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If you’re serious about the ketogenic diet, then you can greatly benefit from adding supplements to your routine. While it’s possible to achieve ketosis using diet alone, supplements such as exogenous ketones are a good way to help your body familiarise itself with using ketones for fuel.
They also help reduce symptoms of the keto flu and ensure you’re getting the fuel you need to stay energized throughout the day.
When it comes to picking a supplement, it’s important to go with a company that doesn’t cut corners and provides excellent products with high-quality ingredients to fuel your ketogenic lifestyle.
RSP Nutrition products were designed for the fitness-minded. They provide nutrients that help you get ahead in your fitness endeavors while supporting your ketogenic needs.
We sampled the following three products and reviewed them in this article so you can see if they are right for you: Keto BHB veggie capsules, Keto BHB exogenous ketones, and QuadraLean.
Here’s what you need to know about using exogenous ketones and fat-burning enhancers on the ketogenic diet, and how RSP Nutrition makes it easy for you to stay in ketosis.
What Are Exogenous Ketones and Why People Take Them?
When you’re on the ketogenic diet and in full-blown ketosis, your body runs off of dietary fat instead of carbohydrates as its primary source of fuel. The lack of glucose or carbohydrates in your body is what makes the diet so effective.
This is because glucose is an inefficient source of energy that causes insulin spikes in the body. Insulin’s job is to deliver glucose to your cells. When you eat carbohydrate-containing foods, it stimulates the pancreas to release insulin and deliver glucose to your cells. “Leftover” glucose that you do not immediately use is sent to your adipose tissue where it’s stored as fat.
Additionally, eating too many carbohydrates causes your blood sugar to rise. To meet the demands of excess blood sugar, your pancreas has to work overtime to create more insulin. Eventually, your pancreas tires and either stops producing enough insulin to clear sugar from your blood or your body stops responding to insulin altogether. This is known as insulin resistance.
On the other hand, ketones are produced in the liver as a byproduct of the fatty acid breakdown when no glucose is present. They are sent into your bloodstream where they are used immediately as fuel without spiking insulin or going through the traditional digestive process. As a result, you can expect to see improvements in your weight, blood sugar control, and even your cognitive performance.
You can get into ketosis by eating a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates. When glucose is limited, your body will naturally convert dietary fat into fuel. The ketones that are naturally produced during this process are what your body uses as fuel instead of glucose.
In addition to eating a high-fat diet, you can also get ketones into your system by taking exogenous ketones.
Exogenous ketones are man-made ketones that are produced outside of the body. Your body still uses them the same way it uses the ketones that you naturally produce in your liver. They act as a quick way to deliver ketones to your bloodstream because they bypass the traditional route of the digestive process (1).
Our honest thought:
Exogenous ketones in general are not needed on a keto diet. You should always eat real food.
Exogenous ketones (either powder or pill form) might provide you extra energy, mental focus and other therapeutic benefits, but they are not effective for weight loss. Read our keto pills review here for more.
Keep in mind that exogenous ketones are NOT magical if you cheat on your keto diet. You still need to follow your keto macros closely.
Keep in mind that exogenous ketones are just supplements and cannot replace your diet. You must follow your keto plan properly before taking any supplement, otherwise you will not reap any benefits of ketosis.
In other words, your dietary fat intake needs to be around 70-75 percent of your daily calories while protein should be around 20-25 percent and carbs are no more than 5 percent. Exogenous ketones won’t put you in ketosis if your carbohydrate intake is too high. Make sure you eat only keto-friendly foods.
We wrote a comprehensive, unbiased review of exogenous ketones, make sure you read it to understand its benefits, side effects, when to use and when not to use before purchasing any product.
Types of Exogenous Ketones
There are three primary types of ketone bodies:
- Acetoacetate
- Acetone
- Beta-hydroxybutyrate acid (BHB)
Most supplement companies use BHB as their primary form of exogenous ketones because it’s the most abundant type of ketone body in your body and it tends to be better utilized than other forms.
Most exogenous ketones come in one of two forms: ketone salts or ketone esters.
Ketone salts are ketone bodies that are bound to a salt molecule, such as calcium, potassium, magnesium or sodium. Ketone esters are ketones in their raw form that are not bound to any other molecule.
