How to Use Exogenous Ketones

Exogenous ketones and keto supplements have exploded in popularity along with the keto diet. Now that you know what ketone supplements are it is time to take a look at how to use exogenous ketones to supplement your keto diet and maximize your weight loss.

We will show you how to use exogenous ketones, when and why you should take them, and talk about the different types that are available to you.

How to Use Exogenous Ketones

Exogenous simply means external. So, exogenous ketones are synthetic ketones that are created outside the body then introduced into your system to assist in accelerating the state of ketosis.

For those new to ketosis, this is simply a metabolic state where your body uses ketones (derived from the burning of fats) instead of glucose to produce energy. When on the keto diet, ketosis is usually achieved when your body detects starvation from fasting, or when you cut your intake of carbohydrates and increase your intake of fats. This is the goal of the keto diet, to turn your body into a state of fat burning.

Exogenous ketone supplements have been created as a way to shortcut your path to ketosis. They will help you get into ketosis faster and make the transition easier, thereby avoiding the keto flu.

 

Why take exogenous ketones?

When you’re transitioning to a new diet some people often feel too restricted in the types of food they can eat. If you are going from a very high-carb diet to a very low-carb diet you can develop keto flu symptoms, leaving you feeling low in energy with headaches and brain fog. Exogenous ketones can help minimize or even completely eliminate these symptoms. You also may not wish to eliminate a lot of high carbohydrate foods from your diet at once, but still want the benefits of being in ketosis.

If you’re an athlete you may need to regularly eat carbs to boost your workouts and your performance. Exogenous ketone supplements will help you maintain ketosis while still being able to eat more carbs.

While on the keto diet, you may find yourself having a high-carb meal or two that kick your body out of ketosis. Exogenous ketones can help you get your body back into the fat-burning state very quickly.

 

When to take exogenous ketones

You should consider exogenous ketones for any of the following:

Athletic performance

This is one of the most commonly known reasons for consuming exogenous ketones. Athletes or those people who perform regular workouts can introduce exogenous ketones into their daily diet to boost the production of ketones in their body to help achieve ketosis.

Improving metabolic efficiency

According to some studies, exogenous ketones have been discovered to improve metabolic efficiency in both humans and animals. What happens during a ketogenic diet is that the body uses fats as the primary source of fuel. This shifts your metabolism into a more efficient state. Aside from the main benefit of burning fat, you will also find you have less inflammation, improved immunity, and better mental clarity.

Ease stress for those on a medical ketogenic diet

Not all people choose the ketogenic diet—some are recommended to go on it by their doctor for medical reasons. When forced to adhere to a ketogenic diet some people find it a psychologically taxing lifestyle, especially when they’re not used to living without carbs.

Patients living with cancer, type-1 and type-2 diabetes, and epilepsy are some of those individuals who may need to adhere to a lower carb diet. For these people, supplementing with exogenous ketones can help their transition easier.

 

Different types of exogenous ketones and how to use them

The body naturally produces three types of ketones, which are Acetoacetate, Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and acetone. BHB is the primary ketone that aids in metabolism because it’s largely found in the blood. Having recognized this fact, scientists have developed exogenous ketones with BHB as the primary ingredient to help the body achieve ketosis quickly.

Exogenous ketones are lab created ketones that are introduced into the body in form of oils, salts, or powders to help accelerate ketosis. Let’s take a look at the different types of exogenous ketone supplements you can get.

Ketone Esters

These types of exogenous ketones exist in the raw form (BHB) without adding any compounds to mask them. Because of this, they tend to have a bitter taste that many find hard to swallow, and can cause gastric distress in some people.

However, despite the taste, ketone esters are known to have a quick and positive effect in increasing blood ketone levels compared to ketone salts.

When it comes to consumption, these supplements can be taken without limits between meals. Some people consume about 25 ml while others consume about 45 ml on a daily basis.

Ketone salts

Ketone salts are another type of exogenous ketones that contain BHB bound to a salt such as sodium, magnesium, potassium, or calcium. The addition of salts not only improves the absorption rate but it also helps to mask the bitter taste of BHB to give the supplement a much improved taste and make it easier to consume.

Although ketone salts may not raise blood ketone levels like ketone esters do, they do help to reduce severe side effects such as stomach cramps and diarrhea experienced with ketone esters.

Take 1 to 2 teaspoons daily in water depending on your ketogenic state.

MCT Oils or ketone oils

These supplements use a completely different approach as compared to the other two. They contain medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) and other medium chain fatty acids which when consumed are introduced into your body’s cells to be broken down. Ketones are then the by-product of this breakdown.

These supplements are not as quick acting as the other two when it comes to raising blood ketones, but can be very effective as a supplement to eating a keto diet and to help give a boost to those in nutritional ketosis.

 

You can and should use exogenous ketone to supplement your keto diet. Which ones you use and how you use them will depend entirely on how you are eating and your current metabolic state. If you are new to the keto diet and ketosis, exogenous ketones can help you in the beginning stages of your diet.