ArticlePeerJ2018
The use of nutritional supplements to induce ketosis and reduce symptoms associated with keto-induction: a narrative review.
Article in PeerJ, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ketogenic diets and cardiovascular health balancing metabolic benefits against lipid-related risk.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Symptoms during initiation of a ketogenic diet: a scoping review of occurrence rates, mechanisms and relief strategies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Ketogenic Therapies in the Clinical Management of People with Neurodegenerative Disease: A Systematic Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2021Pooled it
- No effect of oral ketone ester supplementation on exercise capacity in patients with McArdle disease and healthy controls: A randomized placebo-controlled cross-over study.Journal of inherited metabolic disease · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Effects of a ketogenic diet in overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome.Journal of translational medicine · 2020Trial
- Does a low-carb, high-fat diet change muscle insulin receptor concentration and body composition in a swine biomedical model?Physiological reports · 2026Article
- β‑hydroxybutyric acid as a potential therapeutic metabolite for type 2 diabetes mellitus (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- The Impact of Ketogenic Nutrition on Obesity and Metabolic Health: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.Nutrition reviews · 2025Review
- Ketone metabolites in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease progression: optimizing keto-therapeutic strategies.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Review
- Ketogenic Metabolism in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Mechanisms of Action and Therapeutic Potential.Metabolites · 2025Review
- Myths and Facts Regarding Low-Carbohydrate Diets.Nutrients · 2025Review
- A Systematic Review of the Effects of Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Athletic Physical Performance Parameters.Cureus · 2025Review
- Review
- Article
- The Ketogenic Diet and Cardiovascular Diseases.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Efficacy of low carbohydrate and ketogenic diets in treating mood and anxiety disorders: systematic review and implications for clinical practice.BJPsych open · 2023Review
- Sodium butyrate activates HMGCS2 to promote ketone body production through SIRT5-mediated desuccinylation.Frontiers of medicine · 2023Article
- Supplementation with medium-chain fatty acids increases body weight loss during very low-calorie ketogenic diet: a retrospective analysis in a real-life setting.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdaptation to a ketogenic diet (keto-induction) can cause unpleasant symptoms, and this can reduce tolerability of the diet. Several methods have been suggested as useful for encouraging entry into nutritional ketosis (NK) and reducing symptoms of keto-induction. This paper reviews the scientific literature on the effects of these methods on time-to-NK and on symptoms during the keto-induction phase.
methodsPubMed, Science Direct, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Alt Health Watch, Food Science Source and EBSCO Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection electronic databases were searched online. Various purported ketogenic supplements were searched along with the terms "ketogenic diet", "ketogenic", "ketosis" and ketonaemia (/ ketonemia). Additionally, author names and reference lists were used for further search of the selected papers for related references.
resultsEvidence, from one mouse study, suggests that leucine doesn't significantly increase beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB) but the addition of leucine to a ketogenic diet in humans, while increasing the protein-to-fat ratio of the diet, doesn't reduce ketosis. Animal studies indicate that the short chain fatty acids acetic acid and butyric acid, increase ketone body concentrations. However, only one study has been performed in humans. This demonstrated that butyric acid is more ketogenic than either leucine or an 8-chain monoglyceride. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) increase BOHB in a linear, dose-dependent manner, and promote both ketonaemia and ketogenesis. Exogenous ketones promote ketonaemia but may inhibit ketogenesis.
conclusionsThere is a clear ketogenic effect of supplemental MCTs; however, it is unclear whether they independently improve time to NK and reduce symptoms of keto-induction. There is limited research on the potential for other supplements to improve time to NK and reduce symptoms of keto-induction. Few studies have specifically evaluated symptoms and adverse effects of a ketogenic diet during the induction phase. Those that have typically were not designed to evaluate these variables as primary outcomes, and thus, more research is required to elucidate the role that supplementation might play in encouraging ketogenesis, improve time to NK, and reduce symptoms associated with keto-induction.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.