BHB by itself is a good example of a ketone ester, but it becomes a ketone salt when it is bound to a salt molecule.
Ketone esters tend to be absorbed more efficiently in the body since there is no salt molecule to break down, but most people find that they taste awful. Because of this, ketone salts are the preferred source of exogenous ketones for most ketogenic dieters. The added salt molecule also helps with electrolyte balance and hydration.
RSP Nutrition Exogenous Ketone Review
We tried two different forms of exogenous ketones from RSP Nutrition, a supplement company with a serious mindset for fitness and all things keto. Their products include a variety of different amino acids and protein products, energy enhancers and fat burners, fish oil, and more.
They also have some nice recipe blogs on their website designed to help you use their products and a rewards program that allows you to collect goodies through earned points.
We’ve listed the pros and cons of each of the products below so you can decide for yourself if these products are right for you.
#1. Keto BHB Veggie Capsules
The Keto BHB veggie capsules from RSP Nutrition are an exogenous BHB ketone salt comprised of a BHB complex, calcium, sodium, and magnesium. It’s designed to give you glucose-free fuel to help you support and sustain ketosis.
Here is a breakdown of the ingredients:
Serving size: four capsules
- Calories: 5
- Calcium: 380 mg
- Sodium: 66 mg
- Magnesium: 8 mg
- BHB Complex (Calcium BHB, sodium BHB, and magnesium BHB in the form of goBHB): 2.4 grams
The idea of using a BHB supplement in capsule form is something new to us. Normally, you would take exogenous ketones in powder form, but we like the idea of being able to pop a capsule to cash in on the ketones. It’s convenient and allows you to recharge wherever you are without needing a blender or stirring a bunch of powder into a glass of water.
One of the reasons why most people take a powdered form of exogenous ketones is because you can get a more concentrated form of ketones. For example, we noticed that one serving of veggie capsules provides you with a much smaller amount of ketones and salts than the powdered version of the same product does.
Plus, you have to take four capsules to get this reduced sized serving, so it’s a bit of a wash. But keep in mind that convenience is the name of the game here and this product was designed to be a supplement to your diet. If you meet your macros daily, then you shouldn’t need a highly concentrated form of exogenous ketones anyway.
Here’s what we like and don’t like about it.
Pros
- Contains BHB, salt, calcium, magnesium and nothing else
- Clean ingredients
- Extremely convenient; can be taken anytime and anywhere
- Stores easily in your gym bag, desk, car or purse
- Provides immediate energy when food or a snack is not available
- Can be used to help you reduce cravings
- Take it before exercise as a pre-workout instead of sugar-laden pre-workout energy drinks or caffeine capsules
- Contains no artificial flavors or ingredients
- Free of gluten, dairy, sugar, and soy
- Provides 2.4 grams of BHB ketone salts per serving
- Helps support mental and physical performance
Cons
- BHB concentrations are lower in capsules than in powder
- Serving size is four capsules, which is a lot for some people
#2. Keto BHB Exogenous Ketones Peach Mango Powder
The second product we reviewed from RSP Nutrition was their Peach Mango Keto BHB powder.
One of the most challenging parts about creating a good BHB powder is getting it to taste good without filling it with junk. RSP Nutrition did a great job with this.
The flavor was amazing and we loved that it was sweetened with stevia instead of aspartame or another artificial sweetener.
We also love that the powder was colored with beet vegetable juice and beta-carotene.
Here is a breakdown of the ingredients:
Serving size: one scoop
- Calories: 30
- Calcium: 855 mg
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Magnesium: 925 mg
- BHB Complex (Calcium BHB, sodium BHB, and magnesium BHB in the form of goBHB): 11.7 grams
As with the veggie capsules, there are no bad ingredients in this product. Everything is clean and naturally sourced. We love that it contains a large amount of BHB ketones in a single scoop.
It’s easy to add to a glass of water before a workout or anytime throughout the day when you need a pick-me-up. This would be a great product to use in place of something sweet the next time you crave something that would kick you out of ketosis. You could also use it to recover from a tough workout in place of sugar-laden drinks.
Pros
- Provides 11.7 grams of BHB ketones per scoop
- Delicious peach mango flavor (two fruits that you can’t have on the keto diet!)
