Spilling ketones?

A guest physician on a health call-in show the other day was using the expression "spill ketones" in regards to urine testing of kidney function. Why would the verb "spill" be used in this context?

The kidneys are your body's filtering system - some substances like sugar, are filtered out of the blood then reabsorbed back through the kidneys - a large amount of ketones would cause some to be "spilled" into the urine - too much to be reabsorbed.

diabetes.

Ketones are produced when the body burns fat for energy or fuel. They are also produced when you lose weight or there is not enough insulin to help your body use sugar for energy. Without enough insulin, glucose builds up in the blood. Since the body is unable to use glucose for energy, it breaks down fat instead. When this occurs, ketones form in the blood and spill into the urine. These ketones can make you very sick.

will result in production of ketones, or ketoacids, which will be detected in the urine.

This is the basis of the "Atkins diet" also, the idea being by depriving the body of carbohydrates (the "normal" fuel the body consumes), the body depletes its store of carbohydrates in a few days and then burns fats for fuel producing ketones, that's why the urine dipstick for ketones is used to monitor the diet (i.e. if you are doing it "right" you will continue to have detectable ketones in the urine).

Even if not on the Atkins diet, if you are restricting calories, exercising a lot, and burning fat and losing weight, you will also have ketones detectable in the urine.

I remember when I first entered the military many moons ago, I had to lose about 20-30 lbs. to qualify for the physical requirements. I did this by eating less and running 5 - 6 miles a day 5-6 times a week.

The only abnormal result on my physical and lab tests was the presence of ketones in my urine. I didn't understand until much later what that was all about.

I wouldn't make too much of the term "spill" in this context.

"spilling" in this context means peeing. It can be applied to ketone's which can occur in diabetics undesirable, dieters desirable, sugar never good, protein never good either, and other "substances"

but if you eat a big breakfast of bacon and eggs, or a
16 or 24 oz steak for dinner most people will show some protein
(between a trace or 1+)..

I was picturing "spilling" as fluids leaking into the bladder, but now I understand.

time for a BG test and an insulin injection..