Ketone bodies are mainly formed at the liver level when there is a significant decrease in liver glycogen, a situation in which liver cells begin to use fats to form energy; for this there is an oxidation of fatty acids that result in the formation of ketone bodies (acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetone).
These highly energetic ketone bodies pass into blood and have the function of supplying energy mainly to the brain, but also to skeletal and cardiac muscle cells. In people with diabetes (mainly type I), there may be a paradox of having high levels of glucose in the blood, and despite this, the oxidation of fats increases significantly, thereby excessively increasing ketone body values in blood; This situation is caused by a deficit in the use of glucose linked to the lack of insulin or its functionality, which may lead to ketoacidosis, which is a serious situation and requires urgent attention.
In addition to an energetic function as we have commented, ketone bodies also have an increasingly investigated and known therapeutic activity in the potential treatment of different diseases, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
The blood ketone analyzer that we sell at Keto-Control is the eBketone K01
