‡These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

KETO CONVERSATIONS are an opportunity for you to gain valuable insights from the leading experts in the Prüvit community. In this episode, CEO Brian Underwood speaks with Dr. Brendan Egan about new aspects of his research into muscle preservation, the importance of metabolic health, and how exercise and nutrition habits affect both.

BRIAN UNDERWOOD: Some of you will recognize Dr. Egan from our Keto Academies, but for those of you who don’t know him, Dr. Egan is a professor of sports and exercise physiology at Dublin City University. 

He’s an incredible individual whose passion and focus is on Keto science and research, and I’m excited to hear what he’s excited about in the field of total body optimization.

BRENDAN EGAN: Thanks for having me on. As you mentioned I am an Exercise and Sport Scientist and my research specifically focuses on nutrition for performance purposes. And I consider performance to be a broader term. A lot of people will think of athletes but we do a lot of work with older adults as well.

UNDERWOOD: I think last time we spoke, you mentioned doing research into exogenous ketones and their connection to metabolic health. Could you tell the Prüvit community a little bit møre about that?

DR. EGAN: Of course! We were interested in metabolic health and the concept of healthy aging. We asked ourselves, what can be done from a nutrition and exercise standpoint to øptimize health across the course of a lifetime. 

What we found was, in terms of healthy aging, is that an individual needs a steady exercise habit. And that doesn’t necessarily have to involve going to the gym five times a week or training like you’re a triathlete. It isn’t one size fits all, everyone has to find their own form of activity or exercise that they like. 

But then we layered on top of that this whole question about nutrition and I suppose that’s where the keto conversation began. 

We had done numerous studies on protein supplementation, omega-3 supplementation, beetroot juice, caffeine and so many other types of bioactives. But about four to five years ago, we started looking into exogenous ketone supplementation. 

We started seeing results for athletic performance and wondered if ketones could have an effect on metabolic health as well. And what we found was that it actually has an anticatabolic effect, which means it could be applied to people with disorders relating to muscle deterioration or inflammation. 

UNDERWOOD: I’m curious, what inspired you to research this? Where does your passion come from?

DR. EGAN: My initial background was really in the area of sports science. Growing up in Ireland, I always played Gaelic games and still do. So I began to grow an interest in sports and exercise science from a young age. 

But academically speaking, the opportunities are relatively limited. Then about eight years ago, my mother had a bit of illness, I witnessed some friends struggle with their mobility and eventually become bed-bound, and it just struck me. I realized that everyone knew a little about exercise and that we should all be doing it, but there was something missing in people’s understanding. 

And I realized that a lot of the messaging around exercise is about losing weight, a lot of times ignoring muscle growth or maintenance. 

UNDERWOOD: I know that metabolic health is this term that might be confusing for some. Can you explain in layman’s terms, how important is the metabolic function? And how exogenous ketones can play a role?

DR. EGAN: It’s difficult to define metabolic health in layman’s terms because it covers a variety of lifestyle choices. Choices that could lead to certain types of cancer, Type II Diabetes, and a number of heart diseases.

For example, there are a lot of different strategies to deal Type II Diabetes, but we’ve found that the two big levelers are exercise and diet. And up until two years ago, despite a lot of preliminary research, most organizations were not recognizing that a low-carbohydrate diet could be a sort of first-line treatment. 

That all changed about a year ago when the ADA (American Diabetes Association) changed their policy to suggest that a lower carbohydrate diet therapy is a place to start when treating Type II Diabetes.

And in terms of exogenous ketones, I spoke at the last Keto Academy about the idea that exogenous ketones could have glucose-lowering capabilities. And that’s independent of diet and exercise. 

UNDERWOOD: I think that’s a great explanation and certainly helps my understanding. Well, I appreciate your time Brendan and I hope to hear møre about the research you all are doing down there at ASPI soon.

To watch the full video conversation, click here.