The Metabolism of Exogenous Ketones - [Research]
Stubbs and colleagues (2017) explored ketone metabolism in healthy subjects. Their purpose was to increase the blood beta-hydroxybutyrate levels of the subjects with ketone esters or ketone salts.
They conducted three randomized studies in healthy subjects of small sample size - 15, 16, respectively 16 subjects. They ketone ester they received was (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate and the ketone salts were sodium and potassium beta-hydroxybutyrate.
Ketone salts, in my view, are not a viable option for high ketonemia because they contain too much mineral salts for the quantity of active BOHB they deliver. Esters, on the other hand, are entirely ketones. And the more newer ones that come on the market, such as BOHB butanediol are even more effective: they not only deliver the BOHB, but butanediol also converts to more BOHB in the body. But anyway, getting back to the study.
In the first study of 15 participants, esters elevated ketones to 2.8 mM, while salts only to 1.0 mM, which returned to baseline a couple of hours after.
"In the second study, the effect of a meal before a KE drink on blood D-βHB concentrations was determined in 16 participants. Food lowered blood D-βHB Cmax by 33% (Fed 2.2 mM, Fasted 3.3 mM, P < 0.001), but did not alter acetoacetate or breath acetone concentrations." [source]
I wont spoil the read, so if you're interested in this kind of research you can look at the full paper below. Applications for exogenous ketones? Plenty, from cerebral pathology to performance enhancement...
To stay in touch with me, follow @cristi
Cristi Vlad Self-Experimenter and Author