Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Unit Converter

Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) is the most abundant ketone body in human blood, making up roughly 78% of circulating ketones. The other two ketone bodies are acetoacetate (~20%) and acetone (~2%).

Your body produces BHB when it breaks down fat for fuel instead of glucose. This happens during fasting, prolonged exercise, very low carbohydrate diets, or when insulin levels are insufficient.

Because BHB is the predominant and most stable ketone body in the bloodstream, measuring it gives a more accurate picture of ketosis than urine ketone tests, which detect only acetoacetate and acetone.

BHB is produced exclusively in the liver through a process called ketogenesis. When insulin is low and fatty acids are released from fat stores, the liver converts them into ketone bodies, including BHB. The liver itself cannot use BHB for energy; it exports it for other tissues to consume.