary use cases for tracking the glucose ketone index including cancer treatment, weight loss, metabolic disease management and athletic performance. Lastly, we will demonstrate how you can use Heads Up Health to track the glucose ketone index along with all of your other important health data. If you want to skip ahead, click the button below to create an account with Heads Up and start tracking the glucose-ketone index alongside all of your other health metrics. Or, read on for more information on tracking the glucose ketone index. What is the Glucose Ketone Index? The glucose ketone index is simply a way to measure the relationship between your ketone levels and your glucose levels at any moment in time. It is measured by dividing your blood glucose level (mmol/L) by your blood ketone level (mmol/L). The result is a single number we can use an indicator of one’s metabolic state. The index has its roots in brain cancer treatment, where researchers using metabolic therapy found best results when glucose and ketones maintained a very precise relationship in the patient [1]. Since there are many aspects of daily life (stress, exercise, nutrition etc.) that can upset glucose or ketone levels in the body, thereby throwing off the optimal glucose-ketone ratio, the index was developed to ensure both metrics (glucose and ketones) are maintaining the ideal ratio for optimal treatment outcomes. Example: If my fasting blood sugar first thing in the morning is 4.6 mmol/L (82 mg/dL) and my ketone reading is 0.8 mmol/L, I would record a glucose ketone index of 5.75 (4.6 / 0.8). Despite its roots in cancer treatment, the index can also be ver Continue reading >>
What Is The Glucose Ketone Index And Why Does It Matter?
We’re all for using tools to improve our health and meet personal goals for our body. If you’ve never heard of or used the glucose ketone index (GKI), now’s the time to learn more about this useful tool. This article will fully explain what the glucose ketone index is and why it matters that we all use it. What is the Glucose Ketone Index? The glucose ketone index (GKI) is a single number that gives you a way to monitor the state of your metabolic health. Tracking your ketone levels lets you know how far you are into ketosis, and the GKI gives you a picture of the relationship between your ketone levels and your glucose levels. It’s simply an even more efficient way to see where you stand with your health. Let’s take a second to talk about what metabolic health means, as this needs to be clarified for two reasons: Many people who hear the term think of “metabolism,” which has been watered down a lot in recent times and is often misunderstood (such as the myth that intermittent fasting kills your metabolism, etc), and it’s not the same as an overall picture of metabolic health. Metabolic health has been defined in many different ways by researchers depending on what’s being measured: triglycerides, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. Perhaps most commonly, we see it used in tandem with research on type 2 diabetes patients. This can get confusing if we’re not sure what type of metabolic health someone is referencing. Even experts haven’t completely agreed on a set definition of metabolic health, but the GKI index can help show the bigger picture. When we talk about metabolic health in the context of the GKI, we mean: the level of function in every cell of your body. This is important because proper cell function means everything is working in harmony ( Continue reading >>
Celebrating Therapeutic Glucose Ketone Index (gki) Of1!
The glucose ketone index is a ratiototrack your metabolic state. Dr. Thomas Seyfried suggests in his book, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease ,that you aim for a GKI between 0.7 to 2.o with a goal of 1. Today, Todd hit 1! When fighting cancer with the Ketogenic Diet, the goal is to depletethe supply of sugar/glucoseto thecancer cells and elevate the blood ketone level between 2-5 mmol depending on who you ask. Elevated ketone bodies have a very promising effect on shrinking tumors in lab & case studies. Getting your blood glucose down & ketones elevated can be a challenging task for some. What works for some may not for others. Through trial & error, Todd found out that tomatoes, almonds & too much dairy will kick him out of ketosis . There are many factors that play into the equation of raisingglucose including too much protein to any type of stress on the body. Heres how we got to 1. Precision Xtra monitor measure blood glucose in mg/dl and ketones in mmol so the glucose needs to be converted into mmol. Continue reading >>
What Is A Glucose Ketone Index And Why You Should Care
Having high levels of ketones doesn’t mean you’re automatically getting all of the benefits. Luckily, research shows us that there’s an easy way to know if you’re in prime therapeutic mode so you can be confident you’re getting the best results. Ketosis can already be complicated if you don’t test and figure out what kicks you out. Once you start getting serious about ketosis and tracking ketone levels, you can usually step things up a notch with a simple calculation. You can become more specific with what works for you as an individual. How you do that is by calculating your glucose ketone index. The Glucose Ketone Index, or the GKI, is a ratio that researcher Dr. Thomas Seyfried has been using in his studies relating to both fasting and the ketogenic diet. There’s nothing fancy to this index, it is just a ratio of blood glucose levels to blood ketone levels. Having high level of ketones are great and all, but if you also have a super high level of blood glucose, you’re really just spinning your wheels and not getting any benefits of ketosis. And the real key here is to make sure that the ratio between glucose and ketone levels is as low as possible. If you’ve been following along, you’ll note I was pretty big on this glucose ketone index on my recent my four day fast and it actually dictated the time spent in the fast. But why did I care about this ratio, and why should you care? Why Should You Care? Dr. Seyfried does a lot of his research in the realm of cancer treatment and has noticed increasingly impressive therapeutic outcomes with the lower the glucose ketone index ratio gets. Dr. Seyfried claims that a GKI of lower than 1.0 is prime therapy for patients with cancer, and he has plenty of data to back this up. The graph above shows how tumor g Continue reading >>
