Research

Hormonal

Ketone bodies, specifically beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), have complex, potentially contradictory effects on appetite regulation by influencing AMPK phosphorylation and GABA levels, which may counteract hunger suppression.

Be aware that ketones might trigger some hunger signals via AMPK and GABA, but in practice, the hormonal suppression of ghrelin usually wins out, leading to net hunger reduction.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
ketone bodies (KB) seem to be able to increase food intake through AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the release and production of adiponectin.
Antonio Paoli et al. · Frontiers in Psychology · 2015

Why this rating

Review paper discussing conflicting animal and human data.

Source

Ketosis, ketogenic diet and food intake control: a complex relationship

Antonio Paoli et al. · Frontiers in Psychology · 2015

DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00027

narrative_reviewCited 256×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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