Fast heart rate!

#1

Hi guys, I am on my 5th day of doing Keto, and I have to say the results I’m seeing already are really good. I have a severe case of M.E./CFS, and decided enough is enough, I need to try this Keto that everyone keeps banging on about.

I’ve noticed a reduction in a few symptoms and I’m feeling optimistic. Yesterday I was out with my mother for around 5 hours when normally I am out for 2 hours max!! However, a little symptom is worrying me since starting Keto, and that is a fast heart rate. (It beats even faster when standing).

I’ve seen conflicting advice regarding potassium, so I don’t want to jump in and supplement, but I know I don’t eat the amount of veg that maybe I’m supposed to. I eat a handful of raw spinach twice daily, and then probably get potassium from my meat (bacon, pork chops, steal & beef burgers).

I’ve worked out that I probably consume around 2,000mg of potassium in food daily, although that’s not certain. So my question is, do I need to supplement more? Or is 2,000mg enough?

(I am a male weighing 17st 10lbs and live a sedentary life).

Cheers.

#2

Welcome Joe,

You need to make sure you drink loads of water and put a lot of salt on your food.

With keto we pee out more water and it takes the salt with it. Sodium isn’t stored anywhere so we need a daily top up.

If you don’t have enough you heart rate can go up massively.

But it is easily fixed. Make sure the water and sodium are right first, then we’ll see about the potassium

(Dawn Michelle) #3

Same exact thing happened to me in the beginning. I could not do my normal meditation practice because my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my body. I couldn’t sleep because of my pounding heart. It was scary.

For me it was the salt. I needed more. I bought pink Himalayan salt capsules on Amazon.

Pink Himalayan Salt Capsules 90 Caps (850 mg) Blood / Heart Support Energy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S06771Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Y-ayCb43S1ZTB

Each one has about 1/4 tsp. I take 1 to 4 per day depending on my exercise schedule for the day. It has helped dramatically.

Drinking more water also helps. Dr. James DiNicolantino has some great articles and books about this. The Salt Fix is particularly good.

#4

Sorry, I forgot to mention I’m drinking 3ltr of water daily and consuming around 5,000mg of sodium daily. Surely that’s enough?

Thanks for the replies guys.

#5

5000-6000 mg sodium is the target and 3L should be plenty H2O, unless you’re working out / physically very active. So maybe you do need potassium / magnesium. That is not unheard of.

Of course if you are on any Thyroid meds that will be a factor. Keto can still work just need to be more careful and get more measurements and lab work.

Hmm, sorry I can’t be more precise, the water and salt are usually the reason, hopefully you’ll track this down.

#6

It could be my autonomic nervous system altering or something like that. I know the sympathetic nervous system controls heart rate. It could be potassium also. I’ll speak to my doctor.

(Carl Keller) #7

Too much potassium, especially when not in the form of food, can be harmful. Just understand that our bodies are very proficient in regulating things like potassium, magnesium and calcium (to name a few), IF we get it enough sodium.

In some extended fasting studies it’s been noted that potassium levels did not fall below normal levels, even without supplements.

#8

I think I’ve made a mistake. I’m counting salt intake in food and classing it as sodium. For example, 2.5g of salt in 2 slices of bacon doesn’t equivalent to 2.5g of sodium does it? :man_facepalming:t2:

#9

Great to see honesty. I made a ton of mistakes too, especially early on …

That is correct 2.5g of salt is not 2.5g sodium.

As @CarlKeller said the body is good at regulating potassium, calcium etcetera IF we have enough sodium.

Are you using a good app to help you count everything up? A lot of cronometer fans, there’s a free and paid version, runs in a browser or phone app. I prefer it via a browser …

If we nail the 20g carbs and sodium/water levels we should be good to go.

#10

How much magnesium are you taking daily? Most people are already deficient in magnesium before keto, and once on a low carb diet, it gets worse. Look it up and see what the symptoms are of not enough magnesium. Too little is serious.

I had a couple of weeks where my blood pressure and heart rate would spike really high. I was already getting enough sodium and potassium, but realized I was taking magnesium oxide which barely absorbs out into the blood stream. I changed to magnesium bisglycinate and my problems went away.

Do your own research on electrolytes like potassium and magnesium on keto. (I always feel more confident when I’ve searched things myself.) Unless your kidneys aren’t working, you aren’t likely to overdose on magnesium. I’ve read the same about potassium, but just to be safe I don’t consume more than 3500 mg of potassium through food and supplements daily - usually around 3000 mg. I find I get lots of potassium through pork or salmon, or avocados and other vegetables.

It is very hard to get enough magnesium through food, so I supplement daily bringing my consumption up to between 500 and 600 daily, spreading it out throughout the day. I usually only take 300 - 400 mg as a supplement throughout the day. The rest comes from food.

Dr. Carolyn Deal is selling products, but I find her informative so I’ve added a link. https://drcarolyndean.com/2015/02/magnesium-the-ultimate-guide/

If electrolyte supplements don’t help, see a doctor.

#11

Thank you! I suppose it’s part of learning. I use the My Fitness Pal, but I’m trying to use less as possible so I can become more ‘in tune’ with my body rather than working from statistics. However, it is very useful!

The calculation I’ve come up with based on my daily calories, is around 1,400mg of potassium, but that can’t be certain as trying to find the correct amount of potassium in my food is really hard, so I have to go off what google says.

I’m hitting dead on 20g’s of carbs a day but that’s without 2 bowls of raw spinach. Today’s macros are 77% fat to 21% protein and 2% carbs.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

Sodium is 40% of the NaCl molecule by weight, so 2.5 g NaCl = 2.5 x 0.4 = 1 g Na.

(Edith) #13

So, to get 5 grams of sodium you need almost three teaspoons of Himalayan salt per day (pure white salt only about 2 teaspoons), via salting your food, making some keto-aid, drinking bouillon tea, or salted broth.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

My understanding is that salt present in food counts, as well.

(Edith) #15

Yes, agreed. But, if one is eating mostly non processed foods, I would imagine the natural sodium content is pretty low, unless it is seafood?

(JohnnyD) #16

I’ve experienced a “rapid thready” heart beat while doing IF and standing quickly. The solution for me was a teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt in warm water several times a day. I think you said you were getting 3000-5000 units of K a day, your problem may be something else. How fast are you losing weight?

#17

I’m not getting that amount of potassium daily. I’m getting around 1,500 (estimate) mostly from meat. I’ve ordered potassium citrate and will take 800mg daily of supplementing. I won’t go too much because I’ve read about the dangers.

#18

No seafood here. My sodium comes from pork, so yes, all foods are non processed and are low in sodium.

(Edith) #19

I’ve been keto for about 20 months. I’ve recently started adding 900 mg of potassium a day to my diet using No Salt. It has helped a lot with my heart rate.

#20

That’s given me the confidence to he a potassium supplement, as I’ve seen a lot of negative comments, if you like regarding potassium supplements. I’m totally aware large quantities can cause damage. Then again, so can any supplement, right?

How are you finding your general well-being since getting optimum potassium?