ALA causing Ketostixs false positive readings???

[CubanJuice]

Has anybody heard of ALA causing false positive readings on Ketostixs?
I've been on a Keto diet for 3 wks doing great. I just ran out of ALA and didn't take it for 2-3 days. Now all of the sudden my strips come negative for ketones. My water intake is the same, exercise level the same and food intake is the same. The only thing different is the ALA.

1- Either the ALA was doing such a good job that whatever little carbs I was eating (15g /d) were not affecting ketosis.
2- The ALA was giving me a false positive readings while taking it.

I'm confused now please help.

Txs
Cubanjuice

[goliath.jr]

ALA flushes liver glycogen, so it's possible that it was keeping you in ketosis even though you are getting more carbs than you think. post your daily diet. you must be getting more carbs from somewhere...

[CubanJuice]

Yes I most definitelly am.

Scrambled eggs/cheese/ham. (4egg whites 1 whole egg, 2oz ham, 1.5oz sun-dried tomato/parsil swiss cheese) (2g carbs)

Low carb Myplex MRP (9g carbs)

2 pork shisk kabob glazed with a small amount of bbq sause (4g carb)

Isopure 0 carb shake

2 3oz cooked cheese burgers (home made 93% lean beef) (<1g carb)

2 sugar free jellos w/ 2oz of swizz chees and 1oz of ham. (2g carb)

So I'm eating about 18g of carbs. In 3 wks lost 5 pounds and 2 inches off my waist already.

Just to be safe I went and bought some more ALA...

[goliath.jr]

i don't see any more carbs there than what you reported.

18 grams is low enough that you should be in ketosis with no problem. are you drinking something with sugar in it maybe? are you consuming very large ammounts of water? if you drink a lot of water, it will cause ketostix to show only trace ketones. also - if you are testing yourself post workout, your ketone count will be much lower than other times as well since they are burned off by exercise. even if you only show 'trace' ammounts, that is still ok. it's actually ideal...

[bigjim33]

even without ala, you should be in ketosis at 18g/day

[CubanJuice]

I drink about a gallon a day. I drink water and sometimes diet 7up caffeine free. I always test myself around the same time throughout the day so I pretty much know what to expect at each time.
The interesting thing is that about 1.5 hours ago I took 200mg of ALA and I'm already testing positive for ketones....

[goliath.jr]

hrm...that's wierd.

[CubanJuice]

Oh and another thing that tells me I'm on ketosis is my energy level. It's super high and steady throughout the day. I don't feel very hungry all the time like before dieting. An there is the obvious. Lost 5lbs and 2 in off my waist. No muscle or strenght loss either.
Perhaps that's why I was seeing a lot of lather when I peed (the sugar being excreted by the ALA in my urine).

[Manic Behavior]

ALA at high doses always puts me into ketosis, even when I'm consuming alot of carbs. I just started r-ala today, hopefully it will be better than regular ALA.

[smalls]

Well one of the problems I see is way to little fat. Your doing a keto diet right? Cuz it looks like a low carb, low fat, high protein diet. Which in a lot of people will not result in ketosis, it will result in high levels of gluconeogenesis going on in your liver. Just cause your not eating carbs doesnt mean you will be in ketosis.

Also did you go right into that calorie intake or lower it down from what your where eating cuz the very little muscle I have would fall off of me with that little cal intake. Be carefull man you dont want to be losing muscle (but then again my genetics love to gain fat and lose muscle). Anyway, that might be the problem. As far as why ALA fixed that I dont know.

But I am NO keto expert so other people tell me what ya think.

[smalls]

Also if sugar is in your urine you are in a bad way. So the lather might have just been a different result of ALA.

[CubanJuice]

Smalls what do you mean if sugar is in your urine you are in a bad way? Am I going to die or something J/k My calories have been lower than my usual maintain diet. If I don't cut the cals back in a keto diet I just don't loss weight since my job is rather sedentary.
I eat high proteins and high fats. All the cheese and stake I eat has plenty of fat. Right now, after starting taking ALA, I'm back testing positive on the ketostixs at trace levels which is where I wanted to be. Pounds keep coming off and pant keep fiting looser! Got to love it! Perhaps you should eat more protein on your keto diet. I haven't lost any muscle while on this diet (nor energy). I can tell because my strenght is the same.

Later!

[CubanJuice]

Originally posted by Manic Behavior
ALA at high doses always puts me into ketosis, even when I'm consuming alot of carbs. I just started r-ala today, hopefully it will be better than regular ALA.

I used the regular ALA and gave me great results. I usually stick to the one that works. With the supplement industry there are lots of people making their own supps and sometimes they are pretty underdosed (happened to me with melatonin one brand was like eating candy and the other fixed my problem).
Yesterday I read a study on ALA and r-ALA and you should take 11.11mg of ALA per g of carb or 3.7mg of r-ALA per g of carb...
I deffinitly think it works great on bumping you and keeping you in ketosis.

[rado]

Originally posted by bigjim33
even without ala, you should be in ketosis at 18g/day

yes that's true...your carbs are low as it is, how much H2O are you drinking

[CubanJuice]

Rado, about a gallon a day. I'm back on ALA and back testing positve for ketones