USING PRUVIT KETONE SALTS IN THE ELDERLY AND PEOPLE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS

by Mary T. Newport, M.D.

I receive emails and Facebook messages from many people who are using or want to use ketone salts for themselves or their loved ones, many of whom are elderly or may have medical conditions and want to make their life better.  Here is some guidance for how to get started with ketone salts:

HOW KETONES COULD HELP

Pruvit ketone salts are nutritional supplements and have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA to treat any medical condition.  On the other hand, there is plenty of scientific evidence that raising ketones can provide alternative fuel to the brain, reduce inflammation, and burn fat.  Many people report increased energy, endurance, focus and mental clarity, improved mood and sleep, fewer aches and pains, and fat loss.

TALK WITH YOUR DOCTOR

As with any nutritional supplement, it is important for elderly people and people with medical conditions to consult with their physician before using ketone salts.  The doctor could monitor your blood pressure and check blood levels of electrolytes, glucose and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium) before you get started and after 3 to 6 weeks or so.  Pruvit ketone salts are the first product marketed widely to the public that contains the actual ketone body betahydroxybutyrate attached to the mineral salts sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium.  Many people need to watch their sodium intake, may be on diuretics that may cause loss of minerals from the body, and/or may be taking potassium.  Keto//OS 2.1 and 3.0 have 1400 mg to 1600 mg per serving packet (or full scoop if you have a can of product).  Keto//OS 3.0 (chocolate swirl) also has 490 mg of potassium, compared to just 47 mg in Keto//OS 2.1 (orange dream). 

                

Another option to reduce sodium and potassium intake with ketone salts is to use KetoMax, which contains much less sodium per full serving at 925 mg and minimal potassium at 75 mg.  Another great reason to use KetoMax is that it contains a higher percentage of the circulating form of betahydroxybutyrate and may be even more effective than Keto//OS.  I recommend KetoMax especially for people with medical and neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. It costs more but the value is there. Your doctor or a dietician can help you factor the mineral salts into your diet and adjust, for example, your potassium supplement to account for the amounts in ketone salts.

                

People with diabetes taking medications and/or insulin need to be aware that raising ketone levels with ketone salts may result in a significantly lower blood sugar along with a drop in the amount of insulin the body produces. To avoid abnormally low blood sugar, I recommend that you monitor your blood sugar closely and work with your doctor to make changes in your medications.  Many diabetics report that they are able to reduce their medications, including insulin, rather quickly over days to several weeks, especially if using ketone salts is combined with a low carbohydrate diet. Pruvit ketone salts contain minimal sugar and are sweetened with stevia and/or erithritol, a sugar alcohol.

Regarding diabetic ketoacidosis, this is an abnormal condition that occurs with very elevated blood sugar and inadequate insulin.  Levels of ketones are many times (20 to 50 times higher) than the levels you would get by taking a serving or two per day of ketone salts.  The risk is extremely low, but could be a problem for someone on the brink of diabetic ketoacidosis.   Ketone levels can easily be monitored with a Precision Xtra or NovaMax glucose/ketone monitor using ketone strips, available online without a prescription.  Ketone salts usually produce betahydroxubutyrate levels in the 0.5 to 2 mmol range, compared to 10 to 25 mmol in diabetic ketoacidosis.

START SLOWLY AND INCREASE AS TOLERATED

While it is tempting to start with a whole serving in hopes of seeing maximum benefits right away, I recommend in elderly people and those with medical conditions, to start with 1 or 2 level teaspoons per day, which would be equal to about 1/8 to 1/4 of a serving, and if there is no issue, such as intestinal distress, you could increase by the same amount every few days until arriving at ½ to 1 full serving per day.  The total amount could be divided into smaller portions throughout the day.

                

Also, it is very important that the person taking ketone salts take plenty of water and other clear liquids.  Ketone salts can have a dehydrating effect in some people, especially in the beginning.

                

Ketones can suppress appetite, which is great if you need to lose weight.  If you are very thin you might consider adding more calories to your diet with calorie dense foods such as coconut oil, olive oil, butter, cream, avocado and nuts.

BRING THESE GUIDELINES TO YOUR DOCTOR

Ketone salts are so new that most doctors don’t know about them yet much less the potential of ketones to provide alternative fuel to the brain and other organs, reduce inflammation, and burn fat.  I suggest that you take a copy of these guidelines to your doctor.  Many doctors decide to pass this information on to other patients when they see improvement in just one of their patients.  Some doctors may even decide to help their patients by providing ketone salts as samples or ordering them through their office.

                

For more information see:  www.coconutketones.com and www.marynewport.pruvitnow.com. 

2nd Ketone Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland

Steve, our daughter Joanna, and I travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland in early October 2010 to attend the 2nd symposium on ketones called “Dietary Interventions for Epilepsy and Other Neurologic Diseases,” where I presented two abstracts on posters. One was Steve’s case study and the other was caregiver reports of responses of persons with dementia to medium chain fatty acids. I hope to get the chart up on the website very soon. Dr. Veech’s work and/or his ketone ester were discussed in several of the presentations. About 150 people attended, mostly pediatric neurologists, PhD researchers, and dieticians, who are interested in and involved in ketogenic diet and other ketone research. Several of the presenters were from John Hopkins University, where the ketogenic diet has been used for many decades for childhood epilepsy. This diet is used primarily in children who do not respond to anti-convulsant medication, but recently has been used in adults as well. We met a man named Mike from England who had resistant epilepsy who became seizure free on this diet and has remained so for about three years ago. The diet has even been tried as a first line (before medication) at John Hopkins with success in some infants with infantile spasms. About 18-20% of children with drug resistant epilepsy become seizure free and another 35-40% have a reduction in their seizures by at least 50%. They do not know exactly why it works and also why it works in some people and not in others. This is the same thing that we see in our friends with Alzheimer's that some respond to the ketones from coconut oil and/or MCT oil and some do not.
The strictest form of the diet calls for about 75-80% of the total calories to be consumed as fat and the rest as a combination of carbohydrate and protein. The protein is calculated to allow the child to grow, or the adult to maintain lean body mass. Some of the presenters have done research showing that less strict forms of the diet may work for some people. There is an MCT oil modification of the diet, using 60% of the calories as MCT oil, a modified Atkins diet, and the Low Glycemic Index Diet. Any of these diets could be tried with the help of a dietician in someone with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, traumatic brain injury and potentially some other neurologic diseases. There are some small studies and case studies suggesting that this could be beneficial. One study showed that following stroke, the ketogenic diet can help preserve brain volume.
Another section of the conference focused on cancer and the ketogenic diet with caloric restriction (20-40% less than maintenance calories). Dr. Tom Seyfried presented his research showing that glioblastomas shrink by as much as 80% in response to this type of diet. He believes that at least 80% of cancerous tumors would shrink with this approach, since most cancers can use only glucose as fuel and cannot use ketones. On this type of diet as the blood sugar becomes low, the blood supply and energy to the tumor dwindles as well as the tumor(s), even in the case of metastatic tumors. He has some human case studies as well as plenty of animal studies to support this.
The organizers for this conference were www.matthewsfriends.org and for the previous conference in 2008 www.charliefoundation.org. Both of these organizations were founded by parents of children with epilepsy who responded to the ketogenic diet, and either of these can provide information and dietician help with these diets. The next conference will be in 2012 and they are seriously considering including a section on Alzheimer’s disease.
We had a wonderful time in Edinburgh, although the travelling back and forth is not much fun. Steve did amazingly well, although there was some confusion when we were out after dark. The hardest part was trying to figure out the best times to give him his oil since we were five hours ahead there. It is always good to get back home - much less confusion there!