Turn Fat Into Muscle?! What 2 New Studies Say About Ketones and Vitamin D

IQBAR is offering our special podcast listeners 20% OFF all IQBAR products, plus get FREE shipping. To get your 20% off, text VANESSA to 64000.  That’s VANESSA to sixty-four thousand. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. In this episode of The Optimal Protein Podcast, I take a deep dive into two exciting new studies that could reshape how we think about fat loss and body composition. The first study investigates how a medically supervised ketogenic diet not only promotes fat loss but reverses biological aging by more than 6 years. And it’s not just the calorie restriction—the study found that elevated ketones, especially beta-hydroxybutyrate, played a key role in reducing epigenetic age and promoting longevity pathways. The second study examines high-dose vitamin D supplementation and how it may direct surplus calories away from fat storage and toward muscle growth—via mechanisms involving myostatin and leptin signaling. While preclinical, the findings open up new conversations around vitamin D as a muscle-preserving, fat-loss–enhancing tool. If you’re focused on losing fat, preserving muscle, and optimizing metabolic health, this episode is packed with cutting-edge insights.  Get 20% off the TONE LUX red light collection or the 2nd Generation Tone Device HERE  with the code VANESSA Follow @ketogenicgirl for updates on the latest studies and strategies to optimize protein intake and metabolic health.  🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: • How the very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) reversed biological aging in adults with obesity • The role of ketonemia (beta-hydroxybutyrate) in slowing cellular aging • Ketones as signaling molecules: antioxidant effects, insulin sensitivity, autophagy, and more • The potential for endogenous ketones to promote longevity • How high-dose vitamin D may reprogram calorie allocation—favoring muscle over fat • The roles of myostatin suppression and leptin signaling in body recomposition • Why optimizing vitamin D status could matter for muscle preservation and fat loss • What this research means for your own diet, supplementation, and metabolic strategy 📚 Studies Referenced: 1. Epigenetic Aging Acceleration in Obesity Is Slowed Down by Nutritional Ketosis Following Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet (VLCKD): A New Perspective to Reverse Biological Age Published in Nutrients, March 2025 Read the Summary 2. High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling Preprint, Research Square, May 2024 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4202165/v1 Follow @optimalproteinpodcast on Instagram to see visuals and posts mentioned on this podcast. Link to join the facebook group for the podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2017506024952802/ The content provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Consult with a healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet or exercise regimen.