Professor George F.Cahill, of Harvard Medical School, said: "The ketone body BHB is not only a fuel, but a super fuel with higher ATP energy than glucose. It also protects neuronal cells in body tissues that fight toxins associated with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease."
BHB: beta-hydroxybutyric acid also known as 3-hydroxybutyric acid.
When we go on a low-carb diet or intermittent fasting, the body preferentially consumes glucose, and when glucose is not enough to replenish the energy the body needs, the liver produces ketone bodies.
Ketone bodies are known as more efficient body fuels because they produce more energy than glucose.
The ketone body is a complex, which is composed of β-hydroxybutyric acid, acetoacetic acid and acetone.
But BHBS don't actually meet the criteria for ketone bodies.
Ketone bodies are defined as carbonyl carbons that have bonds with two other carbon atoms (carbon atoms are connected to oxygen by double bonds). BHB has carbonyl carbon, but is bound to only one carbon atom.
Although there are some differences, BHB is still considered to be one of the three ketone bodies, because the metabolites and metabolic processes of these three substances are inseparable from each other.Beta-hydroxybutyric acid makes up 78% of the total ketone body and is present in the blood.Acetoacetic acid accounts for 20% of the total ketone body and can be excreted in urine or exhaled into acetone.Acetone accounts for 2% of the total ketone body, easy to volatilize, can be excreted through respiration, urine and sweat.
There are two forms of BHB: D-BHB and L-BHB. The two types of BHB have different effects on the body. The body releases more D-BHB than L-BHB, which is mostly found inside cells.
D-BHB is mainly used as energy, and L-BHB plays a role in antioxidant stress as a signal factor.
As the main product of ketone bodies, BHB can not only be directly used as a high-efficiency fuel, but also play an antioxidant role, reduce body fat, relieve depression, support cognitive function, and protect the nervous system and cardiovascular system.

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