Description
A keto diet lab panel can help you monitor your health and make adjustments to your diet. It can also help you detect and treat conditions like diabetic ketoacidosis before they become life-threatening.
The following test are included:
Apolipoprotein B
Free T3
Free T4
Hemoglobin A1c
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)
Insulin
Leptin
Lipoprotein(a)
NMR
TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone)
Fasting not required.
Additional information about each test is listed below:
A ketogenic diet can increase apolipoprotein B (apoB), which can lead to plaque buildup in arteries. This is a concern because high levels of apoB are linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
When following a keto diet, it's important to check your "free T3" levels because this ketogenic diet can potentially lower your active thyroid hormone (T3), which is crucial for metabolism, and may lead to symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, or difficulty losing weight, even if your overall thyroid function appears normal based on other tests; therefore, monitoring free T3 can help identify potential issues and allow for adjustments to your diet or medication if needed.
When starting a keto diet, it's important to check your "free T4" levels because a ketogenic diet can potentially affect your thyroid function by potentially lowering the conversion of inactive T4 thyroid hormone to its active form, T3, which is necessary for proper bodily function, potentially leading to symptoms of hypothyroidism even if your overall T4 levels appear normal; therefore, checking free T4 levels can help monitor if your body is adequately converting T4 to T3 while on a keto diet.
A keto diet can be important for managing hemoglobin A1c levels because it significantly reduces blood sugar levels by drastically limiting carbohydrates, which can lead to a lower A1c reading, indicating better long-term blood glucose control, particularly for individuals with type 2 diabetes; essentially, a lower A1c on a keto diet signifies improved diabetes management and a decreased risk of diabetic complications.
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels can increase while on a ketogenic diet, depending on the type of diet and the length of time on it. hs-CRP is an inflammatory marker.
The keto diet can improve insulin sensitivity and glycemic control, and may help with type 2 diabetes and obesity. However, it can also increase the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycemia.
The ketogenic diet (KD) increases leptin levels in the blood, which can help with weight loss and decrease inflammation.
When following a keto diet, it's important to check your lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels because high Lp(a) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and some studies suggest that keto diets may potentially influence Lp(a) levels, even though it's primarily determined by genetics; therefore, monitoring this marker can help identify potential concerns and allow for appropriate adjustments to your diet or treatment plan if necessary.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been used to study the effects of ketogenic diets on lipid profiles, metabolomic pathways, and disease biomarkers.
When following a keto diet, monitoring TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) levels is important because a ketogenic diet can potentially impact thyroid function by altering the conversion of T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) to T3 (active thyroid hormone), which can be influenced by factors like carbohydrate restriction, and therefore, monitoring TSH levels helps ensure your thyroid is functioning properly and that you're not experiencing potential side effects like fatigue or weight gain associated with thyroid imbalances.
