Best Keto Supplements: The Ones You Want and Ones You Can Skip

The ketogenic diet is one of the best ways to burn fat, curb cravings, and optimize brainpower. This is mostly because your body runs differently (true believers would say – more efficiently) when on the keto diet.
However, because our bodies aren’t exactly used to burning fat as opposed to carbs for energy, there are going to be some nutritional need deficiencies before you attain full ketosis. That is why you are advised to pay close attention to the best keto supplements for your specific needs.
The right keto supplement is designed to fill in the dietary gaps that may occur as you work to attain ketosis. However, because the keto diet has become so popular, there are many supplements in the market today – some of which aren’t exactly necessary.
That being said, here are some of the best keto supplements and a few that you can skip!

The Best Keto Supplements to Help Level Up Your Keto Diet

There are several types of high-fat, low-carb keto diets out there, from “carb cycling” or cyclical keto to targeted keto and a full-on living the keto lifestyle. The nutritional supplements mentioned here are particularly helpful when you follow any one ketogenic diet. However, it is advisable to talk to your doctor before including any new supplements in your diet routine.

1. MCT Oil Supplements

Medium-chain triglycerides or MCT are high-quality fat supplements made out of coconut oil. MCT supplements are comparable to glucose gels that pro-athletes use to get a boost of energy whenever they need.
Because it only takes a few steps for your body to utilize MCT oil and turn into ketone energy for your fuel, this is one of the best ways to help maintain your ketone levels and thus remain fat-burning.
Staying in that state for as long as you can be what’s called attaining ketosis. That is where you will begin to experience all the wonderful benefits of the keto diet, such as fewer cravings, more energy, and amplified brainpower.
As an added advantage, MCT Oil Supplements are an excellent way to boost your energy levels when you hit the gym while on the keto diet.
While MCT oil supplements are wonderful, not all of them are created equal. Some have additives that will slow down your ketosis process. The trick is to find products that are from organic coconuts and contain pure caprylic acid (C8 or C10). These give your body the fastest access to the ketogenic energy it needs.

2. Electrolytes

On a typical non-keto diet, your body will store sugar as glycogen, acting as your energy reserves. This way, if you go for a long time without eating or go hard at the gym, your body will turn to these glycogen reserves for the fuel it needs.
This, however, isn’t the case when you are on the keto diet. Because you are on a high-fat and low-carb diet, you won’t have that much glycogen in your reserve tank. In fact, one of the main aims of keto is to completely deplete your body of these glycogen reserves so it will be forced to burn fat instead when it needs fuel.
This is one of the main reasons why you notice people who go on the keto diet lose a whole lot of weight in the first few weeks. This is water weight, which can be attributed to the fact that their bodies are dumping their glycogen stores (your body needs a lot of water to store glycogen). When you begin to deplete these stores, the water that keeps the glycogen intact also dissipates.
As you continue to lose glycogen and water, your kidneys begin to excrete an abundant number of electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium, and sodium to make up for that imbalance. This, in turn, creates an imbalance of its own as you go further into ketosis.
The deeper you go into the diet, the more you deplete your sodium, magnesium, and potassium stores as well, and that’s why you will hear people saying that they are tired or experiencing muscle cramps. That’s the electrolyte imbalance wreaking havoc on their bodies.
Hence the need for electrolyte supplements. While you can get electrolytes from natural and organic sources such as salmon and other foods, the truth is that it’s quite difficult to measure just how much of which electrolytes you are getting and whether or not it’s enough. That, thankfully, isn’t a problem when you take the right electrolyte supplements.

3. Supplements to Keep You Focused

When you are new to something as radically different from what your body is used to, such as the keto diet, there will be some issues with brain fog, concentration, and mental stress. This is mostly because when one part of your body undergoes a drastic change, it typically affects the rest of your body, albeit often in subtle ways.
Supplements designed to help keep you focused, clear-headed while improving your brain function are simply a plus of the keto diet. The best part is that not only are they good for your concentration, but they also help with memory retention as well as improve your mood and alleviate stress.

There are also other supplements such as the Vitamin K2 and D3 supplements that help improve your bone structure integrity and keep your arteries from calcification that you should include in your list.
There are, however, some supplements such as “Ketone Salt” that you can do without. Supplements such as sodium beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) are only half as helpful as they appear to be.
This is mostly because they are what is referred to as a “racemic mixture.” Meaning they are a 50-50 mixture of molecules (D form and the L form). While your body does utilize the D form, it doesn’t use the L form despite it showing up in your blood as ketones. So, you will end up thinking you have an impressive amount of ketones while in the real sense, you aren’t using all of them.
The best keto diet supplement will help make this journey successful and worthwhile. These are the ones you should take. However, some are just along for the ride, and those are the ones you should avoid.