Many people have insulin resistance especially those who are carrying extra weight. In most cases the extra weight causes an inflammation state in the body. Unfortunately, many do not want to change to an alkaline diet or one that consists of mostly fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, limit to a minimum processed foods and limit dairy products and meat. Only way to fix insulin resistance is a major overhaul in one's diet (Medical Medium is a good source). This is why I exercise and practice a flexitarian diet (meat sometimes) of mostly fruits and veggies to keep my weight down and to keep myself from going into an inflammation state (I am prone to auto immune which is inflammatory - diet change keeps it in remission). Fruits and vegetables (including avocado) are considered a "live" food and are very good for one's energy also.
Insulin Resistance Makes You Susceptible to Cytokine Storm
According to recent NHANES data,187.8% of Americans are metabolically inflexible and, as such, are at an increased risk of developing COVID-19 due to impaired immune function. Diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and elevated fasting triglycerides are all clinical symptoms of insulin resistance.
When you burn sugar for fuel, you need to break glucose down to two molecules of 3 carbon pyruvate. Pyruvate is then used by your mitochondria after it is converted to acetyl CoA. Insulin resistance, in turn, can impair the enzyme that converts a breakdown product of glucose into pyruvate so it can be shuttled and burned as energy in your mitochondria.
Ketones Inhibit Cytokine Storm (*and so does adequate levels of Vitamin D....)
The problem with COVID-19 is that the cytokine storm inhibits the enzyme converting pyruvate to acetyl CoA, which radically limits your mitochondrial ATP production. An additional consequence of this is that it also reduces NADPH.
NADPH is the battery of your cell, the reservoir of electrons that actually cause endogenous antioxidants like glutathione, vitamin E and C to be recharged so they can continue to work and mitigate against the free radical damage resulting from all this oxidative stress. One way to compensate is to make sure you have enough NADPH, and ketones radically upregulate NADPH. NADPH also turns off NLRP3 inflammasome that produces cytokines like TNF alpha, NF Kappa B, IL1B, IL6 and IL18 (interleukins) that are causing all the damage.
Ketones are also able to interrupt the feedback cascade of cytokine storms caused by ionizing radiation. It is thought that it does this by providing a source of NADPH that is not dependent on glucose or sensitive to pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase or loss of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase. Ketones are also useful for ARDS, stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and radiation exposures such as flying, CT scans, X-rays and 3D cone beam CT scans.
While many of my readers are not metabolically inflexible and therefore at low risk for COVID-19, most are at some point exposed to ionizing radiation exposure. We discuss this at greater depth in the interview, so for more details, listen to it in its entirety, or read through the transcript.
As noted by Asprey, the pathways involved in nutritional ketosis are relatively well-understood, and they point to ketones being a valuable prophylactic and adjunct to COVID-19 treatment.
"I have a little pulse oximeter on my finger right now. It's a $30 item, and it tells you what your blood oxygen level is. [Mine's] at 98%. It will probably go to 99% in a minute. What's going on here is my lungs are working fine and my blood can carry oxygen.
When people get COVID-19, and they're not metabolically healthy, then [their oxygen level] could be at 90 and [they] feel a little bit weird. But they're actually metabolically really broken and their blood is starting to break down from [SARS-CoV-2 infection] and they're starting to get the inflammatory cytokine storm.
If they had ketones present, if they were able to measure [their oxygen level], if they could block a cytokine storm with any of the herbs that we know about — andrographis stands out really well, but so does oregano, bay leaf, rosemary, green tea — if they could block iron using vitamin C, they wouldn't be getting the lung damage and they might not even have to go to the hospital.....
Veech developed and was fond of ketone esters, but they tend to be expensive. Two brands that make ketone esters are HVMN and KetoneAid. The alternative, beta-hydroxybutyrate salts can, according to Veech, cause mitochondrial harm, which is why he didn't recommend them. You can also raise your ketones naturally by going on a very low-carb, high-fat, moderate protein diet. Asprey mentions some additional strategies:
"The way that I pioneered and still prefer, is using certain types of MCT oil. The C8 MCT also will turn into beta-hydroxybutyrate … I do about a tablespoon or two spread out throughout the day …
If you have enough of any of these three forms of ketone-generating things in the body, what happens is those ketones come in, and then the cell says, 'Oh, wait, I could use a unit of oxygen and a unit of glucose or a unit of ketone.' When it uses the ketone, it gets more electricity out of it than it would from the sugar.
Your neurons love this. Your heart cells love this and it tends to wake you up. It tends to make you feel good. And if you've heard of bulletproof coffee, which I'm very well known for … it works because when you put that C8 MCT, the Brain Octane oil, in [the coffee], it gives you ketones so that when your brain is in the state of working, it works.
From the perspective of COVID-19, anything that raises your ketone levels is probably going to be good for you. One of the magic things that raises ketones is eight hours of fasting — that's called sleeping. Plus, the amount of caffeine [found] in two small cups of coffee is shown to double ketone production.
So, what I'd propose is, if you're feeling crappy, and you have COVID-19, you probably should have some coffee. And you probably should have whatever ketones you can possibly get from any of those forms, because it's anti-inflammatory, because it can help your cells with energy.
When you do that, it will likely turn down this inflammatory snowball effect that happens. Even … sepsis … can be prevented by restoring ATP levels, NAD levels and something called the acetyl coenzyme A. So, what we're trying to do is get in before the damage happens."
