The ketogenic diet is one of high fat & low carb eating plans, where foods such as eggs, berries & nuts are recommended. This plan is supposed to help you lose weight and shred belly fat. The ketogenic diet is becoming more popular all over the world, and it’s safe to say that there’s plenty to explore in the culinary book market. There are lots of keto-friendly books, websites, and supplements available.
So as we said, one of the claimed benefits of following a ketogenic (keto) diet is weight loss. Your body would usually go through the state of ketosis when ketones are produced as a result of a low-carb diet, fasting, or starvation. But following such a specific diet can be difficult and it might take some time before you get used to it. So some have recommended taking exogenous ketones, which are supplements that contain exogenous ketones and are sold as a way of achieving nutritional ketosis even if there’s glucose in your bloodstream. Basically, ketone drinks are thought to bring on ketosis without the need for such a strict diet.
What Are Ketones and Ketone Drinks?
Ketones are compounds your liver produces when your body can’t rely on its preferred form of energy: carbohydrates. Almost all foods contain carbohydrates. When you eat them, your body turns those nutrients into glucose, also known as sugar. Your body can use glucose as an energy source almost immediately and it’s generally fairly easy to come by.
However, when you don’t consume enough carbs in your diet, your body turns to stored fat for fuel and energy (a process known as ketosis) – this produces molecules called ketones. To reach ketosis naturally, one must eat a low-carb, high-fat diet or go without food for long periods of time.
As previously said, your body produces ketone bodies when it runs low on carbs for any cause. Endogenous ketones are those that are created naturally within your body.
Exogenous ketones are man-made and created outside of your body and include ketone drinks and supplements like ketone esters and salts. They advertise and sell themselves as being able to put your body into ketosis in a matter of hours by ingesting ketones directly, even if you have glucose in your blood. Exogenous ketone supplements such as ketone drinks and other exogenous ketone supplements are also claimed to have the same health benefits as endogenous ketones.
Ketones Types
There are two forms of ketones available:
- Ketone esters are the most powerful ketone supplements, and they may help you stay in ketosis for longer than other varieties. H.V.M.N. Ketone Ester is a well-known brand. The price of this product is a factor to consider—a three-pack costs $99. You may also wish to try a more flavoured drink or meal chaser to wash down a ketone ester drink due to its harsh, unpleasant taste.
- Ketone salts are available as a beverage. Electrolytes, potassium, and calcium are frequently added to beverages to improve their nutritional content (since following a keto diet can lead to dehydration due to a lack of water-dense meals). Ketone salt drinks can induce ketosis in your body, but they don’t persist as long as ketone esters.
What Research Reveals About Ketone Drinks
Researchers have looked into ketone esters and ketone salts since there has been a lot of interest in inducing ketosis as a result of multiple accounts of compelling and substantial weight loss.
Researchers investigated the impact of ketones on metabolism in a paper published in Frontiers in Physiology in October 2017. Fifteen people drank ketone esters or ketone salts-containing beverages. The researchers concluded that “exogenous ketone beverages are a feasible, efficacious technique to establish ketosis” because all of the subjects achieved ketosis using either type. However, this study was done on a very limited number of participants.
An early version of HVMN’s Ketone was administered to a group of top cyclists in a July 2016 study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
For a three-group comparison, they also offered different carb-rich and fat-rich drinks to two other groups.
Clarke and colleagues put the athletes through a 30-minute cycling test in the study. The cyclists who were given the ketone drink cycled 400 meters (about a quarter-mile) further than the other two groups, according to the data.
Another study published in Frontiers in Physiology in 2017 indicated that taking a ketone supplement made participants perform worse. However, the HVMN prototype was not used in this investigation.
Before their performance workout, the study participants — once again, a group of pro cyclists — were given a ketone supplement drink. Although the bikers achieved ketosis, their times were two percent slower than those who did not consume the ketone supplement.
In addition, after drinking the drink, all ten subjects experienced gastrointestinal pain (“nausea, reflux, and mild discomfort”). Due to vomiting and dizziness, an eleventh cyclist was unable to complete the activity.
These negative effects were more noticeable in those who took the highest ketone supplement doses.
Despite this, the majority of research indicates that ketone supplements are well tolerated.
Furthermore, many energy drinks on the market now include high levels of caffeine or stimulants, both of which can be harmful to one’s health.
Safety And Precautions
Consuming a ketones drink can result in any of the following issues, so talk to your doctor about your weight loss goals before starting the keto diet.
- Gastrointestinal issues – Digestive and stomach difficulties.
- Electrolyte imbalances can occur as a result of the excess electrolytes found in some ketogenic drinks. With a keto diet, you must drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
- High BP
- Lack of carbs for energy causes weakness and fatigue.
Take Away
Ketone drinks, according to most research, can assist supplement a keto diet in a favorable way. However, you must be cautious about which brands you take because you risk stomach problems and dehydration.
Apart from that, those who find it difficult to stick to a keto diet on a regular basis may benefit from ketone supplements to help speed up the process. People who want to improve their athletic performance can utilize exogenous ketones to lower lactic acid generation and consequently muscular soreness after strenuous workouts.
However, there is a risk in trying to take ketone supplements as a quick fix and relying only on them to achieve and sustain ketosis. While ketone supplements can aid weight loss, they must be used in conjunction with a ketogenic diet. So, rather than splurging on ketone supplements, it’s wiser (and probably safer) to invest that money toward purchasing healthy, whole foods to include in your diet. And at the end of the day, there’s no better way to achieve fat loss than the time-tested fat loss methods.
Rahul is a sports and performance consultant. Over the course of his 15-year career in the fitness sector, he has held positions as a strength and conditioning instructor, gym owner, and consultant.
He is deeply committed to assisting people in finding happiness and feeling good about themselves.
Rahul has a master’s degree in exercise science and is a certified NSCA CSCS and CISSN.