Best Time to Test Ketones In Urine & Blood According to Research

If you’re using ketone strips to test ketosis, it’s useful to know the best time to test ketones in urine and blood to get reliable results.

Consuming less than 50, or 30 grams of carbs per day is a guaranteed way to enter and maintain ketosis [1].

However, ketone strips can be a good indicator of how you’re doing when something doesn’t feel right, or when you’re new to keto. 

SEE ALSO: The absolute fastest way to enter ketosis

What is the best time to test ketones in urine? 

The department of medicine from the University of Freiburg, Germany, conducted a study to determine the best time of the day to test ketones in the urine [2]. 

Twenty healthy participants were instructed to follow the standard keto diet for six weeks. They were allowed to eat as they wished without any caloric restriction. However, they had to make sure 80% of their daily calories came from fat, 15% from protein, and 5% from fat. 

During the sixth week, the participants were instructed to measure their urine ketone and blood ketone level for 24 hours from 7 am till 7 am the next day. 

The tests were taken every hour and, every three hours during the day and, once at 3 am in the night. 

They measured the urine ketone level 18 times and blood 8 times in total. 

Results From The Study For The Urine & Blood Test

Bad Time To Test Urine and Blood Ketones

You might have noticed some ups and downs throughout the day on both the urine and blood ketone graphs. The study says this is due to physical activity and food consumption, especially the urine ketones, can increase after dinner. 

What level of ketones indicates ketosis? 

According to a research paper published by the Ohio state university, ketone levels during nutritional ketosis is between 0.5 – 3mM. This is considered to be safe and well below the starvation and ketoacidosis ranges [3]. 

Takeaways