Headaches on low carb diet?

jennkaufer89

Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to a low(er) carb diet and wanted some insight into something I've been experiencing to see if it's simply coincidental or not.

I started decreasing the amount of carbs I was eating about 2 weeks ago due to slightly high LDL cholesterol levels. As of right now 20% of my 1350 calorie diet is coming from carbs (so about 68 to 80 grams depending on my activity level). In a lot of ways I've been feeling great - my mood has stabilized, my skin is clearing up, and I just generally feel better.

However, the one thing I've been experiencing more is headaches. I've been trying to stay adequately hydrated, and am using a separate water intake management app to keep me on track, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Are headaches common for lower carbers who start out? This is the one thing I've changed in my diet approach and there seems to be an association but I don't want to jump the gun and make an assumption.

Any advice is helpful! Thanks!!

revolucia78

I can't answer to the low carb headaches because I don't do low carb and I suffer from migraines anyways...

..but a couple years ago I was able to bring my LDL down by switching to whole grains/complex carbs and exercising, that made a big difference for me in a matter of months (can't remember exactly how many). I was already eating complex carbs in my diet but I started being more conscience of it so I began eating primarily whole grain bread, brown rice, grains, more fiber, etc. If your headaches continue, it might help to try to switch the type of carbs you eat rather than the amount. Did your doctor recommend a low carb diet?

Lizzy622

Could be the decrease in carbs. The brain primarily runs on carbohydrates and now needs to learn to function differently.

ARGriffy

I did low carb for the first 2 weeks of my journey. I had a headache for 2 weeks and I couldn't work it out.. added back in sugar. .. more water... then ate a toasted muffin. Voila headache gone! I get one if I don't eat any starchy carbs all day. If you are prone to headaches /migraines like myself I simply cannot do low carb my body clearly needs that fuel source!

ladipoet

jennkaufer89 wrote: »

Are headaches common for lower carbers who start out?

Yes. You've got the Keto flu. You are experiencing headaches because your electrolytes are out of balance. No offense intended here, but it appears that you just decided to jump into a new way of eating without doing all the appropriate homework so you were not properly prepared. No worries..most people do this. When you follow a low-carb way of eating (WOE) your body needs between 3000mg - 5000mg of sodium every day just to replace the amount of salt it is dumping/losing. Where water and salt go, magnesium and potassium follow. Eat pickles. Drink pickle juice. Heavily salt ALL your food (it is impossible to get enough sodium by this method alone). Dissolve a bouillon cube in the appropriate amount of water and drink 1-2 cubes per day. You can even take sodium chloride tablets. You may also need to supplement magnesium and potassium as well (I do).

I suggest you check out the main low carber forum group here in MFP. It's where most of us Ketofiles tend to hang out:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

Good luck to you and hope to see you on the boards soon!

jennkaufer89

ladipoet wrote: »

jennkaufer89 wrote: »

Are headaches common for lower carbers who start out?

Yes. You've got the Keto flu. You are experiencing headaches because your electrolytes are out of balance. No offense intended here, but it appears that you just decided to jump into a new way of eating without doing all the appropriate homework so you were not properly prepared. No worries..most people do this. When you follow a low-carb way of eating (WOE) your body needs between 3000mg - 5000mg of sodium every day just to replace the amount of salt it is dumping/losing. Where water and salt go, magnesium and potassium follow. Eat pickles. Drink pickle juice. Heavily salt ALL your food (it is impossible to get enough sodium by this method alone). Dissolve a bouillon cube in the appropriate amount of water and drink 1-2 cubes per day. You can even take sodium chloride tablets. You may also need to supplement magnesium and potassium as well (I do).

I suggest you check out the main low carber forum group here in MFP. It's where most of us Ketofiles tend to hang out:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

Good luck to you and hope to see you on the boards soon!

No offense taken, you're right. I just kind of started without much thought.

And I love pickles! Anything that gives me a reason to indulge in more pickles is for me! I'll be sure to do more research and figure out how to get over "keto-flu".

sunnybeaches105

Simply cutting back calories will give some people headaches. I get hunger headaches myself when I cut calories.

PearBlossom9

Yep...keto flu aka your electrolytes are out of balance. The general guideline is up to 5000mg sodium, 1000mg potassium, and 300mg magnesium. Many of us do fine on less, it will really depend on your body. One thing I suggest is something called lite salt, which you can probably find at any grocery store. It's part sodium and part potassium. Tastes like salt.

If you are looking to purchase supplements you want magnesium citrate or chelate. Natural Vitality/Natural Calm is one a lot of people use. Oxide ends up just going through your body quickly and out with your urine. For potassium you want potassium chloride. The citrate you normally find would require many pills throughout the day. I am looking into purchasing something called LyteShow to help cover all electrolytes.

Also...space out your electrolytes for best results.

Edit...Ladipoet is spot on and I agree with everything she says