Do statins decrease the production of ketones?
Statins are a class of drugs that target the body’s production of cholesterol in the liver, but they have other effects as well. One of these side effects is a reduction in the body’s level of inflammation, which may be beneficial. There are no known problems associated with combining statin use with a well-formulated ketogenic diet. In fact, Jeff Volek’s team did a study in which they recruited people who were already taking a statin and then put them on a ketogenic diet for 6 weeks. As a group, they lost weight and had improved blood lipids (e.g., reduced triglycerides, reduced small LDL particles). But to the point of this question, their blood ketone levels went up into the nutritional ketosis range as expected.