Ketones for High Intensity Mission Operations
Abstract
During high-intensity operations, a gap has been identified in providing soldiers the ability to sustain the high level of physical and cognitive output necessary to complete long duration mission sets. Without breaking protective posture, it is difficult to fuel soldiers so they can maintain high work rates and make complex, heavy consequence decisions in extreme environments. While projects to provide nutrition are currently underway, a commercial, off-the-shelf fuel ingested prior to donning PPE would be a complementary solution with synergistic effects.Ketones have been shown to improve mitochondrial bioenergetics and enhance energy production more efficiently than glucose. Because ketone bodies are small and water soluble, they readily cross the blood brain barrier to enhance and preserve brain metabolism. In addition to the physical performance benefits of ketosis that have been demonstrated in numerous studies, research hasshown that ketosis improves spatial memory impairment caused by hypobaric hypoxia, in addition to conferring neuroprotective effects in a variety of conditions, including CNS oxygen toxicity. Ketones have also been previously suggested as a potential hypothermia mitigation technology. While fasting or severe carbohydrate restriction can induce nutritional ketosis within 24-48 hrs,exogenous ketone ester (KE) supplementation can induce rapid (< 30 minutes) and sustained (> 8hrs) ketosis in a predictable, dose-dependent manner. KE supplementation could be an optimal strategy for maximizing cold water undersea operator performance and resilience. Understanding the optimal dosing and efficacy of KE supplements is critical prior to operational use.The proposed study will demonstrate that, compared to taste and calorie-matched placebo+carbohydrate, participants given ketone ester+carbohydrate:1) Have greater physical endurance2) Have improved cognitive performance after physical stress3) Have reduced need for oxygen by measuring oxygen consumption and metabolic efficiency. Sixteen study participants will be assessed for their performance using the ketone ester+carbohydrate vs placebo+carbohydrate, with each subject being their own control. The placebo is taste, consistency, and calorie-matched to the ketone ester, and participants will be blinded to which drink they are consuming. Participants will be recruited from a relevant population that is similar to the demographic, cognitive, and physical characteristics of the target population. The proposed human study will be conducted with approval from the IHMC Institutional Review Board.The commercially-available exogenous ketone (HVMN ketone ester) to be assessed in the proposed study is 98% ketone ester and 2 % water, containing no salt, fat, or carbohydrates. The HVMN ester is currently the only ketone ester that is classified as a food by the FDA. Ingested 30 min prior to operations, it induces ketosis, raising blood ketone levels to 3-6mmol/L, the rangeclinically proven to enhance performance
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 20, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912473
Entities
People
- Dawn Kernagis
Organizations
- Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy