A Few Questions...?

newbies
(kris) #1

Started Keto this past Monday and have been doing ok for the most part. I’m tracking everything on Cronometer.

I do have a few questions!

-Does anyone else get hot flashes on keto? I’ve been feeling like Im burning up at random times during the day. I was wondering if that was normal for anyone else.

-I made some sole water and was wondering how much to take in a day. Research suggests a tsp to start, but I’m iffy on how many times a day to take a tsp. I’ve heard 2-3 but i don’t want to overdo it. There’s a lot of sodium in the tsp, and I know it can cause bowel issues if you take too much.

-Out of breath sometimes, would that be from electrolyte imbalance?

Thanks in advance for answering!

(Carl Keller) #2

Hello and welcome kris.

Most keto “side effects” are usually caused by electrolyte imbalance. The two most important electrolytes are water and sodium. I think if you begin with making sure those are correct, your issues might resolve themselves.

Up to two liters of water per day and around two teapoons of salt over the course of my day, helps me avoid cramping and rapid heartbeat. I believe my rapid heartbeat is from when I am not drinking enough water and it would be reasonable to assume that this might lead to shortness of breath.

This might sound like a lot of sodium, but you have realize that when we restrict carbs, we excrete sodium at far greater rates and it’s really important to replace that sodium. And to reassure your fear of too much sodium, there’s lots of studies that show higher amounts of sodium correlate with a longer life expectancy, contrary to what most of us have long been told.

I can’t really help with the hot flashes and I hope someone can come along to give you some good advice about it.

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #3

Welcome! No hot flashes for me, I am quite the opposite. I get cold a lot. Cold hands too. It’s improving a little but definitely not going away.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

I’ve never had hot flashes on keto, lol! (Sorry, my sense of humor often gets the better of me.) :grin:

@CarlKeller is right about our needing more salt when we stop eating so much carbohydrate. A number of recent studies, including the PURE study from McMaster University in Ontario, suggest that we are at our healthiest when we consume 4-6 grams of sodium (10-15 g of table salt, NaCl) a day. This is in contrast to most governmental dietary guidelines, which typically recommend far less. Note that this daily amount of salt does include the salt already present in our food, as well as the salt we add to it.

@Azure Are you getting enough calories? Enough protein? Feeling cold is usually a sign of a lack of one or the other.

(JM) #6

I also had this until I increased my daily magnesium levels.

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #7

I eat about 1,000 to 1,200 but I just can’t stomach so many. I only feel hungry once a day in most days. I do not want to stuff myself.