Ketosis has become a popular diet trend in recent years. Supporters tout ketosis for aiding weight loss, reducing inflammation, and providing other health benefits. However, new research reveals we may have misunderstood some key aspects of ketosis and ketones. This article comprehensively reviews what ketosis is, common misconceptions about it, and how it can improve your health when used appropriately.
What is Ketosis?
Ketosis refers to a metabolic state where your body switches from using glucose from carbohydrates as its main energy source to using fat and ketones instead.
This shift happens when you restrict carbohydrates to less than 50 grams per day. As blood sugar and glycogen stores deplete, your body breaks down fat from adipose tissue into fatty acids and ketone bodies in the liver through ketogenesis.
Ketones readily cross the blood-brain barrier and serve as alternative brain fuel when glucose is scarce. This metabolic flexibility provided an evolutionary advantage, allowing ancestors to survive prolonged fasting.
Today, people intentionally induce nutritional ketosis by following a very low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet. Ketosis promotes weight loss, enhances mental clarity, reduces seizures, and more. But new research reveals common misunderstandings about ketones’ primary purpose.
Brief Ketosis Research History
In the 1920s, researchers found fasting reduced epileptic seizures in children. They realized ketones produced during carbohydrate restriction were likely the key anticonvulsant. This led to ketogenic diets as pediatric epilepsy treatments in the 1930s.
Later, scientists like George Cahill and Richard Veech extensively studied starvation and ketosis metabolism. They confirmed ketones spare muscle from being broken down for glucose by serving as alternative fuel. This prevents protein wasting when carbs are scarce.
Based on these findings, ketones were thought to be super-efficient, high-energy fuel enhancing mitochondrial efficiency when glucose was limited. But their signaling role was not discovered until later.
Common Ketosis Misconceptions
It was widely believed ketones act as superior “superfuel” – that ketosis “turbocharges” mitochondria. But newer research debunks this.
Studies show that even at maximum therapeutic ketosis, ketones supply only ~30% of energy needs. Glucose and fatty acids provide the rest. Even the brain, reliant on glucose, gets just 60% of energy from ketones during full ketosis.
Clearly, ketones are not super-efficient fuel. What are their real benefit?
Ketones as Signaling Molecules
As carbs drop, ketone production increases. Rising ketone levels signal protective reactions in cells throughout the body.
Most importantly, ketones instruct mitochondria to:
- Reduce energy production and respiration rates to avoid excessive oxidative damage. Ketones tell mitochondria to “rest” rather than operate at full capacity.
- Increase mitochondrial numbers and density via biogenesis – growth and division of existing mitochondria. This distributes the workload, allowing each to function under less strain.
In essence, ketones trigger temporary mitochondrial uncoupling and proliferation as an adaptive survival mechanism during carbohydrate deprivation.
But how exactly do ketones provide this benefit?
Mitochondrial Uncoupling Mechanism
Think of mitochondria like a crowded nightclub where electrons and protons normally meet and “couple” to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) energy.
When overloaded, uncoupling proteins act as emergency exits, allowing protons to escape before making ATP. Instead of generating ATP, the energy releases as heat.
By reducing ATP output this way, mitochondria “rest” and minimize oxidative damage. Uncoupling is a clever survival mechanism promoting longevity during food scarcity.
Uncoupling also increases thermogenesis, burning more calories for heat. This offers additional benefits like:
- Increased metabolic rate
- Enhanced cold tolerance
- Potential lifespan extension
However, excessive uncoupling is detrimental. Mild uncoupling generally supports health and longevity.
Natural Ways to Uncouple Mitochondria
In addition to signalling temporary uncoupling during ketosis, certain compounds directly induce mild uncoupling. Polyphenols from plants are powerful natural uncouplers.
Eating polyphenol-rich plant foods stimulates uncoupling activity, providing benefits like:
- Increased thermogenesis and metabolic rate
- Reduced mitochondrial free radical production
- Enhanced protection against aging
- Greater metabolic flexibility between carbs and fats
Essentially, plant polyphenols act as antioxidants inside mitochondria, providing potent anti-inflammatory effects. This explains why eating a rainbow diet full of colorful plant foods is so beneficial.
Some specific polyphenol-rich uncoupling foods include:
- Eggplant
- Turmeric
- Green tea
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa
- Coffee
- Olive oil
Nutrients like alpha lipoic acid in spinach, broccoli and meat also demonstrate mild uncoupling effects.
Another surprising uncoupling source is goat’s milk, which contains MCTs quickly converted to ketones by your liver. This explains exceptional longevity in goat-herding blue zone populations like Sardinians and Okinawans.
Healthiest Ketosis Implementation
Based on these discoveries, long-term continuous ketosis may not be ideal for most people. Regularly cycling between burning carbs and fats is likely smarter.
Here are tips to implement intermittent ketosis healthfully:
- Incorporate 6 hour daily time-restricted feeding. Finish dinner by 6-7pm, allowing ketosis during the 18+ hour overnight fast.
- Consume 1-2 higher carb days per week with fruits, starchier veggies and grains. This temporarily halts ketosis and replenishes muscle glycogen.
- Emphasize intake of uncoupling polyphenols with meals – lots of vegetables, herbs, spices, mushrooms, teas, coffee, red wine, cocoa, etc.
- Include goat milk kefir, yogurt or cheese daily to provide MCTs that boost ketone levels.
This allows your mitochondria to regularly cycle between burning glucose and fats/ketones. Your cells reap hormetic benefits of periodic uncoupling without potential downsides of chronic carb restriction.
Potential Drawbacks of Prolonged Ketosis
While short-term ketosis can be therapeutic, some potential adverse effects of very long-term ketogenic dieting include:
- Decreased mitochondrial biogenesis – As your body adapts to high fat intake, genes involved in mitochondrial proliferation are downregulated over time.
- Insulin resistance – Chronic ketosis can promote physiological insulin resistance to spare glucose for the brain and avoid muscle breakdown for gluconeogenesis. But this impairs insulin signaling long-term.
- Muscle loss – Ketogenic diets often contain more protein than traditional calorie-restricted diets. But very low carb intake may still promote net muscle loss over time.
- Micronutrient deficiencies – Strict keto diets can lack antioxidant and micronutrient-rich plant foods.
- Gut dysbiosis – Keto’s high meat and low fiber intake can selectively feed pathogenic gut bacteria while starving beneficial plant-fermenting microbes.
- Social effects – High fat keto meals aren’t always socially convenient. Long-term dietary restrictions can also isolate people.
For these reasons, regular carb cycling, plant foods and goat dairy are smart strategies for healthier, sustainable ketosis.
The Sweet Spot for Longevity
Rather than continuous deep ketosis for months, a wise approach is intermittent mild ketosis through fasting, time-restricted feeding, and an uncoupler-rich plant-based diet with goat’s milk.
This allows your mitochondria to regularly toggle between carbs, fats and ketones as energy. The resulting hormesis provides the best of both worlds – enjoying periodic uncoupling benefits without potential chronic carb restriction downsides.
Remember, ketones’ primary purpose is signaling adaptive mitochondrial responses, not necessarily serving as perfect energy. With the right diet pattern, you can harness their power to enhance metabolic flexibility, longevity and lifelong health.
