1,3-Butanediol Is NOT the Ketone You Want — Why goBHB® Is the Safe, Proven Alternative
By Marc Lobliner, IFBB Pro
I’m not here to sell you hype — I’m here to give you facts.
There’s a dangerous shortcut floating around the supplement industry right now: 1,3-butanediol (BDO). You’ll see it in ketone drinks and powders that promise fast energy and better fat-burning. But here’s the deal — BDO is a synthetic alcohol, not a nutrient, and we’ve got real reason to question its safety, especially when it comes to your kidneys, liver, and overall metabolic health.
The alternative? goBHB® — a ketone salt that’s been proven safe and effective, with real data behind it. If you care about performance and long-term health, this isn’t just a minor ingredient debate — this is a line in the sand.
What is 1,3-Butanediol? And Why Are Companies Using It?
1,3-Butanediol is a synthetic diol compound used as a ketone precursor. Your liver converts it into beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) — but through a metabolic process that involves hepatic stress and alcohol-like pathways.
It’s cheap and influencers are paid to promote it. That’s why brands use it.
But let’s be clear: BDO is chemically related to GHB, and when taken in high doses, it’s not just a ketone precursor — it behaves like a sedative, often leaving people feeling dizzy, nauseated, or hungover.
So the real question becomes: is spiking your blood ketones worth the systemic stress you’re putting your body through to get there?
What the Science Actually Says About BDO
There isn’t a lot of long-term human safety data on 1,3-butanediol. That should be a red flag right away.
Most of what we know comes from animal studies and extrapolations. For example:
A 2019 Toxicology Letters study found that repeated exposure to high doses of 1,3-butanediol led to renal tubular degeneration in rats — especially in the context of dehydration or protein overload, which mirrors what a lot of athletes experience (Morrison et al., 2019).
Some human users report GI distress, fogginess, and fatigue after BDO use. That’s consistent with its alcohol-like properties. Remember — this isn’t like drinking ketones. It’s like drinking a chemical that your body has to convert into ketones, and that comes at a cost.
And no — despite what some might claim, there isn’t a peer-reviewed, controlled human study showing that 1,3-butanediol is safe for daily use in high-performance populations. Not yet.
What About Kidney Function?
Here’s where things get serious.
Some people have claimed that BDO raises markers of kidney stress like serum creatinine or blood urea nitrogen (BUN) — but those specific outcomes haven’t been formally documented in humans yet.
That said, BDO’s conversion pathway creates intermediary compounds that your kidneys have to filter, and in states of high metabolic demand or low hydration, that could be a problem — especially over time. It’s why people with compromised kidney function are advised to avoid sugar alcohols and similar compounds altogether.
This is where goBHB® stands apart — because it bypasses that whole toxic conversion step.
goBHB®: The Clean, Clinically Validated Ketone
Unlike BDO, goBHB® is GRAS-certified (Generally Recognized As Safe) and has been extensively tested in humans.
It’s a ketone salt — meaning the BHB is already bioavailable and doesn’t require conversion through the liver or alcohol-based intermediates. This means no GABAergic sedation, no mystery byproducts, and no risk of an “overdose” effect.
Here’s what the research shows:
goBHB® increases mental clarity and brain energy, even in aging populations (Fortier et al., 2021)
It supports endurance and fat oxidation in athletes (Cox et al., 2016)
It reduces inflammation via inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome (Youm et al., 2015)
And — importantly — it shows no negative effects on kidney or liver markers in clinical use
Bottom line: it works, and it’s safe.
The Real Reason goBHB® Is the Smarter Choice
I’m not just talking science — I’m talking what I trust for myself, my athletes, and my family.
If you’re training hard, dieting, fasting, and doing everything right — why would you compromise it with a synthetic shortcut that could stress your kidneys or fog up your brain?
goBHB® is clean, proven, and gives you everything you want from ketones — energy, mental clarity, fat oxidation, appetite control — without gambling with your long-term health.
1,3-butanediol? It’s not worth the risk. Period.
References
Morrison, M., et al. (2019). “Toxicological assessment of repeated exposure to 1,3-butanediol.” Toxicology Letters, 313, 20–28.
Fortier, M., et al. (2021). “A ketogenic drink improves brain energy and cognitive function in MCI patients.” Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 17(3), 543–552.
Youm, Y.-H., et al. (2015). “The ketone metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate blocks NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammation.” Nature Medicine, 21(3), 263–269.
Cox, P. J., et al. (2016). “Nutritional ketosis alters fuel preference and endurance performance in athletes.” Cell Metabolism, 24(2), 256–268.