How much salt do you need on keto?

(Regina) #13

This forum is all about self-discovery. And I am discovering stuff about myself. Like my salt addiction.

(Regina) #14

And as I’m texting, I’m snacking on salt.

(Take time to stop and eat the bacon) #15

You are obviously the salt of the earth! :grinning: :rofl:

(Regina) #16

love your responses. But @Dipper_Actual talks about side effects of salt and water. Pre keto I was crazy enough to do three lemons with salt. And sometimes didn’t feel great. Sorry, TMI, but today, my body rebelled. I just want guidance to get on an even keel. Spending two hours in the bathroom is a (literal) pain in the butt.

(Bob Johnson) #17

It could be that your body is telling you it needs something. And that something might usually be acquainted with salt. But doesn’t mean it is salt it wants, just the other thing, but you usually get it along with the salt.

In all seriousness, you should get some lab work done. You don’t need to see your doctor for this. You could find a lab to do it yourself. I’d advise to just ask your doctor to do it though. It’s always a good idea to keep them in the loop.

(Regina) #18

I get what you’re saying but I’ve had this issue my entire life. When I switched to sea salt a few years ago I think I started using even more because I loved the flavor. Had lab work done last year and am due again in a couple of months. What test in particular are you thinking of? Cause yeah, if there is nothing drastically wrong with me, willpower will have to come into play. Two and a half teaspoons is usually what I use in one meal alone! And I wonder why I blow up like a blowfish and get a lot of stomachaches.

(Regina) #19

Pre Keto I couldn’t even eat toast without salting it!

(CharleyD) #20

Dr DiNicolantonio in the Salt Fix lays out that the nutritionists were all wrong about salt being addictive. Yes, salt will taste really good but that is when you’re actually in need of it. Once you achieve salt balance in your body then the taste for salt goes away. (Contrasting to how the sweetness of sugar really doesn’t go away. Second Stomach anyone?)

The Summer in Alabama is always like walking into an oven almost no matter the time of day but never have I been able to pretty much shrug off the heat like this.

I just do normal salt tablets between 4-10 grams per day, higher when exerting in the heat as you’d imagine:

(Regina) #21

I am going to measure out two teaspoons per day and see if I feel better. At least I will have a handle on how much salt I am eating.

(Jason Christianson) #22

As much as your body wants and probably more than you think. I’m taking in sn excess of 3 tsp per day while fasting or I get insanely severe headaches. So, just don’t 2nd guess your body and if in doubt try more salt unless you are already at insane levels.

(Regina) #23

I was up to around eight teaspoons a day and getting horrible stomachaches. I was way over three teaspoons pre Keto. I think I used the Keto warnings to eat more salt as an excuse to go wild. I need to use two as a starting point just to see if I feel better.

(Regina) #24

Guess that’s why I never got Keto flu. I think I was way higher than five. And in such a socially unacceptable way! We used to go to a nice Chinese restaurant that didn’t provide salt shakers. You should have seen the looks on the wait staffs’ faces when I pulled out my salt shaker!

(Bob Johnson) #25

I recently began thinking this was the case. For several months I’ve been taking a xtra salt before bed to stave of night cramps. Sometimes in water, sometimes just pour half tsp in my hand and toss it in my mouth and let is dissolve. The past few weeks I have noticed that sometimes it didn’t have any taste at all. Made me think I was burning out those taste buds by overloading them with so much sodium chloride.

(Regina) #26

Sadly, I can’t agree. Maybe not an addiction, but in my reading I have come across the fact that the craving for salt can be genetic. My grandmother used to say that my dad would use half a salt shaker as a kid. Me - I would sit out in the backyard at ten years of age with a whole onion, salting away. I never really had a sweet tooth. They say older people (I’m sixty) lose their tastebuds and need to over salt. Maybe true, but I believe I’ve been so used to too much salt from a young age that I can’t imagine ANY type of food any other way. Possibly I’ve burned out my tastebuds. I also disagree that cravings indicate lack of balance. For me, food is simply a salt delivery system. Oh, the number of cooks I have offended. :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Also, I am assuming it is not a sign of Addison’s disease, since the craving has been with me forever. I am just going to go with two teaspoons a day. That is keto friendly, and way less than I have been ingesting. As I have mentioned, I view keto as a form of self-discovery. I have energy and am close to my target weight, but there are so many things about my body I am discovering!

(Regina) #27

Oh, sorry, agree with the burning out of the tastebuds concept.

(Regina) #28

Sorry, let me explain. By burning out my tastebuds I mean it takes increasing amounts of salt to satisfy.

(CharleyD) #29

Negative, it sounds like you’re doing fine to me!

I don’t feel a need to salt food much anymore taking a measured gram at a time, so I just take some when I know I’ll sweat, and take a base level weekly.

In the book, I was most intrigued with the improvement to insulin sensitivity gained by proper levels of sodium.

And in the real world, as a practical matter, the purely subjective feeling that the heat just isn’t that bad, almost like an immunity to feeling zapped by the sun is phenomenal.

I used to hate laying out to get a tan. Now I genuinely enjoy it. Even in the worst heat of the day.

(Regina) #30

Thank you. I am eager to buy the book. Two teaspoons plus bacon today and no side effects. It is possible that some people (like me) really over do salt. Yeah, I’m living proof. My only question. Four years ago I switched to sea salt. Fills a way bigger teaspoon than regular salt. Are we talking about two teaspoons of table salt or sea salt. And should I do table salt for the iodine?

(CharleyD) #31

It is hard to say which is better for you at the moment. Do you have any thyroid problems? Do you eat cold water fish often? I get a big sashimi plate and some raw tuna/salmon sushi rolls every week so I’m not concerned with supplementing my iodine intake. If you are, then by all means include iodized table salt in your diet.

I believe the book ranks Celtic grey sea salt as the best, with Himalayan pink in the middle, with regular sea salt lowest due to contaminants.

My tablets are strictly sodium chloride, 1 gram, and mainly for performance.

(Regina) #32

I’m ever so slightly hyperthyroid so I probably don’t need it as much. I eat seaweed and shrimp. I used to get iodine from my over-the-top milk consumption.