Ketones, Ketosis and the Magic of Fat for Fuel
Ketones are the fuel we use by default, in the brain and other parts of our bodies, when we stop eating enough carbohydrates to burn glucose for all our energy needs. While we are directly able to burn fatty acids as fuel in much of our system, we cannot do so in the brain - hence the need for ketones (a product of fat metabolism).
Once we have adapted to converting fat in our adipose tissue or our diet to ketones, we are able to continue sustained effort without a 2 hourly top-up of carbohydrates - in fact, I've been going now for 3 years without carbohydrates, eating one meal or less a day (in the evenings), yet remaining quite capable of maintaining energy levels and activity, such as skiing or golf or high levels of concentration, (solving computer problems), without hunger.
Once we have adapted to converting fat in our adipose tissue or our diet to ketones, we are able to continue sustained effort without a 2 hourly top-up of carbohydrates - in fact, I've been going now for 3 years without carbohydrates, eating one meal or less a day (in the evenings), yet remaining quite capable of maintaining energy levels and activity, such as skiing or golf or high levels of concentration, (solving computer problems), without hunger.
- Dr. Mike Eades on ketones and ketosis
- More on ketones and breathalyzers
- If you eat excess protein, does it turn into excess glucose?
- We were talking about gluconeogenesis, not ketogenesis
- Dietary proteins contribute little to glucose production, even under optimal gluconeogenic conditions in healthy humans
