RESEARCH ON EXOGENOUS KETONES AND THE KETOGENIC DIET
The following research really peaked my interest in the technology of exogenous ketones.
Terminology/Concepts
The Keto//OS products contain b-hydroxybutyrate salts (BHB). This magical molecule is powerful! While I included a few studies related to the ketogenic DIET, the presence of ketones in the blood (ketosis) is what we are after. You can elevate your blood BHB levels either through fasting, eating a high-fat/low-carb diet, or by drinking a serving of Keto//OS, or ideally, some combination of the three. With that being said, one does NOT have to follow a ketogenic diet to benefit from Keto//OS. In fact, I would argue that someone not following a ketogenic diet would be the perfect candidate for Keto//OS, since they DO NOT have ketones circulating in their bodies!
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- On the Metabolism of Exogenous Ketones in Humans – This study looks at the efficacy of ketone supplements and their metabolism in humans. Basically, researchers wanted to know “Do they work?”…and the answer is YES.
- Deep Dive: ONR-Supported Research Combats Oxygen Toxicity in Navy Divers – This is the original patent that started it all. Before commercially available as a supplement, the technology was developed for (and funded by) the US Navy and the Department of Defense to help Navy Seal Divers prevent oxygen toxicity seizures.
- Fueling Performance: Ketones Enter the Mix – Cell Metabolism Sept, 2016 – This is a great new study that shows the performance potential of ketones.
- Novel ketone diet enhances physical and cognitive performance – FASEB J. 2016 Dec; 30 – A good one on the physical AND cognitive benefits of ketone bodies. Guys: KETONES are magical.
- D-ß-hydroxybutyrate: an anti-aging ketone body – Oncotarget. 2015 Feb – This one NEVER GETS OLD (ba-da-bing)…Anecdotally, every other fitness professional or ketone advocate looks healthy and young. According to my good friend and keto expert Todd White, “yeah, keto will reverse 5-10 years of your aging”… ACTUALLY making your cells healthier is a much better strategy than plastic surgery and botox. Those things are fine, but we want to make sure our cells, our organs, and especially our brains are young and nimble for as long as possible.
- D-beta-hydroxybutyrate extends lifespan in C. elegans. – Aging (Albany NY). 2014 Aug – This study looks at the lifespan of C. elegans after ingesting b-hydroxybutyrate. It increased their lifespan significantly! Why did researchers look at a worm? “In 1963, Sydney Brenner proposed using C. elegans as a model organism for the investigation primarily of neural development in animals. It is one of the simplest organisms with a nervous system.”
- Ketogenic diet does not affect strength performance in elite artistic gymnasts – Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition July, 2012 – Seems that this would be common sense, but we are so fixated with dietary carbohydrate as a culture that it has clouded our judgment when it comes to nutrition choices for young athletes.
- Exogenous Ketone Supplements Reduce Anxiety-Related Behavior in Sprague-Dawley and Wistar Albino Glaxo/Rijswijk Rats – Front. Mol. Neurosci., 06 December 2016 – Anecdotally, all of the athletes I work with who use the Keto//OS product report drastic reductions in performance anxiety and improved mental clarity in competition. This could be due to the reduction in oxygen demands while in ketosis, resulting in less fatigue. Also, see the European patent below.
- A LOW-CARBOHYDRATE KETOGENIC DIET COMBINED WITH 6 WEEKS OF CROSSFIT TRAINING IMPROVES BODY COMPOSITION AND PERFORMANCE – James Madison University This one is great. What we want in most team sports is relative strength, meaning how much force a player can apply to the ground or to an opponent relative to their body weight. Also, I athletes who recover well and have a high quality of life outside of competition. I know athletes that use exogenous ketones daily and aren’t sugar addicts are much happier and healthier.
- The ketone metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate blocks NLRP3 inflammasome–mediated inflammatory disease – Nature Medicine This is a BIG one. BHB is the active ingredient in Keto//OS (BHB = ketone bodies). Inflammation is the common factor in basically every disease known to man. The Standard American Diet (SAD) promotes inflammation due to high amounts of grains, starches, and refined sugars and carbs.
- KETONE BODIES AND KETONE BODY ESTERS AS BLOOD LIPID LOWERING AGENTS – Patent This is great news for anyone on statins. It is now public knowledge that statins increase risk of Type-II diabetes also. Google it.
- Ketone body and ketone body ester for reducing muscle breakdown – Patent This is a major key for athletes: KEEPING and building muscle while running, sprinting, and working all day, everyday. This is also important as we age. Look at the nursing homes, those people are not keeping muscle.
- Ketone bodies and ketone body esters for maintaining or improving muscle power output – Patent – This is another perk of exogenous ketones: increased power output.
- Compositions and methods for producing elevated and sustained ketosis – Exogenous Ketone Patent – This one is pretty self-explanatory.
- Ketogenic diets and physical performance – Nutrition & Metabolism – This one isn’t just about ketones particularly, but basically about the history of carbs and how they came to dominate our culture.
- Effects of beta-hydroxybutyrate on cognition in memory-impaired adults. Neurobiololigical Aging – 2004 – Ketones and a ketogenic diet should be an obvious move for a loved one with Alzheimers, but an ounce of prevention equals a pound in cure.
- Clinical review: Ketones and brain injury – Critical Care, 2011 – This is so important. Upon concussion or
- Beta hydroxybutyrate and derivatives for treating depression and anxiety – This is a patent from Europe. Don’t be surprised if you see this as a mainstream treatment option soon!
- Exercise promotes the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) through the action of the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate – eLife Jun 2016 – This is an awesome study I stumbled upon while researching ketones. So imagine the benefits of exogenous BHB (Keto//OS) + Exercise?!
Articles
- Anti-inflammatory mechanism of dieting and fasting revealed – Yale News
- Nutrition and Traumatic Brain Injury: Improving Acute and Subacute Health Outcomes in Military Personnel (2011)
- Ketone-Based Sports Drink Promises Edge for Athletes – Scientific American
- Ketone Drink Gives Competitive Cyclists a Boost by Altering Their Metabolism – University of Oxford
- Legal Ketone Supplement Pushes Athletes Further, Faster – Newscientist.com
- Ketone Bodies: A New Supplement Trend For Athletes? – Breaking Muscle