The Effect of Acute Exogenous Oral Ketone Supplementation on the Plasma Metabolomic Signature in Healthy Individuals: An Exploration of Novel Ketone-derived Metabolites

Ketone bodies are a fuel source and signaling molecule that are produced by your body during prolonged fasting or if you consistently eat at low-carbohydrate diet. Blood ketones can be used as a source of energy during fasting and are used by your brain as an alternative source of fuel to glucose. Previous studies have found that ketones, when consumed in form of a supplement drink, can increase blood ketone levels and lower blood glucose, the amount of sugar in your blood. This is of potential interest for individuals with high blood sugar, such as people living with type 2 diabetes. However, how ketone supplements impact metabolism is not fully understood but using high throughput analysis techniques that can characterize hundreds to thousands of metabolites in the blood (known as "metabolomics") may allow researchers to discover novel compounds within the body that are altered by ketone supplements. This will improve our understanding of how ketones impact metabolism and guide future research.