What if you didn’t have to work that hard to induce and stay in ketosis? It would be a great world if you could just take 2 pills a day and let them work their magic and help you reach your goals.
Today, with the growing popularity of keto supplements, such as Alka Tone Keto, who claim they can do just that, carb-filled ketosis or just a less strict keto diet comes one step closer. Or does it?
What is Alka Tone Keto exactly and does Alka Tone Keto even work? Keep on reading to find out our honest review.
What Is Alka Tone Keto?
Alka Tone Keto pills are a brand of supplements that have an end goal to help with weight loss. The supplement claims to have appeared on Shark Tank (we cannot verify the accuracy of this information at this point due to the lack of evidence)
The advertisements for the supplements claim that it can help induce ketosis, retain lean muscle, help make the keto diet less strict, help the body burn fat for energy, and overall help better the results of the keto diet.
Some people even claimed that they had more brain clarity and focus while taking the supplements and also reported increased energy.
While it sounds appealing to be taking a pill twice a day and magically being into ketosis and losing weight without paying much attention to carbs, still Alka Tone is advised to be used alongside a keto diet in order to boost its effects.
The supplements contain ketones that promote and enhance the benefits of a traditional ketogenic diet.
How does Alka Tone Keto work?
When someone tells you that a daily pill can help your keto journey and weight loss, it seems logical to ask HOW can it be done? Well, in order to understand how Alka Tone Keto works, you need to understand a few basic terms about the keto diet in general.
The keto diet works by inducing a metabolic state called ketosis- hence the name “keto” diet. The state of ketosis happens when the body does not use glucose for energy, it uses fats- and that is the short explanation.
The process of getting into ketosis requires you to consume a very low carbohydrate intake (20-25 grams of net carb per day) so your body produces low levels of the hormone insulin.
To put it simply, insulin is a hormone that binds to the sugar in the blood and takes it into the cells, where it is used to produce energy for the cell and all of its functions. When you limit carb intake, your blood sugar doesn’t rise as much and the body doesn’t need insulin in the same amounts as before, so its levels stay low. This is the reason we limit carbohydrate intake on the ketogenic diet- to lower blood sugar and insulin levels. (*)
So, what happens when the insulin is low and why is it so important? When insulin levels are low, the body takes it as a “signal” that it doesn’t have access to sugar/glucose as a primary energy source, so it turns to using fats for energy.
Or more accurately, when the fats are metabolized, the liver produces ketone bodies or simply called ketones by a process called ketogenesis. Ketones are small molecules that the body and most importantly the brain, can use as non-glucose energy sources in order to function. (*), (*)
The ketones that the body produces itself are called endogenous ketones (endo meaning inside), and then naturally occur in the body by ketosis. But, there are also exogenous (exo- meaning outside) ketones that are ingested as supplements in forms of drinks or pills, such as Alka Tone Keto.
There are main types of exogenous ketones: ketone salts and ketone esters. The most commonly used exogenous ketones are the ketone salts.
The idea of consuming exogenous ketones is to help induce ketosis in order to use the ketones in your body for energy and promote increased fat burning and improvement in insulin sensitivity- the same mechanisms like the “normal” keto diet that doesn’t include exogenous ketones. (*)
Ingredients of Alkatone
The ingredient list of Alka Tone Keto contains Garcinia cambogia, Caffeine anhydrous, Green Tea, and BHB Salts.
The Garcinia cambogia is a small, tropical fruit with a green to pale yellow color, that resembles a pumpkin. It is native to Indonesia and it is commonly used in weight loss supplements. Caffeine anhydrous is just dehydrated caffeine and BHB Salts are the ketone salts. The body naturally produces these BHB salts, so the ingested ketone salts will add to them.
Will Alka Tone Keto Get Me In Ketosis?
Alka Tone Keto does contain BHB salts, which are ketone bodies that in theory will help you get into ketosis easier by increasing the number of ketone bodies, and they are the same as the ketones your body produces, even though they are synthetically produced.
Regarding the claim that the pills can induce ketosis, that is highly unlikely. That is because if you are consuming high amounts of carbs while taking the Alka Tone Keto pills, the body will naturally use the energy that comes from glucose and not the ketones. Ketosis is the body’s “plan B”, so if it doesn’t get the signal that “plan A”- energy from carbs is getting low, it doesn’t need “plan B”- ketosis.
If you plan on using Alka Tone Keto, it is logical that you have to also limit carb intake greatly in order for that to happen- meaning you need to already be in ketosis prior to taking the supplements.
That being said, there isn’t enough evidence and research done on exogenous ketones specifically, to say that, in practice, taking exogenous ketones as supplements will 100% help you in reaching faster or easier and help you stay in ketosis, and make a significant difference in your keto journey.
We know that the keto diet works, and in theory, consuming exogenous ketones does work, but we still need more research specifically on consuming exogenous ketones that can provide concrete evidence. There is a great start with a one small study done that showed promising results. (*)
What other benefits does Alka Tone Keto provide?
The other thing that people noted in reviews of Alka Tone Keto supplements was that they experienced increased mental acuity, increased energy, and increased focus, but when you look into the ingredients you will notice that it contains caffeine. And that is probably what is the cause of these mental benefits and energy increase. Meaning that it is not the consequence of better keto diet effects.
Overall, the Alka Tone Keto supplements will not induce ketosis if you do not limit your carb intake. So, if you are planning on using this product, making sure that you are already in ketosis before taking it will greatly increase your chances of it helping you in your keto journey and bettering your results, rather than relying on it alone to induce ketosis by itself.
Verdict
While taking supplement might help, but scientifically speaking, your body can only be in ketosis when you restrict your carbohydrate intake so your body has no choice but converting fat (from food or your own body fat) into ketones for fuel. Limiting carbs intake must be the first step before taking on any supplement.
The world of keto supplements shows a promising future, and with more research and evidence, wonderful keto supplements (such as MCT Oil or Keto Collagen) may be something that could greatly help the ketogenic community if using the right product and taking the right approach.
Bottom Line
We recommend that you follow a low-carb high fat ketogenic plan, eat real food and try to stay between 20-25 grams of net carb daily, to reach ketosis and start burning fat for fuel. This is the only true ketogenic approach to ketosis.
For keto supplements, you can try Perfect Keto. They are one of the most trusted ketogenic supplement brands in the keto diet community. Read our Perfect Keto review for more details.
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*Photo by iuricazac/depositphotos
