The production of acetoacetate when we burn fat protects from a damaging metabolite generated from sugar metabolism.

A metabolic byproduct of sugar metabolism called methylglyoxal has been linked to age-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. People that were fasted for one night and had higher levels of acetoacetate also had higher levels of a compound called 3-HHD which forms through the detoxification process of methylglyoxal.