BREATH KETONES
BREATH KETONES - CH3-CO-CH3
Ketogenesis is the biochemical process by which organisms produce a group of substances collectively known as ketone bodies by the breakdown of fatty acids and ketogenic amino acids. This process supplies energy to certain organs (particularly the brain) under circumstances such as ketogenic diet and fasting.
Acetone is a good indicator of Ketogenesis because it is spontaneously released from the primary ketone AcetoAcetate. The more AcetoAcetate the liver produce, the more Acetone will be released.
Before breath ketone analyzers it was common to measure the blood ketone Beta-Hydroxybutyrate. Technique is similar to measuring blood glucose and equipment is relative easy to use for nurses use to handle blood samples in the lab. As the concentration of blood ketones depends on several factors, it is more a trace of ketones rather than a measure of the ketosis intensity.
Acetone molecule CH3-CO-CH3
KETOGENESIS
Ketogenesis starts when there are low glucose levels in the blood, after exhaustion of other cellular carbohydrate stores, such as glycogen. Also when there is insufficient insulin (type 1 diabetes).
The production of ketone bodies is initiated to make available energy that is stored as fatty acids. Fatty acids are enzymatically broken down in beta-oxidation to form acetyl-CoA.
Under normal conditions, acetyl-CoA is oxidized by the citric acid cycle (TCA/Krebs cycle) and then by the mitochondrial electron transport chain to release energy.
When the amounts of acetyl-CoA generated in fatty-acid beta-oxidation challenge the processing capacity of the TCA cycle; i.e. if activity in TCA cycle is low due to low amounts of intermediates (oxaloacetate), acetyl-CoA is then used instead in biosynthesis of ketone bodies via acetoacyl-CoA and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA).
Furthermore, since there is only a limited amount of coenzyme A in the liver the production of ketogenesis allows some of the coenzyme to be freed to continue fatty-acid beta-oxidation.
Depletion of glucose and oxaloacetate can be triggered by fasting, vigorous exercise, high-fat diets or other medical conditions, all of which enhance ketone production.
Deaminated amino acids that are ketogenic, such as leucine, also feed TCA cycle, forming acetoacetate & ACoA and thereby produce ketones. Besides its role in the synthesis of ketone bodies, HMG-CoA is also an intermediate in the synthesis of cholesterol, but the steps are compartmentalised.
Ketogenesis occurs in the mitochondria, whereas cholesterol synthesis occurs in the cytosol, hence both processes are independently regulated.
Why Choose Us?
The founder of Ketonix have epilepsy and needed a tool to manage his ketosis. We who work here use a low-carb diet for health and stay focused, the Ketonix device enables us to tweak our lifestyle and optimize our performance.
Our MISSION
Our mission is to provide a simple, cost effective and painless method to know if your body is in ketosis and the strength of it. With the insight of your level of ketosis you could adjust your actions to increase/maintain your ketosis.
Ketosis is when your insulin levels are low and your liver starts to metabolize fat into ketone energy. When ketones fuel our brain we sense a high mental clarity and energy boost. Without the ability to get into ketosis when glucose and glycogen is low the human man kind would not exist.
Ketosis is not the the same condition as Ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is is a complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus. It's a life-threatening condition resulting from dangerously high levels of ketones and blood sugar.
Ketonix® analyze your breath for the ketone named Acetone. Acetone is spontaneously released from the liver when ketone energy is formed.
The more fat that is mobilized into energy, the more Acetone in your breath.
Don't mixup breath ketones with blood ketones. Blood ketones are formed from excess ketone energy and could be converted back into energy at any time. In some situations one could say that they correlate, higher breath ketone level and you might find more blood ketones. Then add that your body could have issues both creating them and use them for energy, these factors makes it harder to interpret blood ketones. This is one of the reasons Ketonix® was invented, to indicate the strength of ketosis.