Imagine eating one metric ton of raspberries.

Now imagine that you’re trying to lose weight. To get the dose of raspberry ketones that are said to help you slim down, you’d have to eat five metric tons of raspberries every single day. (1)

Impossible, right? That’s why you see bottles and jars of raspberry ketones in nutrition stores rather than vats of raspberries.

Raspberry ketones have been a trend since they were featured on Dr. Oz in 2012 (2), but researchers still studying raspberry ketone side effects stomach cramps may be an issue, but jitteriness and heart palpitations are more likely.

If you’re starting a keto diet, raspberry ketone supplements may have caught your eye in spite of possible side effects. You might be asking yourself why you need to buy MCT oils or electrolyte supplements to boost your ketosis when you could just ingest the ketones themselves.

Good question.

There’s actually a difference between raspberry ketones and the ketones your body produces during ketosis. No one has taken the time to explain this before, so how are you supposed to know which supplements to buy?

We know. Don’t worry—we’ve gathered some serious answers for you in this article.

Read on to find out more about raspberry ketones and its relationship to ketosis, including raspberry ketone side effects stomach concerns relating to other ketosis supplements, and more.

What Are Raspberry Ketones?

Raspberry ketones are chemicals that come from red raspberries, but they’re also found in kiwifruit, peaches, grapes, apples, other berries, rhubarb and some other vegetables, and in the bark of some trees.

Raspberry ketones are a key ingredient in several processed flavors and in cosmetics and perfumes.

What is the difference between raspberry ketones and ketones produced during ketosis?

Raspberry ketones aren’t the same as the ketones your body produces during ketosis. You’re your body is burning fat stores, you’ll produce Acetoacetate (AcAc), Beta-hydroxybutyric Acid (BHB), and acetone. (3)

While acetone can give your breath a fruity scent, it has nothing to do with raspberries. It’s excreted by your body, while AcAc and BHB are used for fuel.

Raspberry ketones aren’t used for fuel in your body at all. While have been some scientific studies regarding the impact of raspberry ketones on weight loss, most of those studies have been done on animals. The ketones have also been used in ratios that wouldn’t be safe for humans.

There’s where those five metric tons of raspberries comes in.

Why do we use mostly synthetic raspberry ketones?

While raspberry ketones are pretty power-packed when it comes to their ability to enhance scent and flavor, natural raspberry ketones are expensive to come by.  One kilogram of raspberries produces just 1-4 mg of raspberry ketones. (4)

Because of the excessive price, most of the ones used in our foods and cosmetics are synthetic. (5) If you’re shooting for a healthier lifestyle, you might wonder: what are the raspberry ketones side effects stomach issues that can occur with MCT oils and MCT oil powders used as supplements during ketosis. Are raspberry ketones similar?

What is the chemical structure of raspberry ketones?

Chemically, raspberry ketones are closer to capsaicin, a chemical found in some hot peppers that’s known to raise the metabolism, and to a stimulant called synephrine. (6) It was studied for weight loss primarily for that reason.

So What Do Raspberry Ketones Actually Do When It Comes to Weight Loss?

A small study indicated that people who took raspberry ketones with Vitamin C were able to reduce both their weight and their body fat percentage.

However, the study didn’t follow good research methods. The results could have been from the Vitamin C or the combination instead of the raspberry ketones alone. (7)

Raspberry ketones are also trending as having positive impacts in helping reverse or prevent hair loss, but there isn’t enough research yet to support these claims.

One of the most famous study regarding raspberry ketones on weight loss was performed on rats. The raspberry ketones seemed to help prevent the accumulation of fat when the rats were overfed.

There were also some indications that the raspberry ketones contributed to weight loss and had some beneficial effects for fat in the liver. However, the amount of raspberry ketones these rats were eating was at a much higher ratio than a human body could handle.

Remember, five metric tons of raspberries—even if you decided to supplement at that level, you’d be taking an unsafe amount.

This is where those raspberry ketone side effects come in.

What Are The Risks of Taking Raspberry Ketone Supplements?

If you’re worried about raspberry ketone side effects stomach problems might not be your biggest worry.

Digestion problems happen more commonly with MCT oils and other keto-based supplements with MCT oils in them. This is true especially if take large doses without allowing your body to adjust to them.

With raspberry ketone side effects stomach troubles can happen occasionally, but they’re not the main focus. Here are some of the things to watch out for if you intend to use raspberry ketones to help lose weight:

• Raspberry ketones can cause a feeling of jitteriness. This could be due to its chemical similarity to synephrine.
• The jittery feeling might lead to insomnia.
• Likewise, raspberry ketones might cause heart palpitations (racing heart) in some people.
• There’s also a risk of elevated blood pressure when taking raspberry ketones.
• Raspberry ketones might elevate your body temperature
• Diabetics who intend to take raspberry ketones should consult their doctors, because raspberry ketones might impact their blood sugar levels.

With this list of raspberry ketone side effects stomach cramps might be the least of your worries.

Conclusion

Because the studies done on raspberry ketones don’t apply well to humans, you might be wasting your money if you buy raspberry ketones for weight loss. A better bet might be a ketogenic diet that’s fully supported with MCTs, electrolytes and other supplements designed for keto to keep your fat-burning process in high gear.