Salt

JessicaLCHF

So there's a lot of buzz on my FB newsfeed today about low carb (Ketogenic low carb) diets depleting the body of salt, and potassium as the salt leaves.

I make it a point to eat sunflower seeds often (which I love anyway and they take a long time to eat so I use them for TV snacks) but is there a way to know if your body is lacking in salt? Short of a blood test? Thots?

deksgrl

I usually don't feel well when I am low on salt. The first thing I do is drink a cup of broth or eat a few pickles and then I feel better.

wabmester

The most obvious sign is a loss of weight -- water weight. But most people seem to like that effect.

It also lowers blood volume. And people like that effect too -- lower blood pressure.

The not-so-good effects are light-headedness, fatigue, headaches, etc. At the first sign, try eating something high in sodium.

The salt on nuts and seeds isn't a bad way to go, but the standard recommendation is soup -- specifically bone broth. That'll hit you with a gram of sodium per typical serving.

JessicaLCHF

Yeah, I don't eat them for the salt, that's just a nice side benefit. I eat them cuz I'm addicted. Ha!

Used to be a chip or popcorn muncher at night.

MiamiDawn

I do the sunflower seed thing too. Seems to work.

wabmester

OK, I just checked some sunflower seeds on Amazon.

Trader Joe's: 200mg sodium per serving. Meh.

David Original: 2120mg sodium per serving. Winner!

http://www.amazon.com/David-Original-Sunflower-Seeds-1-75/dp/B001792ULU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1438216193&sr=8-2

Edit: I think you'd need to suck all the salt off the shells to get that much sodium.

Sunny_Bunny_

I tend to get cramps in my legs and feet when I haven't been specifically making sure to get decent salt intake.

toadqueen

@wabmester - are you referring to bone broth with anything added or just the bone? I usually just boil chicken for hours and separate the flesh from the broth - just water and chicken. I do the same for other meat neck bones. I used to boil the bones after separating them from the flesh until they were tender to get the marrow. Is this where we get the sodium benefit?

wabmester

The minerals come from slowly cooking the bones for a long time, like 24 hours. You get some sodium that way, but it's often added as well. Here's a recipe:
http://ketodietapp.com/Blog/post/2015/01/13/Keto-Bone-Broth

toadqueen

Thank you so much @wabmester - this is similar to what I used to do when I was following the GAPS diet. I will try it again sans veggies but with vinegar or lemon juice and sea salt for my next batch.

DittoDan

All of the above and:

"Keto-flu" and Sufficient Intake of Electrolytes
Are You Having Charlie horse/leg cramps?
Need Potassium?

I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / IF / Sedentary
95 pounds down, 29 to go.
It's Ketogenic or Bariatric Surgery! How I Found the Ketogenic Diet
Previous Discussions on the LCD & Keto Groups
Blog #10 Keto: Abbreviations, Acronyms & Terminology Used on the LCD & Keto Discussion Groups Updated
Blog #13 DittoDan's Milestone's, First's And Good Changes Since Starting the Ketogenic Diet Updated
DittoDan's Keto Blogs

JessicaLCHF

wabmester wrote: »

OK, I just checked some sunflower seeds on Amazon.

Trader Joe's: 200mg sodium per serving. Meh.

David Original: 2120mg sodium per serving. Winner!

http://www.amazon.com/David-Original-Sunflower-Seeds-1-75/dp/B001792ULU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1438216193&sr=8-2

Edit: I think you'd need to suck all the salt off the shells to get that much sodium.

I like Frito Lay. David's are too splintery for me. It takes about an hour to eat one serving. Something funny. So I have thyroid issues and my hubby is an RN and he's always researching and trying things on me. So he got me selenium which is supposed to support the thyroid making its chemicals but he always gets mad I forget to take it (it upsets my tummy). So out of curiosity I google foods high in selenium. Guess what's in the top ten?

Pass the Frito lay seeds. lol. I'm such a connoisseur.

JessicaLCHF

Btw, I do bone broth a lot too. Again, by mistake not on purpose for health. It's just super cheap to buy a turkey and roast it for use in many meals. Then you have this carcass so you can't waste it! Boil and simmer 8-12 hours with old veggies (or tops, scraps), strain, and you have a delicious nutritious broth or soup base. I make it less in the summer, but the other seasons I do one every couple of weeks.

My mom does it a lot with rotisserie chicken carcasses. I don't buy them much cause they inject them with sugar, but sometimes if funds are low. My grocery store sells the cold day old rotisserie chix for $2 each. What can I say? We're Hungarian.

canadjineh

jessicatroberts wrote: »

My mom does it a lot with rotisserie chicken carcasses. I don't buy them much cause they inject them with sugar, but sometimes if funds are low. My grocery store sells the cold day old rotisserie chix for $2 each. What can I say? We're Hungarian.

Holy smokes! $2!!! Cheap like borscht!!

inspirationstation

Wow $2 is a deal!

I boil the carcasses too, but I haven't done it since winter. It has been too warm to even think of soup lately.