How does goBHB work?
Mechanism of action of Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB)
goBHB is a branded BHB(BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE).
We all know that BHB is able to help lose weight and increase energy and performance, but how?
Before we talk about the BHB mechanism, you need to know how we get energy.
And how important ketosis is in the process.
3 energy sources
Generally speacking, there are three sources of energy we get directly from foods:
Carbohydrates
Mainly sugars and starches. Your body breaks down most sugars and starches into glucose, a simple sugar that the body can use to feed its cells. 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories
Fats
Fat is a concentrated source of energy, 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. Fats break into fatty acids and glycerol.Cheese, nuts,EPA, DHA, oils such as MCT and olive are the common fat sources.
Proteins
Protein, composed of amino acids, is essential to building muscle mass.Your connective tissues and skins are all built of protein. Egg, milk,meat are the most common sources.
Protein is the building blocks of all living cells.
Protein will break into amino acids.
You need to be aware that protein isn’t the best source of energy.
It plays many major roles in your health, but energy supply is not its foremost strength.
Protein will break down to provide energy only if there are no succifient sugar and fat in the blood.
So for the sake of energy, let’s forget protein, focus on carbohydrate and fat.
Carbohydrate
For a typical individual, the daily diet contains 10-15% protein, 20%-30% fat and 55%- 65% carbohydrate.
Carbohydrate accounts for more than 50% of our energy, and it is the most abundant energy source for ordinary people.
Rice, noodles, bread, cereal，coke are the most common carbohydrates that we consume. These carbs then immediately convert to glucose, a type of sugar that can be found in the blood.
These nutrients also differ in how quickly they supply energy.
Carbohydrates are the quickest, and fats are the slowest.
Fat
Fat is the key point here.
Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats supply 100% of our energy every day.
All three provide energy (measured in calories), but the amount of energy in 1 gram differs:
- 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrate or protein
- 9 calories in a gram of fat
As an energy, fat is more efficient, and lasts longer hours than carbohydrates and protein.
Let’s move ahead, and know what ketosis is.
Ketosis and ketone bodies
- If you follow a standard high-carb diet, your body’s cells typically rely on glucose for fuel.
If you go on with a ketogenic diet(or keto diet), your body then turns to fat for fuel, which produces ketone bodies when broken down in excess. This shift in metabolism puts your body in a state of ketosis.
Ketosis occurs whenever the body is running low on glucose from carbs, and therefore, can’t rely on glucose as a source of energy.
When ketosis takes place, BHB is produced as a result.
D-3-β-hydroxybutyrate and propanone are produced by the liver in response to reduced glucose availability.
BHB (beta-hydroxybutyrate) helps the body utilize fat as it’s primarily source of fuel;
BHB serves us as the most abundant ketone body of the three that are produced by the liver during the process of ketosis.
In your body, there’re three kinds of ketones synthesized by liver: Acetone, Acetoacetate, and Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB).
Acetoacetate is created from the breakdown of fat and the first ketone produced in a fasted state.
BHB is created from acetoacetate in the liver.
And acetone is created through the breakdown of acetoacetate as well.
You can find easily that both BHB and acetone are from acetoacetate, but BHB is the main ketone used for energy because it’s extremely stable and abundant (making up to 78% of total ketones in the blood)
BHB can directly and immediately puts ketones into your blood, without the need for you to eat tons of fats or engage in carbohydrate restriction or fasting to generate the ketones.
Summary
BHB mineral salts, such as BHB sodium, calcium, and magnesium are hydrolyzed to free BHB and free metal ions upon ingestion.
BHB is converted into acetoacetate, then to acetyl CoA, to enter the citric acid cycle and generate ATP.
Then BHB functions in 2 simple steps:
- Elevate Ketones
- Burn Fat As Fuel
weight loss is enhanced with goBHB when following a keto diet that is lower in carbs.