drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
With quite a few ketone salt products on the market, I wanted to discuss them and how they can help you reach your fitness goals. Beta-hydroxybutyrate(BHB) is 1 of 3 ketones produced in the body upon fatty acid metabolism. Ketones are an alternate energy source for cells when glucose is scarce. Evolutionarily, when humans were hunters and gatherers they could go long bouts without food so the body adapted to use ketones from the breakdown of fat(stored) as energy. Recently there has been a ton of data and studies conducted on ketones/ketogenic diet and performance. In keto-adapted athletes, most studies show there were no significant differences in time to exhaustion and performance in the keto group vs glucose(normal) group. Studies also show that keto-adapted subjects burn 2.3x more fat during exercise vs glucose group(which makes sense since a keto group doesn't have any glucose to burn). Supplement companies are starting to release BHB(ketone salts) for exercise performance, accelerating ketosis, quick energy source that cannot be stored as fat and even enhanced cognition effects(Bulletproof coffee has MCT oil, which is a precursor to ketones). I use BHB everyday, usually 1st thing the am, preworkout and before bed, and I follow a ketogenic diet. Ketones are also muscle sparing, so they can help prevent muscle loss wen dieting(something that a low carb diet cannot do). Ketones seem to impact a lot of metabolic processes and diseases. There's new research coming out monthly about keto diet and metabolic disorders like diabetes, cancer, Chron's and more recently Parkinson's. NOTE: you cannot be on a ketogenic diet and a high protein diet at the same time. Keto is 70/25/5 fats/pro/carbs. Too much protein will kick you out of ketosis via gluconeogenesis. <!-- /react-text -->
