A startup created a ketone drink that supposedly easily breaks down fat and improves physical and mental performance. Does this "superfuel" really work?
Fourth Fuel Type: Ketone
People who go on a diet or want to improve their physical performances often look at their carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake, with others watch their sugar intake as well. A startup's creation is highlighting ketone, the fourth body fuel that people don't often focus on.
HVMN's creation, Ketone, is a drink made of pure ketone ester that comes in a small bottle. It contains 120 calories and sells at a $33 per bottle preorder price. The way that Ketone works banks on when the body releases ketone. Naturally, ketone takes the spotlight when the body runs out of carbohydrates. While it is consistently produced by the liver, a lot of it is used as an alternative body fuel. This happens when carbohydrates naturally run out, or when an individual is on a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet.
What the Ketone drink does is increase the body's fat-melting capability without starving or having to be on a strict, low-carbohydrate diet. In fact, a research has found that the body's ketone levels can equal to that of ketone levels after a week of fasting merely an hour after ingesting the drink. What's more, HVMN claims that the drink can improve both energy and focus.
Ketone is classified by the FDA as a generally safe food — not a supplement.
Will Ketone Work?
The claims of the startup are quite attractive, especially with regard to energy improvement and fat-burning without making too much of an effort. It's even more attractive considering that it is backed up by a scientific study.
Another study published in Frontiers of Physiology studied the merits of ketone among professional cyclists and found that ingesting ketone actually impeded the performance of the cyclists and yielded unpleasant side effects.
The cyclists who ingested ketone were 2 percent slower and all of 10 participants experienced mild to severe gut discomfort and nausea. In fact, there were supposed to be 11 participants in the study but one had such severe dizziness and vomiting that the participant was unable to complete the experiment.
That said, Louise Burke Ph.D. of the Australian Institute of Sport, lead author of the study, states that it's possible that people might just have to adjust to the sudden inflow of ketones, and that the results may have been due to the body interpreting the ketones as a metabolic problem, hence urged the muscles to slow down.
Does ketone work? In the natural sense, ketone does burn fat and work as the body's fourth fuel when there is no other fuel source. It's entirely possible that a ketone drink could really work to enhance energy, but it's also important to remember that it's not a stimulant that would enhance performance with minimal effort on your part. Perhaps with the right amount of effort and the right dosage of Ketone, it could really work as the body's "superfuel."
