Research Symposium

BIO

Caden is a freshman at Florida State University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Spanish. He is in the University Honors Program and is conducting research under his mentor, Sadio Fenner, into the effects of exogenous ketones on endurance athletes. Caden is also involved with the Presidential Scholars Program at Florida State and is a member of the Florida Zeta chapter of the Phi Delta Epsilon pre-medical fraternity. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Caden plans on attending medical school.

The Effects of Exogenous Ketones on Elite Athletes

Abstract

In recent years, the consumption of exogenous ketones by athletes has increased, with athletes often justifying their intake on claims of enhanced performance. There is currently no consensus in scientific literature on whether or not exogenous ketone supplementation provides significant performance benefits to users. The research team aims to learn more about the definitive physiological effects of exogenous ketones in this study. The team plans to recruit 10-15 male and female endurance athletes aged 18-30 to participate in this study. The structure of the study consists of an initial week of participants receiving either an exogenous ketone supplement or a placebo, followed by a one-week washout of both groups receiving no treatment, finally followed by one week of each group receiving the same treatment administered in week one. At the start of each week and at the conclusion of the three-week study, blood samples from each of the subjects will be analyzed for various blood and steroid markers, and salivary samples will be collected and tested for salivary biomarkers. Considering the gaps in literature on the effects of ketone supplementation on performance and recovery, the team hypothesizes that our results may provide insightful data that could help guide further exploration of ketone supplementation. Our findings may provide preliminary data that could be useful in larger studies, potentially helping the scientific community better understand the effects of exogenous ketones on athletes.

Keywords: Ketone, Athlete, Sport, Endurance, Performance