It Really Is In Your Blood: Glucose To Ketone Ratios
I wrote awhile back about how I felt that I might be going a little mad obsessing over my blood numbers and measuring my blood glucose and ketone levels. This is one of the greatest differences, in my opinion, between people that follow a ketogenic or low carb lifestyle for overall health reasons or weight loss, and those of us who are experimenting with using a ketogenic approach as a specific disease therapy. I’m using the term “therapeutic ketosis” now for this, as you’ll know if you’re a Constant Reader here at Greymadder. I think people in the first category, with weight loss or general health goals, can definitely be helped by measuring ketones, and that this is vital to the success of the approach. However, in my personal experience using this approach to “starve” my brain tumour, I find I can become quite the data junkie, measuring blood levels of both glucose and ketones up to four times a day, because in my mind, the optimal levels of both are perhaps what’s required to have a therapeutic effect. I base this on the book Cancer as a Metabolic Disease by Dr. Thomas Seyfried, in which he advises that there is a window of effectiveness of therapeutic ketosis for cancer that uses a glucose to ketone ratio of 1.0. This essentially means that when measured in mmol/L (“millimolar”), blood glucose and ketones should be equal, or even achieving ketone levels that are higher than the glucose levels may be preferable. There is general agreement between my favourite go-to references (Ellen Davis, Dominic D’Agostino, Miriam Kalamian, all found in my Resources section) that this glucose to ketone ratio of 1.0 is best. Miriam Kalamian, in her ebook Get Started with the Ketogenic Diet for Cancer further notes that it should not be disregarded that a thera Continue reading >>
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How To Compromise Between Keeping Ketone-levels High And Not Losing Weight?
How to compromise between keeping ketone-levels high and not losing weight? My name is Erik, Im 33 years old, from Sweden, and this is my first post on the forum! Ive been on a calorie restricted ketogenic diet since april this year to keep a couple of (benign) tumors from growing, or at least slow them down. Having watched and read a lot by Thomas Seyfried on battling cancer with the ketogenic diet i thought id give it a try. I also mailed him and asked if the diet would have effect on benign tumors as well, and he thought it would. Im doing a MRI and a gastroscopic ultrasound early/mid-january and the results will be very interesting! As a very nice side-effect Ive gone from 104 to 85 kg (229 to 187 pounds, I think) since starting the diet. Ive been more or less overweight since childhood, so the weightloss is most welcome. According to Seyfried and CO, you should ideally reach a glucose/ketone-index of around 1 for the diet to be effective against tumors, but i can only reach that number while calorie-restricted, which he also points out. As of now, I have approx 7-8% body fat, and really dont feel the need to lose any more weight Ive been doing IF (approx 16/8) since the start but i am now finding it hard to squeeze all the calories in to the eating window, so i have kind of abandoned it. I did a DXA-scan in october, and it showed the highest fat-free mass since i started doing DXA:s back in 2005, so i am obviously not losing muscle-mass (eating 80g of protein/day). I started out around 2100 kcal/day, increased to 2500 a couple of months ago but i still kept losing weight, so now i have increased to a minimum of 3000 kcal/day, and it SEEMS to keep me from losing weight, at least so far. But it also seem to inhibit deep ketosis. My macros are currently approx 10-15g Continue reading >>
Optimal Ketone And Blood Sugar Levels For Ketosis
A low carb helps reduce blood sugars and insulin levels and helps with the management of many of the diseases of modern civilisation (e.g. diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s). We become insulin resistant when our body fat can’t store any more energy. Excess energy is then stored in the liver, pancreas, heart, brain and other organs that are more insulin sensitive. We also see increased levels of energy in our blood in the form of glucose, fat and elevated ketone. Endogenous ketosis occurs when we eat less food than we need. Our insulin and blood sugar levels decrease and ketones rise to supply the energy we need. Exogenous ketosis occurs when we eat lots fat and/or take exogenous ketones. Blood ketones rise, but our insulin levels will also rise because we have an excess of energy coming from our diet. Most of the good things associated with ketosis occur due to endogenous ketosis. Most people following a ketogenic diet over the long term have ketone values lower than what some people consider to be “optimal ketosis”. If your goal is blood sugar control, longevity or weight loss then endogenous ketosis with lower blood sugars and lower ketones is likely a better place to be than chasing higher blood ketones. I have seen a lot of interest and confusion recently from people following a ketogenic about ideal ketone and blood sugar levels. In an effort to try to clear this up, this article reviews blood ketone (BHB), breath ketone (acetone) and blood sugar data from a large number of people who are following a low carb or ketogenic diet to understand what “normal” and “optimal” look like. Many people initiate a low carb diet to manage their blood glucose levels, insulin resistance or diabetes. As shown in the chart below, Continue reading >>