While Asprey takes 1 to 2 tablespoons of C8 MCT oil a day, I regularly take 12 to 14 tablespoons a day. At 100 calories per tablespoon, it's my primary source of calories. You will need to work your way up, though, as some will experience digestive upset when first starting. At 14 tablespoons a day, I can get my ketone levels to about 6 if I take additional ketone esters, which is difficult to reach even after a week of water fasting.
The initial motivation for this interview was the recent passing of Richard Veech, M.D., Ph.D., a Harvard trained physician who then went to Oxford to train with biochemist Sir Hans Krebs. Veech was a pioneer of the ketogenic diet and believed ketones have powerful antioxidant effects. This aligns with Asprey’s experience as well. As noted by Asprey:
"Your mitochondria's job is to take air and food and convert them into energy. If it does a complete job of that, you stay lean, you don't get inflammation and you have lots of energy.
[In] that complex process that Veech worked with Hans Krebs on — the Krebs cycle — parts of it are broken, you end up getting electrons that don't go where they're supposed to, and you end up with inflammation … these inflammatory cytokines throughout the body."
Ketones have profoundly powerful antioxidant effects
A risk associated with severe COVID-19 infection is the cytokine storm response. In most cases, this is what kills the patient. The cytokine storm results from the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, which results in the release of inflammatory cytokines. One way to compensate for them is to make sure you have enough NADPH, and ketones radically upregulate NADPH
NADPH is the battery of your cell, the reservoir of electrons that actually cause endogenous antioxidants to be recharged so they can continue to work and mitigate against the free radical damage resulting from oxidative stress
You can raise your ketones by taking ketone esters, or naturally by implementing time-restricted eating, fasting and/or going on a very low-carb, high-fat, moderate protein diet. Drinking two small cups of black coffee can also double your ketone level
Metabolic inflexibility is the primary comorbidity for serious COVID-19 infection. Ways to improve your metabolic flexibility include time-restricted eating, a cyclical ketogenic diet, taking cold showers, sauna bathing, high-intensity interval training and getting high-quality sleep
Replies
Many people have insulin resistance especially those who are carrying extra weight. In most cases the extra weight causes an inflammation state in the body. Unfortunately, many do not want to change to an alkaline diet or one that consists of mostly fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, limit to a minimum processed foods and limit dairy products and meat. Only way to fix insulin resistance is a major overhaul in one's diet (Medical Medium is a good source). This is why I exercise and practice a flexitarian diet (meat sometimes) of mostly fruits and veggies to keep my weight down and to keep myself from going into an inflammation state (I am prone to auto immune which is inflammatory - diet change keeps it in remission). Fruits and vegetables (including avocado) are considered a "live" food and are very good for one's energy also.
Insulin Resistance Makes You Susceptible to Cytokine Storm
According to recent NHANES data,1 87.8% of Americans are metabolically inflexible and, as such, are at an increased risk of developing COVID-19 due to impaired immune function. Diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and elevated fasting triglycerides are all clinical symptoms of insulin resistance.
When you burn sugar for fuel, you need to break glucose down to two molecules of 3 carbon pyruvate. Pyruvate is then used by your mitochondria after it is converted to acetyl CoA. Insulin resistance, in turn, can impair the enzyme that converts a breakdown product of glucose into pyruvate so it can be shuttled and burned as energy in your mitochondria.
Ketones Inhibit Cytokine Storm (*and so does adequate levels of Vitamin D....)
The problem with COVID-19 is that the cytokine storm inhibits the enzyme converting pyruvate to acetyl CoA, which radically limits your mitochondrial ATP production. An additional consequence of this is that it also reduces NADPH.
NADPH is the battery of your cell, the reservoir of electrons that actually cause endogenous antioxidants like glutathione, vitamin E and C to be recharged so they can continue to work and mitigate against the free radical damage resulting from all this oxidative stress. One way to compensate is to make sure you have enough NADPH, and ketones radically upregulate NADPH. NADPH also turns off NLRP3 inflammasome that produces cytokines like TNF alpha, NF Kappa B, IL1B, IL6 and IL18 (interleukins) that are causing all the damage.
Ketones are also able to interrupt the feedback cascade of cytokine storms caused by ionizing radiation. It is thought that it does this by providing a source of NADPH that is not dependent on glucose or sensitive to pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase or loss of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase. Ketones are also useful for ARDS, stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and radiation exposures such as flying, CT scans, X-rays and 3D cone beam CT scans.
While many of my readers are not metabolically inflexible and therefore at low risk for COVID-19, most are at some point exposed to ionizing radiation exposure. We discuss this at greater depth in the interview, so for more details, listen to it in its entirety, or read through the transcript.
As noted by Asprey, the pathways involved in nutritional ketosis are relatively well-understood, and they point to ketones being a valuable prophylactic and adjunct to COVID-19 treatment.
How to Raise Your Ketones
Veech developed and was fond of ketone esters, but they tend to be expensive. Two brands that make ketone esters are HVMN and KetoneAid. The alternative, beta-hydroxybutyrate salts can, according to Veech, cause mitochondrial harm, which is why he didn't recommend them. You can also raise your ketones naturally by going on a very low-carb, high-fat, moderate protein diet. Asprey mentions some additional strategies:
The initial motivation for this interview was the recent passing of Richard Veech, M.D., Ph.D., a Harvard trained physician who then went to Oxford to train with biochemist Sir Hans Krebs. Veech was a pioneer of the ketogenic diet and believed ketones have powerful antioxidant effects. This aligns with Asprey’s experience as well. As noted by Asprey:
STORY AT-A-GLANCE