In the world of fitness, there are multiple ways to lose excess body weight and lead a healthy and fit lifestyle. Some prefer to spend hours at the gym, some prefer to follow a strict diet regime, and some like to depend on healthy drinks and powders. However, if you are also a fitness enthusiast, you must have heard about ketosis and ketones. There are still many of you who are not too sure about these terms. What are exogenous ketones and what do you mean by ketosis, are probably some of the questions that haunt your mind all the time. It is true that if you search for answers to these questions from unauthorized websites or sources, you will get misinformed very easily. So, be sure to always check with a reputable site like Dr Keto Diet Review.
What Are Ketones?
When you talk about ketones, it basically means the ketone bodies that are the byproducts of your own body breaking down the stored fat in order to get energy. This process takes place when you reduce your daily intake of carbs. Ketones are present in every person irrespective of whether you are diabetic or not. Ketones can also be referred to as chemicals that are produced by your liver.
Your liver produces ketones when your body lacks the right amount of insulin in order to turn glucose or sugar to energy. Your body needs energy to function smoothly. This is why it looks for an alternative and turns to the stored fat. Your liver plays a major role in breaking these stored fats into energy or ketones. It is basically a type of acid which is later sent to your bloodstream. This helps your various tissues and muscles to use it as a primary source of energy.
Types of Ketone Bodies
When you talk about the various types of ketone bodies, there are basically 3 types. These are acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyric acid or BHB, and acetone. Acetoacetate is created from the breakdown of various fatty acids in your body. It is either turned into acetone or BHB. Beta-hydroxybutyric acid is technically not a ketone, simply because of its basic structure. However, it is still considered as a ketone body within the keto diet. On the other hand, acetone, which is created from acetoacetate, breaks down pretty quickly and is also removed from your body either through the waste or even through your breath.
Why Do You Use Exogenous Ketones?
If you go back in history, you will come to know that ketones were the primary source of energy for the human body when sugar or glucose was not available all the time. There are several functional benefits of ketones. First of all, it proves pretty useful on various mental performances. This is because major part of your brain can easily utilize ketones as a source of energy to perform different mental functions. Secondly, ketones are also utilized as a source of energy during an exercise. Being on a keto diet is rather useful for athletes, since they perform hardcore exercises all the time and also have to burn fat for fuel.