Do blood electrolyte tests have any value?

[Wendy198]

Hi all, I’ve read that the body will do literally anything to keep blood electrolytes in the normal range, and that you have to be on the verge of needing emergency medical care if they go much out. If that’s true, what value do they have in guiding us on sufficient intakes? I have no idea if my electrolyte intake is fine or not. I’ve never been too drawn to salty food but I’m doing my best to add salt to everything. Occasionally having those nighttime calf cramps which is disturbing. I’m also taking about 280 mg of extended release Mg chloride. I quickly get overly loose bowels when I up that. Thoughts??

[lfod14]

You don’t have to cover everything in salt if you don’t want too. But if you notice yourself feeling like crap you may want to up it and see how you feel. May want to try using Mag Glycinate. I think Chloride is usually used in creams as a muscle relaxer so that makes sense. Citrate does the same thing to many people. Magnesium is weird, different ones have different availability and are good for different things.

[amwassil]

Hi all, I’ve read that the body will do literally anything to keep blood electrolytes in the normal range, and that you have to be on the verge of needing emergency medical care if they go much out. If that’s true…

I very much doubt that it’s true. In fact, I think it’s very easy to put your electrolytes out of balance and does not mean you’re on the verge of a medical emergency. The consequences of out of balance or too little electrolytes can be little or much.

You may find the following of interest:

Electrolytes: How long ...forever?

I got interested in electrolytes when my night/morning leg/foot/ankle cramps became unbearable. It got to the point I didn’t want to go to sleep knowing I’d wake up in excruciating pain that might take 5, 10, 15 minutes or longer to go away and leave my foot, ankle, calf feeling sore the rest of the day. A bit of investigation identified electrolytes as one possible source so I started experimenting with various mixes of sodium (Real Salt), potassium (No Salt) and magnesium (Epsom salt). Calciu…

Worried about electrolyte and kidney on keto

I am bit worried about my kidney functions on keto as I am a struggling to keep my electrolytes intake, I didn’t realise but my protien intake was also too much, I have reduced it now. Last time checked my creatinine was 0.6 and perfectly healthy kidney. I am having some back pain and leg pain lately after 16 days in keto. I tried taking electrolytes but that didn’t suit me I felt my heart racing on it, so stopped. I do take lemon once in a day. Please suggest how get electrolytes without …

Night Cramps - Compression, Another Approach

Night muscle cramps, predominantly in the feet, ankles and calves, have been discussed elsewhere primarily in terms of electrolyte balance. Search the forum for ‘night cramps’. I have suffered these cramps for years (I am currently 74 years old), predating my adoption of keto many years. This is not a specifically keto problem, as some seem to think. In the last year or so, I have been experimenting with an electrolyte mixture of sodium, potassium and magnesium in the attempt to get an electrol…

Looking for homemade electrolytes recipes

Here’s my current electrolyte mix: Redmond Real Salt (Sodium + a whole lot of trace elements): 35 grams French’s No Salt (Potassium): 45 grams Generic Epsom Salt (Magnesium): 6 grams I mix the above in a mortar/pestle and grind it to a fine powder so it dissolves faster in water. This makes a 10 day supply. My current daily dose is 8.6 grams. I put 2 grams in my morning liter of keto coffee. I dissolve 4 grams in 500 ml of water which I drink whenever thirsty. And I put the remaining 2.6 gr…

PS: I should mention that currently as an experiment, I no longer take my electrolyte ‘mix’ and haven’t for 3-4 months or so. I add Himalayan pink salt to my food and use it in my water at work. Other than that I don’t supplement. Night cramps remain rare and usually easily stopped when starting. I still sometimes get a cramp in my thighs, primarily the left thigh just above the inner part of the knee, when pulling on my compressions socks in the morning. And I still get an occasional cramp in my right side just below the ribs when stretching. But overall, the cramp issue is about 90% improved.

[Wendy198]

To be clear, I meant that the blood levels are supposed to stay in a narrow range. I totally get that tissue levels can be very affected and lead to the muscle and other symptoms others (and I!) describe.

Thanks as always for the links. I will read through!

[amwassil]

A carb-centric diet, like SAD, is a water-retention diet. Water gets locked up in glucose and glycogen. It also gets locked up in adipose cells where it can’t get out. This is actually not particularly desirable since one of water’s main functions is to flush the cells and blood of waste and deliver it to the kidneys. The kidneys recycle the water soluble good stuff back to the blood stream and pass along the crap to the bladder for elimination. Keto returns things to normal because there are less glucose and glycogen to lock up water and adipose cells can open and release their fat/water contents. That means a lot more water passes through and takes water soluble minerals and other stuff with it. Much of the ‘good stuff’, including some of the electrolyte molecules get recycled back to the blood. But lots just goes right through and out the bladder with the water. That’s the reason on keto we need to make sure we’re getting sufficient water soluble minerals to keep the electrolytes in the normal range. Your body can’t maintain them by magic when they’re not there. Lots of folks just starting keto lose so much electrolytes that they experience all sorts of unpleasant symptoms including, but not limited to: headaches, nausea, aches and pains, lethargy, loss of appetite. The list goes on. Almost invariably these symptoms go away with increasing dietary intake of mineral salts, particularly sodium.

[ctviggen]

PS : I should mention that currently as an experiment, I no longer take my electrolyte ‘mix’ and haven’t for 3-4 months or so. I add Himalayan pink salt to my food and use it in my water at work. Other than that I don’t supplement. Night cramps remain rare and usually easily stopped when starting. I still sometimes get a cramp in my thighs, primarily the left thigh just above the inner part of the knee, when pulling on my compressions socks in the morning. And I still get an occasional cramp in my right side just below the ribs when stretching. But overall, the cramp issue is about 90% improved.

I’ve gone in and out of taking mg, and also leg cramps. I personally find cramps are more prevalent when changing things up (such as jogging when I previously didn’t; taking a week off exercising, then restarting). I’m not convinced that mg actually cures leg cramps, though some swear it does.

For me, Mg does seem to help sleep, if I take it before bed.

One thing I’ve been doing is taking some things sometimes, except for vitamin D, which I take all the time, except when fasting. For instance, I take selenium, zinc, vitamins K1/K2, and the like once or maybe twice a week. I have been taking Mg lately, but also more infrequent than daily.

As for blood, some people believe the body will “leach” minerals out of bones and the like to keep the blood sugar levels the same. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to test whether this is correct or not.

[amwassil]

For instance, I take selenium, zinc…

Thank you, Bob! You reminded me that since about the beginning of March, I’ve been taking a zinc supplement daily along with my cinchona bark tonic. 50mg Zinc Citrate and 25mg Zinc Picolinate. My understanding is that the picolinate is more bioavailable, hence the lower dosage. That could be having an effect on the cramps, or lack thereof!

For anyone who hasn’t seen it @Wendy198 here’s the link to my bitters experiment.

[ctviggen]

When Dr. Cate Shanahan was my doctor, one of the things she recommended taking daily was zinc. I think I’m using zinc orotate right now, as that’s what I have.

I know that chromium picolinate is also supposed to be good. It’s another one of those where I’ve taken it in the past but haven’t taken it in a while.

As for whether any of these are good for cramps, that’s a tough one. I’ve “suddenly” gotten lower morning blood sugars, which could be due to some of the minerals I’m taking. If so, though, I’ll be darned I can tell which. I’ve tried only taking one (say, zinc ororate) one day and seeing what my morning blood sugar is. If there is a pattern, it’s too difficult for me to find.