Research paper
Veech RL. The therapeutic implications of ketone bodies: the effects of ketone bodies in pathological conditions: ketosis, ketogenic diet, redox states, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial metabolism. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2004 Mar;70(3):309-19. doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2003.09.007
Why we cite it
Provides the biochemical rationale for why ketone bodies are not merely "emergency fuel" but have inherent energetic and therapeutic advantages over glucose-derived pyruvate. Identifies three broad disease categories where ketosis may be therapeutic, and explains the mitochondrial mechanisms — unique in the corpus for its focus on the bioenergetics of ketone metabolism rather than the fasting protocols that produce ketosis.
About the author
Dr. Richard L. Veech (1935–2020) held an MD from Harvard and a DPhil from Oxford, where he studied under Hans Krebs (1953 Nobel laureate). He spent 50 years at the NIH, joining NIAAA in 1974 and serving as Chief of the Laboratory of Metabolic Control. Recognized as a father of metabolomics and a leading authority on ketone body biochemistry, he was inventor on 26 US patents covering ketone body therapeutic uses and electrolyte composition of parenteral fluids. He co-developed a D-beta-hydroxybutyrate ketone monoester with Kieran Clarke at Oxford.
DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2003.09.007 · PubMed 14769489 · Publisher