Importance of Potassium, Sodium, Magnesium on keto?

(Harold Tavarez) #1

What do these do for us while we are on keto? Does it help with hunger? Energy? Mental Clarity??

How much do we take a day???

I’ve been using cream of tarter for potassium. Thanks for advice

Newbie to keto and wanted to share my experience for advice
(Chris W) #2

The Holy Trinty I like to call them.
Salt without question is the most important thing you need, if you lived a typical SAD or western Diet you had way to much going in. Depending upon exactly what you eat you will probably be on the negative side for RDA pretty quickly(within a couple days). As you progress you will need to salt everything, and maybe even add some more. Salt for me has taken the place of sugar, if I am tired during the day I take salt. 1-2 teaspoons a day is pretty common if you don’t get enough in food, my main source is bacon. Most people here eat sea salt or pink salt, table salt often has fillers that are not keto in them. You should spread it out through out the day not take it all at once, it is only stored in the blood and your kidneys regulate it. Salt does a whole bunch of things internally, lets just say its really really important. Biggest signs you are low is you are tired once you have started to produce ketones, and low blood pressure.

Potassium is stored in the cells, and for the most part can be had naturally if you eat balanced. If you have a lot of fat then you probably don’t need to worry about this for a while, between stored and natural intake you should be fine. 3500mcg is RDA according to my health coach, she is pretty big on keto and does it herself. You can add it up in the foods you eat pretty easy. Potassium is regulated by salt intake so you need to make sure you are getting enough salt. Also too much potassium or too little potassium can be dangerous and cause heart issues. It also regulates a number of things but mainly the heart.

Magnesium is also stored in the cells, a lot of people are deficient in this, but it also can be had naturally if eating balanced. It controls a whole bunch of internal enzmes something on the order of 300. If you experience cramps typically that is a sign of being magnesium deficient. If can also reduce anxiety, cause headaches, constipation and sleep issues. About 400 milligrams a day is recommended by my health coach.

Personal opinion and the varies widely here is that you should not take any supplements of the later two unless you need them as they can cause more trouble if you over do them. Spinach is high in both so I recommend you eat that regularly.

#3

Then is drinking (mineral) water useful? You see, there are quite lots of mineral in the water.

(Chris W) #4

I would have to say I don’t know since that is a vague description. But possibly.

I have high magnesium in my water, but not enough to supplement.

#5

Salt is something I like for the flavour of food, but adding more or less has never made a blind bit of difference to me. I see people on forums saying ‘more salt! More salt!’ And I just shrug, because we are all different, and too much salt just makes me thirsty, uncomfortable and retain water.

Magnesium is something that is often deficient in ‘the modern diet’. I take it. And I think I feel better for it. But it is very difficult to quantify.

Potassium is the important one for me. I supplement bigger doses than other people (who are often v cautious even though over supplementing would be difficult since each tablet only gives 1/5th of the daily requirement). Some medication can be ‘potassium sparing’ so if on those meds, it is worth being cautious.

Without daily potassium supplements I get trembly legs, horrendous night cramps in foot and calf, and a vicious sore throat every morning.

We really ARE all different.

#6

Eating a ketogenic diet, when done properly, lowers insulin. Reduced insulin results in electrolyte losses from the kidneys into the urine. important electrolytes are sodium, magnesium and potassium, as mentioned. Other effects of the ketogenic diet, such as liver and muscle glycogen depletion, also result in body water loss, which results in electrolyte loss.

Add in the urge to exercise side effect of ketogenic eating, and the tendency for newbies to still think a low salt diet is ‘healthy’, then there is the risk of further magnesium loss through sweat as the body seeks to retain sodium.

From observed fasting experiences, a salt craving can be misunderstood as a hunger craving. So for a newbie, who is just learning to recognise the spectrum of hunger feelings and the subtleties of cravings, they may eat food, and risk eating too many carbs, in response to a need for a micronutrient like salt.

Muscle cramping is a common, early signal that body electrolytes are out of balance on keto. Ignoring signals over the long term can lead to more serious consequences of electrolyte deficiencies over the long term, such as heart problems atrial fibrillation.

It is a good idea to add a diverse mineral salt source (e.g. pink salt or Redmond salt). Magnesium citrate at about 300mg per day is beneficial. Read the label.

As mentioned above, and in scientific literature, modern diets and agricultural practices have resulted in 70 to 80% of the population being magnesium deficient. And that is even before seeking to improve health with a ketogenic diet that may exacerbate that electrolyte deficient state.

#7

This is a good podcast from the collection to listen to about salt.

(Jo) #8

@In2steam Great post. Just one addition. I just found out that I have to be careful with potassium supplementation because I am on Lisinopril, a blood pressure med. I have been doing KETO for 2 weeks.

Here’s what happened recently I had a long hike on Saturday when it was in the upper 70s, and it was a rigorous effort so I was covered in sweat. I forgot to take water so I was very thirsty. I drank almost 32 oz of electrolyte water within 20 minutes and about 2 hours later my blood pressure dropped some 40 points, both numbers. I felt dizzy and disoriented and had to lie down. Never happened to me before. I suspect the electrolyte water in combination with my meds and dehydration.

I am thinking of doing a more controlled experiment next weekend to see if I can use the electrolyte water to get off my BP meds.

(Chris W) #9

I had BP drop within the first few weeks without meds, and I was already normal BP. Lack of salt in general can be as much a problem with BP as potassium from my understanding. lacking in salt will also cause your body to strip away potassium as well.

I was instructed to up my salt intake by about 50%. My BP is still fairly low but I don’t feel dizzy anymore, and it made me more energetic. If you or anyone else is on BP meds talk to your doctor before and during starting Keto. Really any meds for that matter.

(Jo) #10

@in2steam Thanks for sharing. I have not seen a BP drop, only that one sudden one, which subsided in about 30 minutes and it was back up to my upper normal levels again. I hope that eventually the diet will kick in and I will be able to get off medication.

(Shelley) #11

Thanks for posting this. I get plenty of salt and magnesium, but after experiencing those “horrendous” leg cramps (I thought I was going to have to call 911!) I tried adding potassium, so far no cramps:)