Re Ketosis: Too much water?

Hi Jo,

Q. "Also what do you know about Ketones? I tested yesterday and was quite purple? Is Ketosis something that should be reached and maintained during a water only fast?"

A. Yes, otherwise you would die.

IN DETAIL.............

Due to the lack of incoming energy when fasting, the body must turn to its own resources, a function called autolysis. Autolysis is the breaking down of fat stores in the body in order to produce energy. The liver is in charge of converting bodily-fats into a chemical called a ketone body: the metabolic substances acetoacetic acid and beta-hydroxybutyric acid, and then distributing these bodies throughout the body via the blood stream.
When this fat utilization occurs, free fatty acids are released into the blood stream and are used by the liver for energy. The less one eats, the more the body turns to these stored fats and creates these ketone bodies, the accumulation of which is referred to as ketosis.

Ketone bodies are used by the body and especially the Brain for energy whilst fasting.
Ketone bodies are also transported from the liver to other tissues, where acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate can be reconverted to acetyl-CoA to produce energy, via the Krebs cycle.

The HEART muscle gets little energy from ketone bodies, as it uses mainly fatty acids.

Chrisb1.