What is a Ketone?
Popular nutrition lore states that humans can only burn one type of energy as fuel: sugar. Doctors call this “blood sugar” or, more precisely, glucose. Once we exhaust our reservoirs of sugar, we need to eat more food for energy — much like a furnace. This oversimplified notion is not only wrong, but it’s making us sick. Diets that are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates (think bread, pasta, and even, yes, fruit juice) are now linked to chronic illnesses like heart disease, obesity, diabetes and many types of cancer.
Consider our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Do you think they walked around with sports drinks or energy bars to maintain steady blood sugar during days of unsuccessful hunting? Of course not. Instead, they maintained steady energy by converting their body’s fat stores into sugar-like molecules known as ketones.
“Ketones are incredibly powerful energy and signaling molecules,” says Dominic D’Agostino, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of South Florida who is studying the ability of ketones to ward off disease as well as improve the performance of Navy SEALS and astronauts. “The more we research, the more it appears that everyone would benefit from using nutritional ketosis as a tool for overall health, and even performance.”
But if fasting doesn’t sound appealing, don’t worry. There are easier ways to increase the amount of ketones in your blood stream. Supplements like PrimaForce BHB or PrimaForce KetoShakes can help elevate ketones to boost energy and concentration. Plus, PrimaForce tastes great!
