Are you a careful driver?

If you're on a low-carb diet, you'd better be.

Alcohol Tests Flawed

I remember about a year ago hearing something similar. Someone was pulled over and given a breath test. That person was then accused of drinking and driving, although they had never touched a drop. Why? Ketones. That infamous ketone breath had registered on the test as alcohol. How can that be? From the above article:

Alcohol breath tests, including ignition interlock devices, not only register traces of ethanol, which suggests alcohol ingestion, but other alcohols that might be the byproduct of other factors, including a low-carbohydrate diet, Jones said.

Jones told his audience of about 200 that he isn't a fan of field sobriety tests commonly used in the United States but not Europe.
"I would probably fail a field sobriety test now, although I'm sober," said Jones, adding that age and body mass affect the ability to perform such tests.
Saliva, sweat, hair, urine and even teardrops have been studied as possible indicators of alcohol and drug use, Jones said.
But the best way, so far, to judge alcohol content is blood.
"Blood is the closest way to find out what's going on in the brain," Jones said.
"It's the cornerstone for forensic toxicology," which is the science of drugs and poisons and their effects, Jones said.

Very interesting, and a bit scary. So, if you stay true to your low-carb lifestyle, and I recommend that you do, be extra careful that you don't drive distracted. It can be pretty dangerous and may give the police a reason to pull you over for suspicion of drunk driving. No applying make-up, text messaging, searching for something in the floor... You may just find yourself in a big mess that's tough to explain.