Tracking ketones on a medical ketogenic diet

A medical ketogenic diet is a low carb, high fat diet which changes the metabolism in the body from burning glucose for energy to burning fat for energy.   

A medical ketogenic diet can be used as a treatment for:

• Drug resistant (intractable or refractory) epilepsy
• Glut 1 Deficiency 
• Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency

There is ongoing research into the benefits of a ketogenic diet for other neuro-metabolic conditions and some brain cancers.

Medical keto diets need to be prescribed and closely monitored by a medical professional. Patients are usually supervised by a neurologist and a dietician and the diet is integrated into a full medical treatment plan.

By accurately and conveniently monitoring breath acetone levels (ketones), patients can manage their medical ketogenic therapy effectively at home with KETOSCAN Mini or KETOSCAN Lite.

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological conditions and it is thought that over 50 million people worldwide are affected by it. 

So how can a keto diet help to manage or stop epileptic seizures? 

The keto diet was used to treat epilepsy in adults and children in the 1920s, before anti-epileptic drugs became available. As soon as drugs became available, the treatment of epilepsy with ketogenic therapy become much less common, as did the expertise needed to medically supervise the treatment.

In recent years, there has been further research and clinical trials supporting a resurgence of interest in ketogenic dietary therapies. 

By monitoring ketone levels, those on a ketogenic diet can ensure that they are in a state of ketosis (when the body is burning fat for energy, not glucose) and optimise their diet plan accordingly. 

Many patients with an established diet plan to manage a condition with ketogenic therapy find KETOSCAN Mini convenient for daily ketone monitoring and much easier than blood or urine testing. When used alongside the KETOSCAN app, it provides a quick and reliable way to test and record results – just blow into the device for 3 seconds and get an instant reading. Results are recorded automatically in the app, along with any observations or diet notes required. 

KETOSCAN Mini is recommended by keto dieticians at Matthew’s Friends, a UK charity set up by mum Emma Williams MBE in 2004. Emma’s son Matthew was born with epilepsy and suffered from hundreds of seizures a week before taking part in a medical trial of the ketogenic diet at age 7. After just 2 weeks, Matthew’s seizures had reduced by 90% and within eight months of starting the diet he was off all medication entirely. Read Matthew’s amazing story.