How much salt do you need on keto?

(Empress of the Unexpected) #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. Iā€™m taking in sn excess of 3 tsp per day while fasting or I get insanely severe headaches. So, just donā€™t 2nd guess your body and if in doubt try more salt unless you are already at insane levels.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #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.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #24

Guess thatā€™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 didnā€™t provide salt shakers. You should have seen the looks on the wait staffsā€™ faces when I pulled out my salt shaker!

(Consensus is Politics) #25

I recently began thinking this was the case. For several months Iā€™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 didnā€™t have any taste at all. Made me think I was burning out those taste buds by overloading them with so much sodium chloride.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #26

Sadly, I canā€™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 (Iā€™m sixty) lose their tastebuds and need to over salt. Maybe true, but I believe Iā€™ve been so used to too much salt from a young age that I canā€™t imagine ANY type of food any other way. Possibly Iā€™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 Addisonā€™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!

(Empress of the Unexpected) #27

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

(Empress of the Unexpected) #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 youā€™re doing fine to me!

I donā€™t feel a need to salt food much anymore taking a measured gram at a time, so I just take some when I know Iā€™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 isnā€™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.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #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, Iā€™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 Iā€™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.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #32

Iā€™m ever so slightly hyperthyroid so I probably donā€™t need it as much. I eat seaweed and shrimp. I used to get iodine from my over-the-top milk consumption.

#33

[Uploading: 3 tsp Salt.jpgā€¦](This is what 3 tsp of salt looks like) Surprised me, now I donā€™t think iā€™ve been using enough