What Are BHB Salts? What They Do and What Studies Show

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Last updated: October 18, 2026 · By Martin Smith · How I research

BHB salts are the main ingredient in many “keto” pills and powders, usually sold with promises of faster fat burning. This short guide explains what they are, what happens when you take them, what the human studies found, and who should be careful.

What are BHB salts?

BHB stands for beta-hydroxybutyrate, one of the ketones. Ketones are acids your body makes when it breaks down fat for energy, for example when you fast or eat very few carbohydrates (MedlinePlus). BHB salts are BHB bound to a mineral, usually sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium, which turns it into a stable powder that can go into capsules or drink mixes. The other main type of ketone supplement, ketone esters, are liquids.

Some BHB salts, including the ones used in two of the studies below, are a mix of two mirror-image forms, D-BHB and L-BHB. D-BHB is the form your body makes. In an Oxford study, the salt drinks were half L-BHB, which stayed in the blood for over 8 hours, much longer than D-BHB (Stubbs et al., 2017).

Keto BHB salts: what the “keto” label means

BHB salts are sold as “keto” supplements because BHB is the main ketone your body makes on a ketogenic diet, and labels often suggest they put you into ketosis or help you stay there. They do raise blood ketones for a few hours (see the next section), but they don’t replace the diet. In a 6-week trial, adding ketone salts to a calorie-controlled keto diet didn’t lead to more weight loss than a placebo (Crabtree et al., 2021).

Some people starting a keto diet take them to ease the “keto flu”, the tiredness, nausea and other short-lived symptoms that can come with the switch. A 2025 review listed ketone salts among the approaches reported to help, but found that few studies had directly tested any of these strategies (Skartun et al., 2025).

What happens when you take them?

BHB salts do raise blood ketones, but only modestly and briefly. In the Oxford study, drinks giving about 12 or 24 g of BHB as salts raised blood D-BHB to an average peak of 1.0 mmol/L, compared with 2.8 mmol/L for a ketone ester drink, and levels were back to normal within 3 to 4 hours (Stubbs et al., 2017). In a German study, six healthy adults took one large dose of a sodium and calcium BHB salt; their D-BHB peaked at about 0.6 mmol/L after two and a half hours (Fischer et al., 2018).

This is sometimes called “exogenous ketosis”: the ketones come from the supplement, not from your body burning its own fat. Raising your ketone level this way isn’t the same as the ketosis that happens on a ketogenic diet or during a fast.

Do BHB salts help with weight loss?

The few trials I found don’t show extra weight loss from BHB salts.

  • With a keto diet. Adults with excess weight followed a calorie-controlled ketogenic diet for 6 weeks with either ketone salts or a placebo. Weight loss was similar in both groups (Crabtree et al., 2021).
  • With a modest calorie cut. In an 8-week trial in 51 adults with excess weight, BHB mineral salts taken twice a day were compared with a placebo. Weight fell in both groups, and the difference between them wasn’t statistically significant (Roeth et al., 2025). The trial was funded by a ketone supplement company.
  • Energy use and appetite. In 8 healthy adults, a day of ketone salts (38.7 g) added to a normal diet raised ketone levels only a little and didn’t change how many calories they burned or how hungry they felt (Hägele et al., 2023).

These studies used about 10 to 39 g of BHB salts a day, far more than most capsule products contain.

Other claimed benefits

Blood sugar. A 2022 review of 43 trials found that a single dose of ketone supplements lowered blood glucose for a short time, with smaller effects from salts than from ketone esters. The authors found little evidence on taking them over longer periods (Falkenhain et al., 2022).

Exercise. A review of 13 randomised trials found no clear effect of ketone supplements on exercise performance, and that included the studies of ketone salts (Valenzuela et al., 2020).

BHB salt side effects

The most common problem in the studies was an upset stomach. In the German study, one of the six volunteers dropped out because of stomach and bowel symptoms after a single large dose, and two others had milder symptoms. The researchers concluded that regular high intake without medical supervision isn’t free of side effects (Fischer et al., 2018).

The other issue is the mineral load. Each gram of BHB salt comes with sodium, calcium, magnesium or potassium. Sodium BHB is about 18% sodium by weight (PubChem), so 10 g of it contains roughly 1.8 g (about 1,800 mg) of sodium. MedlinePlus advises healthy adults to keep sodium under 2,300 mg a day, and people with high blood pressure under 1,500 mg (MedlinePlus). Small capsule doses add much less, but labels rarely say how much of each mineral you’re getting.

BHB salts and high blood pressure

I found no trials of BHB salts in adults with high blood pressure, so the main concern is the sodium described above. A 10 g dose of sodium BHB contains roughly 1.8 g (about 1,800 mg) of sodium. That alone is more than the 1,500 mg daily limit MedlinePlus gives for people with high blood pressure (MedlinePlus).

The one longer safety study I found that measured blood pressure was in healthy children and teenagers aged 10 to 17: the 22 who finished it took 3.75 g of BHB salts (a sodium, calcium and magnesium blend) or a placebo twice a day for 90 days, and their blood pressure didn’t change (Stefan et al., 2021). The study was funded by a ketone supplement company. That’s a small study in young, healthy people, so it doesn’t show how BHB salts affect someone who already has high blood pressure.

Some researchers have suggested that ketones are worth studying as a possible way to lower blood pressure, but that’s still a research idea, not something trials in people have shown (Costa et al., 2022).

Who should be careful

  • If you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, or have been told to limit salt. The minerals in BHB salts count towards your daily total (MedlinePlus).
  • If you take medicine for diabetes. Ketone supplements lowered blood sugar in short studies, so in theory they could add to your medicine’s effect (Falkenhain et al., 2022). The strict keto diet many BHB products suggest also isn’t suitable for everyone, so talk to your doctor first (MedlinePlus).
  • If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. I found no studies of BHB salts in pregnancy or breastfeeding, so it’s best to avoid them.

BHB salts in Leptozan

Leptozan is one product built entirely on BHB salts: its label lists an 800 mg blend of magnesium, calcium and sodium BHB per daily serving. That’s about a twelfth of the smallest daily amount used in the weight-loss trials above. I go through the label, the sales claims and the research in my Leptozan review.

BHB salts FAQ

Do BHB salts put you in ketosis?

They raise blood ketones for a few hours, which some people call ketosis. But the ketones come from the supplement rather than from burning your own fat, and the levels in studies were modest and short-lived (Stubbs et al., 2017).

Are BHB salts the same as ketone esters?

No. Both supply BHB, but ketone esters raised blood ketones more than salts in the Oxford study (Stubbs et al., 2017), and they don’t come with a mineral load. Leptozan, for example, uses salts.

Are BHB salts safe?

There’s little long-term safety data. Short studies reported stomach upsets, mainly at large doses, and the minerals can add up. If you have a medical condition or take regular medicine, check with your doctor or pharmacist first.

Sources

This article is for general information only and isn’t medical advice. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting any supplement, especially if you take regular medicine. See my medical disclaimer.

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