The Keto HDAC Myth — How One Paper Misled Millions for a Decade

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2026

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A 2013 Science paper claimed beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the primary ketone body produced during ketosis, was a potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor with powerful epigenetic benefits — this claim became the foundation of the keto movement's health narrative
A devastating 2019 head-to-head comparison in Scientific Reports found that BHB shows no detectable HDAC inhibition in vitro or in vivo, while butyrate (a different molecule produced by gut bacteria) demonstrates robust HDAC-inhibiting activity
The bitter irony: ketogenic diets actually reduce colonic butyrate production by depleting fiber intake and diminishing butyrate-producing gut bacteria — the very diet designed to boost the "HDAC-inhibiting ketone" may be depleting the actual HDAC inhibitor
While BHB has legitimate benefits as an alternative fuel source and GPR109A receptor activator, the widespread claim that ketosis provides "epigenetic therapy" through HDAC inhibition appears to be scientifically unfounded

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	What if the core promise you believed about ketosis, powerful epigenetic benefits from histone deacetylase inhibition,
0:07.0	was built on a claim that didn't hold up when scientists tested it head to head?
0:12.0	Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:15.0	Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go.
0:20.0	No reading required.
0:21.6	Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights.
0:25.5	Hello, and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster. Today we're examining
0:31.3	how beta-hydroxybutyrate, or BHB, became known as an HDAC inhibitor, and why more recent evidence calls that narrative
0:39.3	into question.
0:40.6	I'm Alara Sky. We'll walk through the original 2012 science paper that sparked the story,
0:47.0	the 2019 comparison that challenged it, and the practical implications if you've relied on
0:52.4	ketosis for epigenetic effects.
0:55.0	We'll also clarify where BHB still has legitimate value that doesn't depend on H-DAC inhibition.
1:02.1	The starting point was a widely cited paper by Shemazu and colleagues.
1:06.9	It reported that BHB inhibited class Lai histone diacetylases in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations
1:14.0	achievable during fasting or ketosis.
1:16.2	That connected BHB to increased histone acetylation and expression of oxidative stress resistance
1:22.7	genes, creating a tidy model for broad health benefits.
1:26.5	The narrative took off.
1:28.3	Researchers and influencers repeated that ketosis led to
1:31.3	BHB-B-BHB-HB-HB inhibited HDACS, and epigenetic gains followed.
1:38.3	The claim was appealing because HDAC inhibitors are known in oncology and immunology,
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 25 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Briana Mercola, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Briana Mercola and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.