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Keto Drink Mix: How Exogenous Ketones Improve Your Health (With Top 3 Recs!)

By Fitoru | 11 November 2019
chocolate whey protein powder scattered on a table and in a white scoop

Flavored drink mixes are a great way to make hydration tastier, but there’s another important aspect to drink mixes to consider: nutrient content. The right drink mix should give you an energy boost, not just be full of sugar and able to dye your water a colorful hue. When on the keto diet, it’s all the more imperative that you have a sugar-free option that ideally can provide some ketogenic support. Which keto drink mix is the best to have around to support your low-carb diet? We have the top three options, plus details on how ketones improve your health.

The Keto Diet and Ketone Support

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet designed to prioritize fat loss by switching the body to an alternative metabolism that we’re all born with. By denying your body the fast sugars in carbs, you force it to put forth the effort to burn fat for ketone bodies, of which there are two types.

  • Endogenous ketones: These are ketones your body derives from burning fat, and they can only come from your internal fat-burning processes. A supplement like MCT oil (medium-chain triglycerides) is a concentrated dietary source of healthy fat that can lead to quicker endogenous ketone production.
  • Exogenous ketones: There are three water-soluble ketones that can come from outside the body—acetoacetate, acetone, and BHB (beta-hydroxybutyrate). BHB is most frequently found in keto support supplements. Exogenous ketones can bridge the gap until your body achieves a state of ketosis.

We’re built to function on energy from fat because, like other animals that hibernate or migrate, we’ve evolved to survive extreme conditions. What in ancient times would have kept you alive during a long winter can now help you better control your blood sugar levels and burn off dangerous excess body fat that could otherwise compromise your health. The body is in a state of ketosis when it primarily uses ketones for energy instead of sugar (glucose). Giving it extra ketones while transitioning can get you there faster.

The Health Benefits of Ketones and Top 3 keto drink mix recommendations.

The Health Benefits of Ketones

Ketone supplements come in a variety of types, from oils to ketone salts to powders to capsules and more. One of the easiest ways to include exogenous ketone supplements in your routine is to drop a ready-to-shake drink mix into your water bottle on the go (even easier than blending up a quick smoothie). 

1. Appetite Control

The ketogenic diet is a weight-loss strategy that lends itself to reducing appetite, and many people successfully combine it with intermittent fasting practices. Studies have shown that elevated ketone levels help lower appetite for those on keto diets, which is why keto coffee is a favorite among those fasting for a large portion of the day: it’s the addition of exogenous ketones that makes your coffee keto and that helps you feel satisfied even when you’re not eating solid food. 

2. Athletic Performance

The fast energy that comes from glucose is quickly depleted when you’re performing vigorous athletic feats or workouts. When the stored glucose in muscle (glycogen) is gone, energy flags, and those working out hit a wall of fatigue without another quick source of fuel as a backup. 

It takes time for the body to burn fat and send those ketones to where they’re needed, especially in the early days of ketosis when the body is still transitioning. This is where exogenous ketones come in: they’re ready to go as soon as they’re consumed and hit your bloodstream. 

Studies comparing athletes consuming ketone esters (derived from fatty acids) with other groups reveal that those consuming a ketone drink were able to travel a quarter-mile farther in the same half-hour time period. The researchers concluded that exogenous ketones improve endurance performance in athletic arenas. These ketones boost general energy levels and directly fuel your workouts so you don’t lose any time or progress when switching to a keto lifestyle.

3. Brain Power

Not only are ketone bodies an effective stand-in for brain energy once the majority of your glucose has been used up, but ketones are actually the preferred fuel for the brain, with the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and be utilized more quickly for mental clarity.

And take a look at the amazing results from this 2015 study which show that ketones can help block inflammasomes in the brain, reducing neurological damage from inflammation. 

Ketone supplementation also helps improve mental performance in those with Alzheimer’s disease. Because Alzheimer’s impairs glucose uptake, supplying ketone energy helps an afflicted brain stay stronger longer, slowing the progression of the disease and improving cognitive performance significantly over a placebo group.

4. Faster Ketosis

Switching to a ketogenic diet involves a “training period” whereby your body realizes its easy glucose is gone and that it has to start regularly burning fat. Many people take exogenous ketones in the form of BHB salts (BHB bound to minerals and/or electrolytes) to give their body external energy to work with until it can produce ketones efficiently in-house. This not only helps cut down on symptoms of keto flu, but it also helps people reach ketosis faster than they may have done otherwise. Exogenous ketone supplements like keto drink mixes quicken ketosis and enhance its effectiveness.

5. Disease Treatment and Prevention

The ketogenic diet was originally developed to help children with epilepsy and has been used successfully to treat autism in children and manage diabetes in adults (sometimes without the need for medication). Ketosis can also prevent diabetes from developing in those at risk, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce unnecessary inflammation throughout the body that can exacerbate other underlying conditions. 

Keto Drink Mix: Top 3 Recommendations

You know that ketosis is beneficial to your body and that using exogenous ketones can get you there faster and easier. Now it’s time to ask: which keto drink mix is best for you? Here are our top three recommendations.

1. Prüvit Keto OS

Made with BHB, MCT powder, malic acid, ascorbic acid, and stevia (a natural non-sugar sweetener), Prüvit “Ketone Operating System” products include flavors like Poppin’ Pear Apple, Heart Tart, Blue Ocean, Raspberry Lemonade, Lime Time, Orange Dream, Chocolate Swirl, Maui Punch and so much more, in powdered mixes and ready-to-drink beverages. Gluten free (though not vegan due to milk-based ingredients), Prüvit products are designed to help get you to a state of nutritional ketosis ASAP.

2. Fitoru

We here at Fitoru have designed what we consider to be perfect keto support products, made with natural flavors and designed for ultimate convenience. You can easily combine our MCT softgels for endogenous ketone creation with exogenous support from BHB found in our powdered drink mixes (in flavors like Strawberry Kiwi, Watermelon, Grape, Chocolate, and Coffee). These exogenous ketones come with added electrolytes like magnesium, calcium, and sodium, all of which are easily depleted on a keto diet, and our coffee flavor can provide you with the energy boost you expect from coffee without the jitters of consuming too much caffeine. 

3. Bulletproof

You may have heard of “Bulletproof coffee,” but did you know that it’s often used to describe keto coffee using Bulletproof products? With products that include protein bars and drink mixes for collagen support and ketone supplementation, these keto-friendly combos can help you increase your blood ketone levels and your protein intake and get targeted vitamin content for eye health, better sleep, and more.

Exo-Genius Ketones

Exogenous ketones are keys not only to the keto diet but also to some amazing health benefits like disease prevention and treatment. Whatever product you choose for convenient ketone support, remember that switching to a ketogenic lifestyle is an incredibly healthy decision that could save you from a thousand metabolic side effects that a high-sugar, carb-heavy diet puts you at risk of developing. When you go keto, be sure to give your body the fuel it needs to thrive.

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