Ketone Supps and Coconuts (Part deux)

Stephen Decker
Aug 25, 2017 · 3 min read

A while ago I wrote about how I don’t think ketone supplements are very useful in weight loss. In short, ketones can be viewed as indicators of fat burning (to a degree), so if ketones are present in the blood, you’re probably burning fats; thereby producing ketones which can also be used as fuels in other tissues. Ketone supplements just raise blood ketones (duh) without really doing anything.

But what about supplementing ketones?

First, I really don’t think it’s necessary. Ketones aren’t the end result if you’re trying to lose fat, fat loss is. If you’re aim is medical ketosis you may have more of a case, but I’m not sure it will help. The jury is still out on the latter, though.

Second (and most important), I have a hunch that the combination of blood ketones and blood glucose may be of some danger. This doesn’t apply so much on those who use ketone supps on a low-carb diet, but rather it applies to those who remain on a high-carb diet and still supplement with ketones.

Note: I’m speculating here. I don’t know where the cutoff is for “too many carbs,” but the basis of my argument should still suffice.

It’s been well noted that ketones present in the blood will be used by the brain in preference to glucose (usually in the context of starvation, but I believe this applies to nutritional ketosis as well). It has also shown to be the case in the heart as well. It seems like a pretty good argument is developing to claim that ketones are the preferred fuel for tissues, but this would also need to be seen in skeletal muscle before those conclusions are made.

Anyway, here’s my main point:

If ketones are the preferred fuel over glucose (assuming this holds constant for skeletal muscle as it has for the brain and heart), then what exactly is to become of the extracellular glucose that isn’t being used by the tissues?

IMO, if ketones are being used in preference to glucose in the context of a high-carb diet, you leave your body open to a lot of potentially damaging reprocussions. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), oxidation, vascular damage, etc. etc.

Look, I made a thing!

We know glycation can cause very dangerous complications over time and is probably the biggest long-term threat to diabetics, hence why physicians are so keen to measure HbA1c. As such, I would think that chronic supplementation of exogenous ketones have the potential to induce glycation of proteins and tissues, causing several conditions (glycosuria, kidney disease, retinopathy, atherosclerosis, vascular disease, and many many more).

This is just speculation, though. If I had to guess, coconuts wouldn’t be as bad as exogenous ketone supplements because coconuts may be a little slower to break down into ketones. In any case, I’m going to keep away from ketone supps and eat real food (with the occasional vitamin, omega-3, and whey supplement).

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