Ketogenesis
Fatty acid → ketone bodies during fasting / very-low-carb states
Ketogenesis is the liver's backup fuel system. When carbohydrate is scarce — fasting, sleep, a very-low-carb diet — the liver converts incoming fatty acids into ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate) that the brain and muscle can burn in glucose's place. Carnitine shuttles the fatty acids into the mitochondria where it happens, and B5 (as coenzyme A) and B3 are cofactors for the conversion enzymes. Beyond fuel, beta-hydroxybutyrate acts as a signaling molecule that dampens inflammation and switches on stress-resistance genes — part of why fasting and ketogenic states draw longevity-research interest.
How your supplements + diet feed this pathway right now — the cofactors driving it, where the gaps are, and your own lab readouts.
The load-bearing nutrients — if these are deficient, this pathway slows down. Click any to see daily targets, food sources, and supplements that supply it.
Nutrients that contribute to this pathway but aren’t the single load-bearing inputs.
Pathways that share a load-bearing cofactor with this one.
Cholesterol/triglyceride handling, β-oxidation of fatty acids
Cortisol synthesis, adrenal cofactor supply, calming neurochemistry
Fatty acid → acetyl-CoA inside mitochondria; carnitine shuttle
Cholesterol → pregnenolone → sex + adrenal steroids (testosterone, cortisol, estradiol)