If your breath smells like acetone -- the same fruity scent as nail polish remover -- it may be a sign of high levels of ketones (acids your liver makes) in your blood. It's a problem mainly of type 1 diabetes but also can happen with type 2 if you get a serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
Severely ill patients often have characteristic smells. Patients with diabetic ketoacidosis have the fruity smell of ketones, although a substantial number of people are unable to detect this.
The process of breaking down fat for energy releases byproducts called ketones. Acetone is a type of ketone, and it is the same fruity-smelling substance found in some nail polish removers. If the breath of a person with diabetes smells of acetone, this suggests that there are high levels of ketones in their blood.
One Reddit user described the smell similar to that of bacon while another user has said that their new stench "kind of smells like fat is soaking into my sweat." Despite how common this side effect seems to be (people affectionately refer to it as "keto breath").
Symptoms. It may be that keto crotch is, as yet, an undiscovered side effect of the keto diet. Keto crotch symptoms include strong smelling vaginal odor and white discharge.
Ketones smell like acetone – like pear drops, or like nail-polish remover. DKA usually occurs in people with Type 1 diabetes, and is a medical emergency. "If diabetes remains undiagnosed or poorly controlled, high levels of glucose in the urine may make the urine smell sweet."
When a person is in nutritional ketosis, they will have blood ketone levels of 0.5–3 millimoles per liter . Alternatively, people can use a breath analyzer to test for ketones in their breath, or they may use indicator strips to check their urinary levels. Ketone testing kits are available to purchase online.
People with diabetes may have a very high level of ketones in their bloodstream. When the body excretes these in the urine, they can make the urine smell like popcorn. A high level of ketones in the urine or blood occurs when a person enters ketosis.
Drinking more water
This is because the body expels more ketones in urine rather than as a breath. By drinking water, people will produce more urine, which will help expel many of the ketones from the body.
While some people have success staying on keto for an extended period of time, “the long-term research is limited,” says Jill Gulotta, RDN, who's based in White Plains, New York. Gulotta recommends staying on keto for six months max before reintroducing more carbs to your diet.
Keto is short for ketosis, the metabolic process that kicks in when your body runs out of glucose (its preferred energy source) and starts burning stored fat. Your body may go into ketosis after just 12 hours of not eating, which many people do overnight before they "break fast" with a morning meal.
Liver disease and certain metabolic disorders may cause musty-smelling urine.
If you have diabetes, a change in body odor could be a sign of diabetes-related ketoacidosis. High ketone levels cause your blood to become acidic and your body odor to be fruity. In the case of liver or kidney disease, your odor may give off a bleach-like smell due to toxin buildup in your body.
A fruity odor to the breath is a sign of ketoacidosis, which may occur in diabetes. It is a potentially life-threatening condition. Breath that smells like feces can occur with prolonged vomiting, especially when there is a bowel obstruction.
Ketosis is defined as a natural metabolic process that involves the production of energy from the breakdown of fat into ketone bodies. Signs that suggest you are in ketosis include fatigue, bad breath, dry mouth, weight loss, flu-like symptoms, and decreased hunger and thirst.
The 5 Stages of Intermittent Fasting with the LIFE Fasting Tracker app: 1) Ketosis and heavy ketosis, 2) Autophagy, 3) Growth hormone, 4) Insulin reduction, 5) Immune cell rejuvenation!
The most common reason for not getting into ketosis is not cutting back enough on carbs. According to a 2019 article on the ketogenic diet, carbohydrates should represent only 5–10% of a person's calorie intake. Specifically, most keto diets require a person to cut down to between 20 and 50 grams of carbs each day.
Different brands of strips may differ in their exact color-coding, but generally a dark purple color is used to indicate the highest level of ketones.
Normally, your body burns sugar for energy. But if you don't have enough sugar in your body for energy, your body burns fat instead and makes substances called ketones. The ketones end up in your blood and urine.