Sodium
cmansell13
Posts: 9 Member
Good Evening Everyone,
I am new to the LCHF lifestyle change. I was wondering is someone or several people could explain the sodium requirement. Why is it so important? How do you ensure you get enough? Any other advise about it would be greatly appreciated. I have read several resources and just cant get my head around it.
I look forward to reading your comments.
Thank you,
I am new to the LCHF lifestyle change. I was wondering is someone or several people could explain the sodium requirement. Why is it so important? How do you ensure you get enough? Any other advise about it would be greatly appreciated. I have read several resources and just cant get my head around it.
I look forward to reading your comments.
Thank you,
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Replies
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It's necessary because when you are running on glucose, you have glycogen stores in your body to fuel you. Those glucose molecules are bound with water. As you reduce your carbs your body starts to deplete those stores, when you do that the water molecules are flushed out and with them goes sodium. Also as you start creating ketones you will produce to many, before your body knows how to create the amount needed for your body to function, it'll flush a lot of excess ketones through urine. Thus again flushing out sodium. If you don't replenish that sodium you'll find yourself in a world of hurt. There is a sticky that explains all the electrolyte stuff in great detail.2
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auntstephie321 wrote: »It's necessary because when you are running on glucose, you have glycogen stores in your body to fuel you. Those glucose molecules are bound with water. As you reduce your carbs your body starts to deplete those stores, when you do that the water molecules are flushed out and with them goes sodium. Also as you start creating ketones you will produce to many, before your body knows how to create the amount needed for your body to function, it'll flush a lot of excess ketones through urine. Thus again flushing out sodium. If you don't replenish that sodium you'll find yourself in a world of hurt. There is a sticky that explains all the electrolyte stuff in great detail.
Thank you Auntstephie321 for your feedback. I will reread the sticky again.2 -
Also, being Keto is like constantly being on a diuretic. So you're constantly losing water and sodium. If you allow sodium to get low, the body will start trying to conserve it by dumping magnesium and potassium instead. Then you get leg and foot cramps, among lots of other troubles that come with low electrolytes.
So it's not just something you need to do in the beginning. It's part of a low carb diet.
Carbs cause water retention and you aren't eating those anymore. You still need to retain a certain amount of fluids though. So you need sodium. If you're going to the bathroom frequently, you're probably low on sodium and it could be even be due to too much fluid intake. Drinking a lot of water without adding sodium back will only make the matter worse too.2 -
Sunny Bunny - Thank you! I am going to get some soidum tablets tomorrow. Much appreciate your thoughts.0
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cmansell13 wrote: »Sunny Bunny - Thank you! I am going to get some soidum tablets tomorrow. Much appreciate your thoughts.
Table salt is a lot cheaper.3 -
My go-to for sodium is a dirty Martini with black olive juice and pickle nectar. (It's usually after noon somewhere......) Just add a pile of olives and crumbled gorgonzola for a civilized BPC substitute.
(Total cost at Costco: Around $1-2 for a double)6 -
@cmancell13 Having had high blood pressure and being on BP meds prior to losing weight, I had a really hard time wrapping my head around increased sodium. Trust it is necessary! I was constantly checking my BP when I increased salt/sodium but my BP remained fine.3
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Thank you everyone for your comments. I appreciative it! Table salt here I come!1
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cmansell13 wrote: »Thank you everyone for your comments. I appreciative it! Table salt here I come!
Lol, wise choice. Also, table salt is economical, but if you can afford it, Himalayan or Celtic salt tastes better. And has lots of trace minerals.3 -
I am feeling the effects of electrolyte imbalance this week for sure. I have been having a tough time keeping my salt level high enough, I have always had issues with water retention so it scares me to eat too much salt. This week I had some major lower GI distress that resulted in a major fluid loss over about 24 hours. Yesterday and today I have felt agitated, shaky, tired and anxious. My skin is much too sensitive and I had to ask my hubby to stop rubbing my arm last night because it hurt. I am working on bumping up all of my electrolytes over the next few days to try to get back to 'normal' and make this feeling go away.2
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I am feeling the effects of electrolyte imbalance this week for sure. I have been having a tough time keeping my salt level high enough, I have always had issues with water retention so it scares me to eat too much salt. This week I had some major lower GI distress that resulted in a major fluid loss over about 24 hours. Yesterday and today I have felt agitated, shaky, tired and anxious. My skin is much too sensitive and I had to ask my hubby to stop rubbing my arm last night because it hurt. I am working on bumping up all of my electrolytes over the next few days to try to get back to 'normal' and make this feeling go away.