- Can be used in place of sugar-laden pre or post workout recovery drinks
- Delicious enough to be added to a glass or water or can be added to a smoothie
- Supports ketosis while used in combination with a ketogenic diet
- Flavored with stevia and colored with natural flavors
- Free of artificial flavors or preservatives, gluten, soy, and dairy
- Helps support mental and physical performance
Cons
- Should not be taken as a “crutch” after a high-carbohydrate meal; food should always be your primary source of ketones!
#3. RSP QuadraLean Product Review
Along with the exogenous ketones, we tried QuadraLean from RSP Nutrition, which is a stimulant-free supplement designed to help keep your weight under control.
It’s similar to their other products called RSP QuadraLean Thermogenic Fat Burner.
The term “stimulant-free” is a bit misleading as the product contains green tea, which has caffeine in it.
But we’re not complaining about that because green tea is one of the best and safest weight-loss enhancers on the market when taken in moderation.
Here is a breakdown of the ingredients:
Serving size: three capsules
- Innobio CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)
- Acetyl L-carnitine hydrochloride
- Green tea extract 50% EGCG leaf
- Aframomum melegueta (paradoxine)
We like that this product uses natural energy enhancers to help you get motivated. Acetyl L-carnitine hydrochloride is an acetylated form of l-carnitine, which helps make the compound more stable (2).
L-carnitine plays a direct role in your metabolism and assists with the breakdown of fatty acids (3) so you can utilize them on fuel, which is an important part of the keto diet. Lots of people also take it for its neuroprotective, antioxidant, and cardiovascular support.
Aframomum melegueta is a plant that belongs to the ginger family. Studies show that it increases whole-body energy expenditure and decreases visceral fat in humans (4), which is that pesky fat in your mid-section.
Finally, CLA is well known for its ability to reduce fat (5). Because it’s a healthy fatty acid, it also helps support ketosis and contributes to your high-fat diet.
When combined with the well-known fat-burner green tea (6), Quadra Lean provides the winning formula for blasting fat. But the trick is that you can’t just take it and expect it to work wonders. You need to exercise, too.
While you’re already naturally burning fat on the ketogenic diet, Quadra Lean can help give you the energy you need to get through a workout and deliver the most effective fat-blasting results. We recommend taking it right before a workout or in place of your morning or afternoon cup of caffeine, but make sure you keep an eye on your caffeine intake if you’re overly sensitive.
Pros
- Clean ingredients with proven benefits
- You don’t need to be in ketosis to benefit from this product
- Contains no gluten, sugar, dairy or soy
- Is not overly caffeinated like some weight-loss products
- Enhances energy to get you through a tough workout
- Does not contain preservatives or harmful ingredients
- Provides antioxidant support
- Helps to distribute fat within the body and get rid of visceral fat
- Naturally supports a healthy metabolism
- Helps support healthy blood sugar levels
Cons
- Should not be taken in combination with too much caffeine
- Can be easy to become dependent on
Conclusion
Exogenous ketones are a good way to support your ketogenic diet if your goal is to stay in ketosis. If not, then exogenous ketones won’t be of much benefit to you. We reviewed two exogenous ketone products from RSP Nutrition. One was a BHB exogenous ketone powder and the other was a BHB exogenous ketone product in capsule form.
While we liked the convenience of an exogenous veggie capsule, we noticed that the BHB concentration was much lower than the powder form. We also didn’t like that you had to take four of them. But keep in mind that you shouldn’t need a high concentration of exogenous ketones if you’re doing the ketogenic diet right and hitting the proper ratio of macros.
Meanwhile, we thought the BHB powder supplement hit it out of the park. The flavor was delicious and refreshing, and we like that there are no fillers or ingredients that you don’t need in it. The powder was naturally sweetened with stevia, which is one of our favorite keto sweeteners, and was colored with natural flavors such as beta-carotene and beet vegetable juice. Plus, the concentration of BHB ketones was much higher than the capsules.
The third product we reviewed was a stimulant-free weight management capsule called Quadra Lean. While the product isn’t stimulant-free as advertised because it contains green tea, we love the use of all natural and proven weight-loss ingredients, including CLA, acetyl l-carnitine, Aframomum melegueta, and green tea. We recommend taking this before a workout or in place of your morning or afternoon cup of caffeine. The serving size is three capsules, so you might want to start with one or two at first until you know how you’ll react to it.
