monitor sodium on Keto
chani8
Posts: 946 Member
Can't believe I'm sitting here drinking salted water. Well, spring water with 1/2 tsp sea salt. I started cramping up terribly last night, so I jumped on google and was reminded that when in ketosis, a person must get plenty of sodium.
That's hard to do when you eat mostly unprocessed foods.
Anyway, I drank salt water last night, and the cramping stopped. From now on, I think I'll be monitoring my sodium.
Just thought I'd share my learning experience with you.
If you have any important tips to share, please do.
That's hard to do when you eat mostly unprocessed foods.
Anyway, I drank salt water last night, and the cramping stopped. From now on, I think I'll be monitoring my sodium.
Just thought I'd share my learning experience with you.
If you have any important tips to share, please do.
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Replies
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I've posted this a few times. Can't say it enough:
From "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living" Low carb diets are natriuretic - they make the kidneys dump sodium. Sodium deficiency can cause headache, dizziness and fatigue. With continued low carb intake and sodium restriction, at some point your kidneys start to excrete potassium in order to conserve sodium. Potassium deficiency can lead to muscle cramps, cardiac dysrythmia. it can also cause the body to lose muscle, even when there's plenty of protein in the diet.
On keto, we should consume 3-5 g sodium per day. Broth is the easiest solution.
I've started drinking one cup of hot water with a bouillon cube. Once the bouillon is dissolved, I add 2 tbsp of heavy cream. Sodium and fat in a cup!
I also like Saltstick, which are capsules with Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium in the proportion you lose during exercise. Take 1 saltstick for every 30-60 minutes of exercise, but I usually take one additional daily regardless of exercise.0 -
I actually think unprocessed foods lend themselves well to salt! I purchase really high-quality salts (sea salts from Whole Foods as well as truffle salts from fine culinary stores). I sprinkle tons on all my veggies, eggs, and meats throughout the day. Recently I started having baked pecans in melted butter with tons of salt sprinkled on top -- delicious! I rarely need to take salt shooters because I'm able to get lots of salt in throughout the day.0
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I put
on everything. 0 -
I put on everything.
But that's LESS sodium, in favor of potassium... Still need to keep sodium levels up.0 -
I'm taking a mag and potassium sup. How much should a person be getting in a day?
It's kind of scary not knowing if everything is going right. To suddenly get a serious cramp is not fun and was preventable, but until I started monitoring my sodium intake, I thought I was getting plenty.0 -
good to know! I've been up a couple of nights with real bad leg cramps, thank you
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A lot of people suggest drinking broth. I've heard others talk about something called Nu-Salt. It's a 50/50 mixture of salt and potassium, which you need plenty of while on keto0
