Most of you know I’m a huge fan of bone broth, and yes eating straight up bone marrow. You would think would be completely fine on a ketogenic diet, until you look at the breakdown. You see I received a message concerned that since bone broth contains high levels of glutamine (an amino acid) which is easily converted to glucose, this could be problematic when trying to stay in a state of nutritional ketosis.

This was even more concerning for me as I look at those who are utilizing a ketogenic diet for cancer, as cancer cells can use glutamine for fuel the same way they use glucose from carbs. 

This doesn’t mean giving up bone broth, it’s a staple in most of my healing protocols and that is not about to change. Let me explain why.

While it may affect ketones, especially if consuming large quantities to tide you over during a fast. I wouldn’t be too worried if you are having a few smaller doses per day. You would have to consume a large quantity of bone broth to see a serious disruption in ketones. When I say serious quantity I mean a quart not a cup or two. If you are making your own broth you have no guarantee of the amount of glutamine in each batch, it depends on how long it simmered etc. Traditionally it is said that one cup will contain 1000mg of glutamine.

That being said, if you are on a fast and are using bone broth to bridge the gap, you may want to keep an eye out for your ketone levels. If you notice you are not able to maintain a true ketogenic state then ease up on the broth and swap out for something else. You can also grab one of the awesome products here that will help with this.