It is hard to wrap your head around especially with the way things are drilled into us by the standard American diet but I swear, increasing sodium helps so many problems. Try having a few pickles and it should help you. Also because it's hot outside...you are sweating and losing more sodium!
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I'm so accustomed to limiting my sodium; I am amazed that I need to add it. I love salty foods so I like the idea of adding it in. Just seems so unusual.1
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I'm so accustomed to limiting my sodium; I am amazed that I need to add it. I love salty foods so I like the idea of adding it in. Just seems so unusual.
Yes, it certainly does.. well, er, it did.
The strange sensation of salted avocados when I first made the switch was a true guilty pleasure... but the guilt soon dissipated.
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I am feeling the effects of electrolyte imbalance this week for sure. I have been having a tough time keeping my salt level high enough, I have always had issues with water retention so it scares me to eat too much salt. This week I had some major lower GI distress that resulted in a major fluid loss over about 24 hours. Yesterday and today I have felt agitated, shaky, tired and anxious. My skin is much too sensitive and I had to ask my hubby to stop rubbing my arm last night because it hurt. I am working on bumping up all of my electrolytes over the next few days to try to get back to 'normal' and make this feeling go away.
@StacyChrz - I will retain water with too little sodium (body panicking to hold it all in) far more intensely than I do with too much sodium (I honestly don't know if I ever have ever hit that point, really)...
Make ketoade - with magnesium (mine is powdered mag chloride), lite or nu salt (potassium chloride) and/or lemon juice, some sort of flavoring, and sweeten to taste. It will not take a "few days" to get back to normal. More like a few minutes, or alternated with water in between, a few hours at best. (hugs)
EDITED TO ADD: IF you don't have powdered magnesium, you can open capsules and dump them out - or you can crush tablets/pills in a blender, food processor, coffee grinder, mortar and pestle, etc.1 -
Thanks @KnitOrMiss I am feeling so much better. I really focused on my electrolytes Saturday and by that evening I was a new person. By Sunday I felt amazing and the feeling has continued ever since. I've actually had the energy to get back into my walking routine and plan to get back to weight lifting starting next week. (I had taken about 8 weeks off after having been sick and then adjusting to LCHF) Just to add to the positives, I have lost about 5lbs in the past 5 days so clearly adding sodium hasn't hurt me at all.2
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@StacyChrz I'm thrilled beyond belief to hear this!! To me it is so continuously crazy how long we've been fed false health information, and then we have to go retrain ourselves to the scientific reality!!!!1
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After living for so long with high blood pressure I have been really afraid of sodium. I'm so happy I am getting over that. In addition, because I am trying to use iodized salt whenever possible I may be doing my thyroid function a favor. We'll see what the doc has to say in November when I get my blood work done again.1
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After living for so long with high blood pressure I have been really afraid of sodium. I'm so happy I am getting over that. In addition, because I am trying to use iodized salt whenever possible I may be doing my thyroid function a favor. We'll see what the doc has to say in November when I get my blood work done again.
@StacyChrz - As long as you do not have Hashimoto's Thyroid Disease and are not already way over on iodine, it is likely helping your thyroid function, but there are a huge number of other co-factors to improving thyroid function. I have hypothyroidism myself, and so this is a subject near and dear to my heart! stopthethyroidmadness.com is my favorite starting point in thyroid research...0 -
I'll check it out, thank you! I know I don't have Hashimoto's. I was actually diagnosed when I was 8 years old. I grew up with my Mom always limiting salt for her own reasons. Because I that I believe I was always low on iodine. I have found that with adding even a small amount of iodized salt over the past few years that I've had some improvement.2
