Feedback on the Ketones episode

Whilst interesting a podcast I was disappointed that it only presented one (positive) side of using ketones.

Leading to the conclusion that Nate was going to try them out.

I’d much prefer a balanced argument with someone else equally credible arguing against ketones (for example).

I was listening to another cycling podcast where they interviews Team DSMs Iwan Spekenbrink, who also talks about the team’s anti-doping policy, and their decision to ban ketones.

For a world tour team to ban ketones they must have a very different view of it, hence I’d like to suggest this podcast gives a more balanced view.

There is also this paper giving a different view Ketone Diester Ingestion Impairs Time-Trial Performance in Professional Cyclists - PubMed

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They did touch on the impact of ketones on high intensity exercise in the podcast.
Nate suggested it could even be a tactic used by non-ketones-consuming team to harm those who do consume ketones - make the race hard from the beginning.
From what I gather: they’re going to be useful on a long ride that starts not too hard, but finishes hard (pro tour race usually follow that model)
Completely useless on my scene where the hammer drops at that start :smiley:

edit: I also don’t think it only presents one positive side.
It exposes the results from a research.
As mentioned, it mentions that it’s counter productive on high intensity rides. It also mentiones it tastes foul. Finally, it indicates that it’s $100 a pop.
Overall, I think it was quite balanced, and I’m sure if researchers disagreed fundamentally with what was being presented, @chad and @Nate_Pearson would be happy to oblige and invite them for a counter-argument episode.

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I think these episodes are more one on one with particular experts or researchers, rather than the more balanced deep dives we get on the main podcast. So fair enough that they just went into his research without getting an alternate view. As @holybinch says though, it wasn’t all positive, they certainly touched on situations where ketones could hinder instead of helping performance.

The ethics angle is an interesting one, Thibaut Pinot has spoken out against ketones as well ( Thibaut Pinot speaks out about TUE abuse and ketones | Cyclingnews) and they’re banned under MPCC rules which means the 10 WorldTour teams who are signed up to the MPCC won’t (or shouldn’t!) be using them, it’s not just DSM.

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