Exogenous Ketones

Forgive me if this has been addressed, but a recent article on exogenous ketones mentioned that they may be counterproductive in a ketogenic diet, effectively pressing the “pause” button on endogenous production. While this seems reasonable (at least briefly), would they still confer appetite suppressing and muscle sparing effects that may be longer lasting? Also, wouldn’t the resultant insulin spike from taking them drive down glucose further, thus stimulating the endogenous production? I greatly appreciate anyone’s insight.

That’s my understanding of them, and why I think marketing claims of ‘instant ketosis’ are slightly misleading, namely you are pressing the pause button if not already glycogen depleted. The single biggest benefit is some added performance, physical and mental, while restricting carbs. There is also an argument that you may be burning less fat using them even while in natural ketosis. That said, if you are doing more and performance is going up then that is worth the trade off. It’s worth checking Paul Carter, who is associated with a brand, as this appears to be his thoughts. Regarding insulin levels, I don’t quite get what you mean.

Edit following first dose tonight using standard 12g of BHB salts. By way if background, I am 35 days into a ketogenic diet where calories are set pretty low. I have also implemented a 5:2 style fast this week (Mon and Thurs). Sounds complicated but actually quite intuitive when in ketogenic state. Anyway, took a blood ketone reading 75 min post-ingestion and 30 min post-workout. Reading was 0.8 mmol. Hardly deep ketosis. But more appreciable was workout energy and mental clarity. Even now I feel completely wired, a bit like a caffeine buzz without the shakes or comedown. Very pleased so far and intend to use sparingly, as so expensive, on the ‘2’ days.