Ketones, The Fourth Fuel: Warburg to Krebs to Veech, the 250 Year Journey to Find the Fountain of Youth

I am so glad I got this book! It requires some careful attention and some thought, but it is an excellent book which clearly illuminates the concepts of metabolic energy and ketosis.

This book is challenging as a non biologist ordinary dude but that I finished it is a testament to how interesting and informative I found this read to be. If you're interested in health or investigating the potential impacts of Ketosis it will be imminent satisfying.

Thank you Travis Christofferson for this vital book which moves us closer to dealing with the epidemic of metabolic dysfunction which has caused pervasive human suffering and undermined the quality of our lives. The modern plagues of obesity, diabetes and neurodegeneration are destroying us and have set our economies on a collision course with insolvency, and finally we have a clear path forward. This is not the easiest read out there due to coverage of complex mechanisms of nutrition, but it has just the right balance of science, history and insight.The book walks us through the history of unlocking how our bodies are nourished, energized and cleansed and vividly brings to life the fascinating personalities and natures of the scientists and other actors involved. And it includes the fascinating biochemistry. It also reveals the many potholes and reversals along the way (who knew the NIH cut off funding to the most important health research of our era; or that a gadfly from the military got things back on track?}, which will refocus our efforts going forward.And the good news is the solution is relatively simple - eat right. Using the measurement of ketones to shine a bright spotlight on progress - instead of relying on the scale, hgA1c or scans and the like, which are looking in the rear view mirror at a vague amalgamation of hints, you see what your metabolic state is right this minute so that you can do something about it. And it reveals some grocery store foods and newly invented ketogenic interventions that can heal you, make you run faster, get smarter and save money. The price you pay is giving up sugar in most all of its forms, although with mindful ketogenic eating, your meals become more enjoyable and get this - much cheaper, since your destructive food cravings are stabilized. You also need to throw in some fasting. If you don’t want to deal with measurements and caregivers, you can download some keto meal plans and get on it. The book even gives you some invaluable tips on what to do.The book concludes with information on the interaction of ketones and genetic expression and boldly suggests that a mechanism to prolong life itself is within reach.I think I will read this book again and tell my friends about it. I am a better person with this knowledge. Drugs and barbaric treatments of symptoms be gone. At long last, we are in control of our health.

Travis Christofferson does an excellent job of weaving and telling the history of how our bodies produce energy through the lenses of fascinating scientists, including Richard Veech, as well as Veech's mentor and Nobel Prize recipient Hans Krebs, and, Krebs's mentor and Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Otto Warburg. The analogies, storytelling, and historical narrative Christofferson uses to describe the science make this book engaging, educational, and entertaining all at the same time.Reading this book, you often feel like a fly on the wall of the laboratories accommodating Warburg, Krebs, Veech, and others, witnessing their remarkable work alongside them. Joseph Priestly's mouse-in-a-bell-jar experiments, the cytochrome experiment leading to Warburg's Nobel Prize, Krebs's discoveries of the urea and TCA cycle, Veech's perfused-rat-heart experiments. These are just a few of the discoveries described in understandable detail.Christofferson also appreciates the nature and nurture of good science, and illuminates how science moves forward by connecting ideas, but also how different scientific philosophies lead to discoveries that may not have happened if one was strictly empirical or analogical. For example, while Warburg “clung to empirical evidence only” and refused speculation, for Peter Mitchell—the Nobel Prize winner for his chemiosmotic hypothesis that a proton-motive force was responsible for driving the synthesis of ATP—“[S]cience <i>began</i> with the imagination and then followed with experimental data.”This book also highlights the importance of mentorship and apprenticeship in good science. Krebs claims that the reason why he found himself in Stockholm as the recipient of a Nobel Prize is because of his outstanding teacher, Otto Warburg. Likewise, Warburg studied under an outstanding chemist and Nobel Prize Winner, Emil Fischer (who himself was a student of another Nobel Prize winner, Adolf von Baeyer). And Richard Veech of course studied under Krebs. (I attached an image to this review to show just how deep this lineage is rooted.)This is a great book for the stories and the histories alone, but I’d also recommend it to anyone who wants to understand metabolism, and ketone metabolism in particular, and how it applies to modern health and medicine. We are in the middle of an epidemic of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome (to name a few), and Christofferson makes a compelling case in this book that the “fourth fuel,” and the strategies and tactics that can trigger its production, availability, and/or use in the body can improve human health.I highly recommend this book.

So well researched - so inspiring. Reading through the history and all work done ..And the dots being connected brings more depth to choosing a Keto lifestyle. A special book for sure

The Fourth Fuel is the latest work from Travis Christofferson, and offers up his usual inimitable style – blending a deep love and understanding of science with the voice of a gifted storyteller. Anyone who has read Tripping over the Truth will recognise his unparalleled ability to weave important scientific developments into a narrative which keeps the reader fully engaged. The science in The Fourth Fuel gets pretty heavy for the lay reader – some of the explanations of intermediate metabolites in the KREBS cycle is probably at the level of undergrad biochemistry, but I found that the overarching storyline allowed me to glide over these parts and flow through the book without ever feeling that it was laboured. This is Christofferson’s gift – his book will be enjoyed by scientists and clinicians as much as by the interested lay-person. He treats the subject matter with deep respect, yet he manages to simplify the essence of the subject matter and to make it completely accessible.The final chapters set the scene for the future beautifully – I find myself curious as to the future trajectory of the research and how this is going to play out in future, and I look forward to following this topic as it develops. Christofferson concludes with a short chapter on how the knowledge already gained can be applied in everyday life – he describes how he uses ketosis strategies in his own life, and this is one of the best parts of the book. He makes the ketosis strategies as accessible to everyday life as he does the science!

This is a well written book shedding light on the complex biochemistry of life in a way which makes it accessible. Better still it has emphasised again the wonderful health benefits of keeping your body in nutritional Ketosis.

A fantastic book. I have now read it twice and plan to read it again.

This is important work: people really need to understand how proper human food supports optimum human metabolism - and how deeply misleading the conventional narrative about healthy eating has become.

I loved reading this book. The writer made it a good read and captured my imagination. More to know about Ketones and the many interesting details. The benefits as well.