Salt substitutes to supplement potassium (keto)?

jotunnskadi

Hi! I'm new to keto and (hopefully) past the "keto flu" headaches. I make sure to get at least 4g of sodium and 2g of potassium a day in addition to a multivitamin (which provides most of my magnesium). For sodium, I try to use sea salt and broth if I'm running low, and for potassium I've been using salt substitute (the 100% potassium citrate, not the 50/50 mixture).

My question is: How much of the potassium in this form can I safely take at one time? I tried putting it in my drinking water to do over time but I can't stomach the taste. I've been adding 1/4 tsp to 6oz of hot water twice a day and downing that all at once. I had read that potassium can irritate the stomach over time taken in doses like that. Is anyone knowledgeable on this?

Thanks!

JPW1990

Just about every food you eat has potassium in it, but 99% of the entries on MFP don't include it, because most companies don't bother to put it on the label. It's very likely you're already getting enough potassium, and shouldn't need to supplement unless you start to feel sick again. If you do, drinking broth and eating things like avocado and mushroom should be enough.

Mistizoom

You need to be cautious with potassium supplementation unless your doctor is supervising. Dr. Eades recommends 400-500 mg of potassium supplements (as 99 mg postassium citrate - I have some in tablet form and they can be swallowed like any pill) for someone starting a low carb diet: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/ unless medically contradicted. IIRC, once keto-adapted that could/should be dropped back to 200 mg. Considering the daily requirement for potassium that's a drop in the bucket, so I am not sure how it makes that big of a difference. Getting enough sodium spares potassium, so that is what I focus on.