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Water add ins??

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carimiller7391
carimiller7391 Posts: 1,091 Member
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I read an article in First for Women about water add ins for electrolyte imbalance due to overhydrating. (Drinking plain water). It states that overhydrating can lead to: muscle fatigue, cramping, headaches and anxiety. It recommends a mix-in with electrolytes like RecoverORS which gives you 6x the amount of electrolytes of a typical sports drink with no added sugar. I was wondering... here comes the newbie in me.... I have been told that when you lower carbs and work towards Ketosis, you need to up your magnesium, sodium and potassium. Do you also need to worry about electrolytes (if not working out yet/hard) and is this worth looking in to??

I'm back from vacation/Vegas and am working on keeping carbs to 50g total per day and work my way down from there. Meatavoire here I come. I am sooooo looking forward to the health benefits of Keto. I've read how great everyone feels on Keto and LCHFMP and cannot wait to get there also.

I would like to also extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who post/responds. Your wealth of knowledge is immense and helps so much!!!!

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  • sweetteadrinker2
    sweetteadrinker2 Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Depends how much plain water you'd be drinking. If you're slugging back a couple gallons per day then maybe(depending on what youre getting from food) an electrolyte mix would be good. But if you're getting enough sodium, pot and mag from food/pill supplements then it might not be necessary. Might be a good way to beat the keto flu though!
  • carimiller7391
    carimiller7391 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I drink about a gallon per day. Thanks for the feedback. I'm still learning and this had me confused. Much appreciated!!
  • slimzandra
    slimzandra Posts: 955 Member
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    I'm an advocate of moderation at mostly everything and I try minor tweaks, review, tweak, review. Just because, something gives you more of something, doesn't necessarily mean that's a good thing. "6x the amount of electrolytes of a typical sports drink" Is that good for what you need? How much is that? Is a gallon of water a day the right amount for your needs? One indicator, is that your urine should still be a faint lemon color.

    You can have too much of a good thing too: >>http://www.livestrong.com/article/507396-negative-effects-of-drinking-too-many-electrolytes/

    I just focus on eating (including liquids) within my macros. Making healthy food choices seems to be enough for me. If I start to feel a certain way -- after a week, I tweak.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    Sodium, magnesium and potassium are electrolytes.
    The sports drinks usually contain mostly sodium and and less than 50g potassium at best. I'm not familiar with the add in you mentioned. Though I will have to check it out because when my T1D daughter gets sick, we are always battling high blood sugar and ketones and trying to keep her electrolytes up. When she has gotten really sick in the past and had ketoacidosis, it was the loss of electrolytes that kept her in the hospital for extra days trying to get that back up. Getting potassium by IV apparently burns pretty bad.
  • jumanajane
    jumanajane Posts: 438 Member
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    I just did a search for this as I am looking for a good electrolyte mix/or sachet that I can get shipped here BUT the only nutritional info I can find online about this product is......on MFP! 2.8 gms carb per sachet! It doesnt state sugar free only that it has a small amount of glucose to allow it to be absorbed properly. My question is why are they not publishing the full formulation and nutritional breakdown???
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    Well, that means my daughter can't use it when she's sick then. Sports drinks and chicken broth with added nuSalt for potassium will have to do.
    I don't know why I didn't think to mention it before, but I have added nuSalt to my water before when I had muscle cramps and wasn't in the mood for hot broth. I would add just enough that I start to notice the taste. It kind of reminded me of that unflavored Pedialyte for infants. You can easily get more electrolytes per volume of water by making your own that way. But I don't think I would want to add sodium too, as far as flavor tolerance,so it wouldn't be quite the same...
    However, why couldn't salt and potassium be added along with those water flavor things to personal taste to create your own "electrolyte drink". I mean, isn't that all they really are anyway? Flavor, sodium and potassium...
  • jumanajane
    jumanajane Posts: 438 Member
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    Exactly! I have found a few formulations for DIY electrolyte mixes in the past when I asked google.
  • wabmester
    wabmester Posts: 2,748 Member
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    Good article here that contains the sodium concentration of various fluids:
    https://www.ultracycling.com/sections/articles/nutrition/hyponatremia2.php

    Chicken broth is superior to just about anything else. :)
  • AngInCanada
    AngInCanada Posts: 947 Member
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    slimzandra wrote: »
    Is a gallon of water a day the right amount for your needs? One indicator, is that your urine should still be a faint lemon color.

    Really? I have always heard your urine should be clear.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    AngInCanada wrote: »
    slimzandra wrote: »
    Is a gallon of water a day the right amount for your needs? One indicator, is that your urine should still be a faint lemon color.

    Really? I have always heard your urine should be clear.

    I'm thinking she meant pure urine as in a sample sent to the doc, but in the toilet diluted with water it will be very faint & almost colourless.

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