Aren’t ketones supposed to be harmful?
We all produce ketones from time to time when our supply of dietary carbohydrates dwindles. Many people will produce them in the early hours of the morning after the carbohydrates they ate for dinner are used up. People on a low-carbohydrate diet will burn ketones along with fat for most of their energy needs. We sometimes test the urine of low-carb dieters to measure ketones to determine if the diet is working. The levels of ketones in the blood in all these instances is not high enough to cause any harm. There is a condition known as ‘ketoacidosis’ which is harmful and part of the confusion around ketones may be due to this. Ketoacidosis is a serious problem that occurs in type 1 diabetics when they are not given insulin. In this case the ketone levels are many times higher and blood sugars are very high, too. While ketoacidosis is harmful, the ketosis experienced by low-carb dieters is not.
