Ketone Drinks: A Potential Boost for Heart Health in Type 2 Diabetes?

Summary

A recent study suggests that drinking ketones may improve heart health in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that participants with type 2 diabetes experienced improved cardiac efficiency after consuming a ketone ester drink. This research opens up new avenues for exploring the role of ketones in managing diabetes and improving cardiovascular health, although further research is crucial to validate these findings.

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Main Story

Ketone Drinks: Could They Be a Heart Health Hero for Type 2 Diabetics?

So, there’s some pretty interesting research coming out of the University of Portsmouth. Apparently, ketone drinks might just give a boost to heart health, especially for those living with type 2 diabetes. It’s early days, for sure. But get this, it’s the first time anyone’s looked at giving ketone ester drinks to people with type 2 diabetes to see how it affects their hearts. Pretty cool, right?

The study, which you can find in the Journal of Applied Physiology, wasn’t huge – only 13 participants with type 2 diabetes. Each person got two drinks, one with ketone esters, the other a placebo. And a week separated each drink. The team then measured their cardiovascular function thirty minutes after each drink. This involved using methods similar to ECGs, ultrasound to check out their blood vessels (microvascular function), and even infrared spectroscopy to measure blood flow in the smaller vessels. Now, I know what you are thinking, ‘that’s a lot of tech,’ and you’re right!

And guess what? Across the board, all 13 participants showed improved cardiac efficiency after drinking the ketone beverage, both while resting and during some moderate exercise. Yep, the effect was consistent no matter what measurement method they used. Pretty impressive, huh?

However, Dr. Maria Perissiou, who led the study, is urging caution – as she should. Sure, the immediate effects look good, but what about the long haul? This study is basically a snapshot. It doesn’t tell us anything about what happens if someone drinks these things regularly. What benefits, what risks… we just don’t know yet. More studies are needed, period.

This whole line of research actually stems from some unexpected findings about SGLT2 inhibitors, a type of diabetes medication. They lower blood sugar, yes, but they also seem to protect against cardiovascular disease. The researchers wondered if this was because these drugs induce ketosis – where the body shifts from burning carbs to burning fat for fuel.

Think about it this way: When your body doesn’t have enough carbs, it starts making ketones in the liver, and these ketones can be used as fuel, even by the heart. The theory is that by drinking ketones, we are giving the heart an alternative fuel source. After all, the improved heart function that the scientists were seeing could be put down to the heart’s use of ketones for energy, right?

This is particularly relevant for people with diabetes. Their hearts often struggle to use glucose efficiently because of insulin resistance. Instead, they end up relying more on fatty acids, and that, over time, can strain the heart, increasing the chances of heart problems. So, if we can improve the heart’s ability to use ketones, these drinks could give the heart a break, so to speak.

That said, let’s be super clear: We need way more research to understand the long-term effects of ketone drinks, especially on heart health. The current study gives us a glimpse of what’s happening immediately, but that is all. It offers no insight into the potential chronic effects of continuous ketone consumption, and we don’t want to be running ahead of ourselves here.

So, what’s next? More research is absolutely crucial to really validate all these findings and find out the long-term effects of ketone drinks on cardiovascular health in individuals with diabetes. This would need to include studies on the impact of sustained ketosis on heart function, as well as the best dosage and frequency of ketone ester consumption and possible interactions with other medicines or health conditions. What about side effects, long term risks, and the like. We don’t know what we don’t know.

New Advances in Diabetes Management

Now, this research on ketone drinks is part of a much bigger picture – a push to manage diabetes in new and improved ways. There are other areas that are being explored. For example:

• Smart insulin pumps: These can automatically adjust insulin delivery depending on real-time glucose readings, resulting in more precise and personalized blood sugar control.
• Artificial pancreas systems: These integrate continuous glucose monitoring with insulin pumps and even more advanced algorithms, to automate insulin delivery. Basically mimicking a healthy pancreas.
• Immunotherapies: Aimed at preserving or even restoring the body’s own insulin-producing cells, these are being investigated for type 1 diabetes. Now that would be a game changer.
• Stem cell therapies: Another exciting idea for type 1 diabetes, stem cells could be used to generate new insulin-producing cells. A potential cure?
• Gut microbiome modulation: The gut microbiome is now known to have an important role in metabolic health. Research is exploring how tweaking the gut microbiome might affect diabetes development and management. I mean, who knew, right?

In conclusion, the research on ketone drinks provides a fresh perspective on how to support heart health in those with diabetes. The results are promising, and so far so good. Just a word of caution, as it still requires much more research in order to determine the long term effects of this exciting idea, and to confirm these initial findings. As of February 12, 2025, this is the cutting edge of this particular field of diabetes research.