Strategies to Augment Ketosis (STAK) for Enhanced Readiness and Disease Reversal
Abstract
OVERALL PROGRAM Title: Strategies To Augment Ketosis (STAK) for Enhanced Readiness and Disease Reversal This comprehensive program is responsive to the FY21 PRMRP Topic Area Nutrition Optimization and encompasses multiple Areas of Encouragement. It also directly addresses two other Topic Areas Diabetes and Sleep Disorders and Restriction and has relevance to Cardiomyopathy, Kidney Disease, and Women’s Heart Disease. Many military Service Members and Veterans have excess weight and do not get adequate sleep, which adversely affects their readiness and contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic diseases such as heart failure and kidney disease. A novel metabolic solution that could address these problems is based on naturally increasing blood ketones through nutritional interventions we call Strategies To Augment Ketosis (STAK). There is growing appreciation that ketones are a preferred fuel, with the added benefit of having signaling functions that may promote resilience and health benefits. Blood ketones are present at low levels in most people because carbohydrates in the diet suppress their production. However, when dietary carbohydrate is restricted as part of a ketogenic diet (KD), ketone production in the body naturally increases into a normal physiological range called nutritional ketosis, where the ketones can be used as an efficient fuel by the brain, heart, and other tissues. More recently, there has been development of safe and effective ketone compounds such as ketone esters (KEs) that can be consumed to achieve nutritional ketosis without changing diet. Although the evidence to date is decidedly encouraging, scientists and practitioners have only scratched the surface in fully understanding how different STAK interventions work in the body, how they may be used to promote health and reverse disease, and how they may be implemented to optimize readiness of our troops. The overarching objective of the STAK program is to better understand individual variability in response to different KEs, how KEs and KDs impact performance responses to sleep restriction, and how they affect individuals with T2D suffering from heart failure and kidney disease. We have assembled an expert team of scientists inclusive of academic, industry, and military partners to bring an unprecedented level of shared wisdom and resources to this project. The knowledge generated will dramatically improve our understanding of different STAK interventions and their potential application to enhance health and readiness in Service Members, Veterans, and civilians. PROJECT 1 Title: Optimization of Ketone Delivery Strategies This project is directly relevant to the FY21 PRMRP Topic Area Nutrition Optimization. Ketone esters (KEs) are a promising new nutritional intervention that quickly and easily raise the levels of ketones in the blood into a normal physiological range called nutritional ketosis without changing diet. Ketones supply energy to the brain and body, especially when under stress, and signal to reduce harmful inflammation after an injury. Existing KE dosing strategies are simplistic and do not account for differences between KE compounds and individual differences in metabolism. We believe that compound choice, formulation, dose level, and individual differences between people taking KEs will affect the functional outcomes important to military Service Members. We will carry out a series of experiments that will test the effects of different KE compounds on ketone delivery. We will also study people of different ages who are metabolically healthy and unhealthy to see if these characteristics affect the response to KEs. The results of this project will optimize KE delivery strategies to allow selection of the right compound, dose and dose timing to maximize performance and health effects of KEs. PROJECT 2 Title: Ketone Conferred Resiliency Against Sleep Restriction This p
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210867
Entities
People
- Jeff Volek
Organizations
- Ohio State University
- United States Army