Exogenous ketones: Weight-loss compounds?

Exogenous ketones are not ketogenic in themselves because they prevent the body from producing its own ketones through certain pathways.

Before Holy Week, whether or not you are in lockdown, you wonder: what should I do when I think about binge eating? Or do exogenous ketones work for weight loss?

As the ketogenic diet grows in popularity, we see more and more products such as exogenous ketones, which claim to enhance the effects of a keto diet and even provide some of the benefits of a ketogenic diet without restricting carbohydrates.

The ketogenic diet is very low in carbohydrates and high in fat; if you follow the diet for several days, your body experiences what is called “ketosis,” a nutritional state characterized by elevated levels of ketones in the blood, resulting in weight loss.

Although the diet can offer benefits, it can also be difficult to follow consistently. There is evidence that exogenous ketone supplements can mimic ketosis and increase ketone levels in your blood without affecting your diet; however, that is not exactly how your body interprets it.

Here we explain how this type of supplementation can help you lose weight under certain circumstances.

Ketosis: what happens to the body?

If you follow a high-carbohydrate diet, your body's cells generally rely on glucose as fuel.

Glucose comes from carbohydrates, including sugars and starches such as bread, pasta, and some vegetables… of course, supplements too…

By limiting these foods or ingredients, as in a ketogenic (keto) diet, you are forcing your body to seek other sources of energy.

Then, your body converts fat into fuel, producing ketones when it breaks it down in excess. This change in metabolism puts your body into a state of ketosis.

KETOSIS IS A PROCESS IN WHICH YOUR BODY PRODUCES A LARGE AMOUNT OF KETONES AND USES THEM TO PRODUCE ENERGY INSTEAD OF THE GLUCOSE FROM CARBOHYDRATES.

The two main ketones produced during ketosis are acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate; acetone is a third ketone body, but less abundant. In these instances, these compounds replace glucose as fuel and provide energy to your brain, heart, and muscles.

It is obvious, but it is established that ketones themselves could be responsible for the weight loss associated with a ketogenic diet.

Ketosis: does it have disadvantages?

Although the process is effective for achieving weight loss within a certain period of time (generally a short one), it has its drawbacks:

It is difficult to sustain:

Due to the strict dietary restrictions, many find it difficult to follow the ketogenic diet, as it is used for a short period of time followed by the adoption of healthier eating habits.

Unfortunately, it lends itself to yo-yo dieting, which increases the problems.

It is not so simple to achieve:

Ketosis is difficult to achieve because it is like a light switch: on or off; people who constantly track their food intake are more likely to remain in ketosis. But the only way to know whether the body is in ketosis is through a blood test.

It can lead to a deficiency

It causes a calorie deficit and nutrient deficiencies because the ketogenic diet is so restrictive in the vitamins, minerals, and fiber you get from a balanced diet.

Because of these deficiencies, people who follow it feel lethargic; constipation is also common on the ketogenic diet due to the lack of fiber.

Excessive fat consumption is not efficient

On paper, burning fat by eating more is tempting; however, in practice, fats can be harmful because excessive consumption (trans fats, for example) could have negative effects on heart health.

Obsession with food

When you manage your food intake by tracking how much you eat, you become disconnected from what your body is asking for. You start using external numbers to determine what to eat instead of listening to your body, and this causes psychological distress that can, in some cases, lead to binge eating and restriction in a continuous cycle.

Ketones: what are they?

Ketones can be produced in your body (endogenously) or come from an external source outside your body (exogenously).

These supplements contain only the ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate; the other primary ketone body, acetoacetate, is not chemically stable as a supplement.

However, there are two main forms of ketone supplements:

• Ketone salts: compounds bound to a salt, generally sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium. They are most often found in powder form and mixed with a liquid.
• Ketone esters: these are compounds bonded to another compound called an ester and packaged in liquid form. Ketone esters are mainly used in research and are less accessible than the former.

One conclusive study states that supplementing with exogenous ketones with around 12 grams (12,000 mg) of ketone salts increases participants’ blood ketone levels by more than 300% [1].

This increase in blood ketone levels after supplementation is beneficial for people who want to enter ketosis without necessarily following the diet fully, which can be restrictive and irritating.

Our experts believe that supplementation emulates many of the same health benefits of a ketogenic diet, including weight loss.

• People also take exogenous ketones while following a ketogenic diet, especially at the beginning of the diet.
• This reduces the time it takes to reach ketosis and the unpleasant effects that can result from switching from a standard high-carbohydrate diet to a ketogenic diet.

Symptoms that often accompany the transition to a ketogenic diet, more commonly known as the “keto flu,” include constipation, headaches, bad breath, muscle cramps, and diarrhea.

­­­­Exogenous ketones: how do they work?

Well, endogenous ketones are naturally produced inside the body by the liver as a result of restricting carbohydrates and sugar. The word comes from the Greek endon, meaning “inside.”

But scientists have also discovered a way to administer ketones to people, generally in the form of a drink, which means that you can introduce them into your body from the outside. These are exogenous and the word comes from the Greek exo, meaning “outside.”

According to a survey of our users, around 30% of respondents, especially women, say they take them mainly for four benefits: more energy, better concentration/cognition, a reduced feeling of satiety, and the well-being associated with weight loss.

Anyone who wants to be a little more technical can analyze the scientific reviews, especially when discussing how ketones interrupt lipolysis (the breakdown of fat, which should be used as fuel).

When “endogenous ketosis” develops, many other factors stimulate lipolysis, meaning that a kind of balance is reached and lipolysis remains constant. But in this state, those factors that stimulate ketosis are not present, so the overall effect of exogenous ketones is to decrease lipolysis.

If the supplements cause enough of a reduction in appetite or energy to train more and burn fat through other pathways, we at least know that they may indirectly cause weight loss, but not directly through the lipolysis pathway; therefore, they do not cause that weight loss per se.

­­­­Exogenous ketones: do they suppress appetite?

Exogenous ketone supplements have already been shown to reduce appetite, which may help you lose weight by eating less, especially after consuming them following an overnight fast, helping maintain satiety [2].

This appetite-suppressing effect has been attributed to lower concentrations of the hunger hormone ghrelin between 2 and 4 hours after drinking a ketone ester beverage. However, ketone supplements may not affect appetite as much in people who have already eaten.

Because high ketone levels are associated with appetite loss and lower ghrelin levels, exogenous ketone supplements may only be beneficial during fasting, when it is best to take them instead of carbohydrates.

In addition, taking this type of supplement after a meal containing carbohydrates will still increase ketone levels in the blood, but not as much as if you were fasting, suggesting that your body is using fewer ketones as fuel because more glucose will be available from the carbohydrates.

­­­­Exogenous ketones: do they inhibit fat breakdown?

The goal of the ketogenic diet for weight loss is to produce ketones from stored fat as an alternative fuel source. But if your blood ketone level rises too high, your blood can become dangerously acidic.

To prevent this, healthy people (especially young athletes) have a feedback mechanism that slows ketone production if levels rise excessively.

In other words, the higher your blood ketone level, the less your body will produce. As a result, taking exogenous ketone supplements may prevent the use of body fat as fuel, at least in the short term [3].

Some experts talk about combining them with MCTs. What do you think? Do you?… without a doubt, you can do so by selecting the right product.

­­­­Exogenous ketones: do they contain calories?

Your body can use them for energy, which means they contain calories. They contain around four calories per gram, the same number of calories as carbohydrates or protein.

A single serving of exogenous ketone salts normally contains fewer than 100 calories, but to maintain a state of ketosis, you will need several servings per day. This is because the effect of exogenous ketone supplements lasts only a few hours and therefore requires repeated doses throughout the day to maintain a state of ketosis.

Conclusions

In addition to potentially helping you reach ketosis faster, exogenous ketone supplements have also been linked to other benefits.

• They reduce appetite.
• They reduce anxiety.
• They maintain a good mood.
• They improve athletic performance.
• They accelerate muscle recovery.

Above all, exogenous ketones are effective at reducing blood glucose levels both during and outside exercise [6].

Some experts argue that these exogenous ketone supplements are not necessary for people following a ketogenic diet, who already need to take other key compounds to follow this diet, such as vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, MCTs, and magnesium… obviously, plenty of protein from various sources…

But what do you think? Why do they work?

Remember that ketone salts are the most common form found in available supplements, while esters are found only in certain compounds or cutting-edge, high-cost products.