The Glucose Ketone Index Calculator: A Simple Tool To Monitor Therapeutic Efficacy For Metabolic Management Of Brain Cancer
The glucose ketone index calculator: a simple tool to monitor therapeutic efficacy for metabolic Joshua J Meidenbauer, Purna Mukherjee and Thomas N Seyfried Background: Metabolic therapy using ketogenic diets (KD) is emerging as an alternative or complementary approach to the current standard of care for brain cancer management. This therapeutic strategy targets the aerobic fermentation of glucose (Warburg effect), w hich i s the common metabolic malady of most cancers including brain tumors. The KD targets tumor energy metabolism by lowering blood glucose and elevating blood ketones (-hydroxybutyrate). Brain tumor cells, unlike normal brain cells, cannot use ketone bodies effectively for energy when glucose becomes limiting. Although plasma levels of glucose and ketone bodies have been used separately to predict the therapeutic success of metabolic therapy, daily glucose levels can fluctuate widely in brain cancer patients. This can create difficulty in linking changes in blood glucose and ketones to efficacy of metabolic therapy. Methods: A program was developed (Glucose Ketone Index Calculator, GKIC) that tracks the ratio of blood glucose to ketones as a single value. We have termed this ratio the Glucose Ketone Index (GKI). Results: The GKIC was used to compute the GKI for data published on blood glucose and ketone levels in humans and mice with brain tumors. The results showed a clear relationship between the GKI and therapeutic efficacy using Conclusions: The GKIC is a simple tool that can help monitor the efficacy of metabolic therapy in preclinical animal models and in clinical trials for malignant brain cancer and possibly other cancers that express aerobic fermentation. Keywords: Glucose, Beta-hydroxybutyrate, Calorie restriction, Metabolic therapy, Glioblast Continue reading >>
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The Glucose Ketone Index Calculator: A Simple Tool To Monitor Therapeutic Efficacy For Metabolic Management Of Brain Cancer
Go to: Abstract Background Metabolic therapy using ketogenic diets (KD) is emerging as an alternative or complementary approach to the current standard of care for brain cancer management. This therapeutic strategy targets the aerobic fermentation of glucose (Warburg effect), which is the common metabolic malady of most cancers including brain tumors. The KD targets tumor energy metabolism by lowering blood glucose and elevating blood ketones (β-hydroxybutyrate). Brain tumor cells, unlike normal brain cells, cannot use ketone bodies effectively for energy when glucose becomes limiting. Although plasma levels of glucose and ketone bodies have been used separately to predict the therapeutic success of metabolic therapy, daily glucose levels can fluctuate widely in brain cancer patients. This can create difficulty in linking changes in blood glucose and ketones to efficacy of metabolic therapy. A program was developed (Glucose Ketone Index Calculator, GKIC) that tracks the ratio of blood glucose to ketones as a single value. We have termed this ratio the Glucose Ketone Index (GKI). The GKIC was used to compute the GKI for data published on blood glucose and ketone levels in humans and mice with brain tumors. The results showed a clear relationship between the GKI and therapeutic efficacy using ketogenic diets and calorie restriction. The GKIC is a simple tool that can help monitor the efficacy of metabolic therapy in preclinical animal models and in clinical trials for malignant brain cancer and possibly other cancers that express aerobic fermentation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12986-015-0009-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Keywords: Glucose, Beta-hydroxybutyrate, Calorie Continue reading >>
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Glucose Ketone Index Calculator For Cancer Management
Glucose Ketone Index Calculator For Cancer Management This is a fantastic article statingthe incredible benefits of using ketogenic diet for the metabolic management of cancer. To calculate your index you will need to have a blood glucose monitor and a blood ketone monitor to obtain your Glucose Ketone Index (GKI). Paying attention to the optimal ratio of your glucose and ketones has been scientifically proven to be a powerful tool for the metabolic management of brain tumors (and other aggressive and inoperable cancers). Mary Beauchamp is a Registered Nurse, Therapeutic Nutritionist and Mind Body Specialist. She is a world traveler, food alchemist, and student of ancient healing traditions. She has four beautiful children and two grandchildren. With her knowledge of nutritional science, medical research, plant medicines, ancient super foods and indigenous healing rituals, she formulates food products for the natural foods industry and is a private health coach, specializing in healing the metabolism. Mary works with a team of Naturopathic doctors at Auburn Naturopathic Medicine in northern California. She alsooffers private and group online coaching programs. You can learn more about her work by visiting her website, www.ketogenicdietcoach.com . Mary is passionate about re-educating people about nutrition. She invites you to experience your body as a master communication system and facilitates this sacred encounter within to unlock the bodys innate intelligence to heal and thrive! Continue reading >>
