Lite Salt

(Jennibc) #1

Okay, I am reading so much conflicting information about the dangers of Lite Salt because of the potassium content. I went ahead and stopped using it because I grew nervous after reading about the reddit discussion where someone developed hyperkalemia from using two teaspoons a day in their lemon drink - exactly what I was consuming! So lowered it dramatically even though two teaspoons provides only about 50% of the dietary recommendations. Anyhow, my charlie horses and cramps are now back. I have also read on here to not exceed about half a teaspoon. Can anyone provide additional insights? Thanks!

(less is more, more or less) #2

Fascinating, thanks for posting. I love how lite salt has stabilized the same things for me as it has for you.

I’m guessing you’re referring to this post?

If so, the post starts off with what seems right to me:

Edit: So this got pretty big, and I’m glad I’ve been able to make a positive impact for some people. But I want to make a brief clarification here: We are all unique. We all have individual needs. There are some people that have low potassium counts that do benefit from supplementation. Some people (like me) have no need for it. The keys are dietary balance and logic. Talk to your doc if you’re unsure of anything, get the lab work done so that you have hard evidence of any adjustments you might need, and be smart. Overconfidence in my actions led me down this path, but under-utilization can have the same consequences. Don’t come away from this with the belief that Morton Lite Salt or potassium are vile poisons that need to be regulated. They’re tools. Tools can be misused. This is my experience with misusing a tool…

My take away is to use less lite salt, and more NaCL instead, and see how cramps and charlie horses react.

(Carl Keller) #3

I’ve noticed that I get the charlies, usually when I am asleep, when my salt intake for the day is lower than what i usually get. It’s happened 3 times in the last 18 weeks and each time I up’ed my salt the next day and had no further problems.

I’ve read a lot of articles that suggest too much potassium is more harmful than too little so for me, it’s not worth the risk of supplementing.

(Jennibc) #4

So are you suggesting that instead of using the lite salt I use regular salt and that will do the trick?

(Carl Keller) #5

It’s worth trying. You said you stopped using the lite salt so shoot for 2 teaspoons of plain old sodium and see if it makes a difference. I only know for sure that it worked for me. :slight_smile:

Let us know how it goes.

(Allie) #6

I add it to every coffee I drink without any problems.

(Jennibc) #7

How much do you use typically in a day? I haven’t had any heart issues - I wear a fit bit and my resting heart rate stayed between 58-61 while I was taking it. I did have some tingling in my feet but I don’t know if that’s related as I have that sporadically anyway because of degenerative discs that affect my nerve roots.

(Allie) #8

Some days hardly any, other days maybe half a teaspoon.

(Jennibc) #9

Interestingly, I just picked up some pre-op labs from last Friday and my sodium and my potassium were within normal levels. I was still doing the 2 teaspoons of lite salt up to Thursday.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

My understanding is that the mechanisms that regulate sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are all interconnected. The body’s normal rate of excreting sodium gets slowed down when we eat a lot of carbohydrate, partly because carbs increase water retention, and partly from the effect of insulin on the kidneys, and when we cut our carbohydrate intake on a ketogenic diet, the kidneys return to their normal, faster rate of excreting sodium.

Add to that the fact that the U.S. dietary guideline for sodium intake is woefully inadequate even for people eating lots of carbohydrate, and when we go keto, we have to work a bit to keep our sodium up. Fortunately, when we do that, it helps keep our potassium, magnesium, and calcium at good levels, as well. Recent research suggests that the healthiest daily intake of sodium is between 4 and 6 grams, which translates to 10-15 grams of table salt (NaCl). This includes the salt already present in food, as well as added salt.

If you make sure that your salt intake is at the proper level, you might or might not need to continue supplementing the other electrolytes.

(less is more, more or less) #11

Yep, which is what Dr. Westman advised me in my most recent visit.

(Jennibc) #12

Boy am I high maintenance with regard to this, but now that I am doing the salt supplementing I am finding that I am craving salty food! I have been easily able to control my eating for a long time now, but since I started doing the salt supplement, I feel like I am out of control with salty foods. Case in point, I started getting a snack called Moon Cheese at Costco (freeze dried cheddar cheese) several months back and I could make the entire bag last more than a week. But I have gone through two bags in a week! Has anyone else noticed that the extra salt triggers binge like behavior?

(Brian) #13

I use a little of the LiteSalt but not nearly as much as some are suggesting. I use it to enhance my coffee. I don’t measure but put a generous “shaking” onto the top of my coffee grounds in the Mr. Coffee before brewing. I like the flavor of it plus it gives me just a little extra potassium. For an entire pot of coffee, I would guess it’s probably something like 1/8 of a teaspoon and we usually have a pot both morning and evening most days. (Two of us, mostly, pretty well evenly divided.) I know that’s a pretty small amount compared to what some people do but it’s “normal” for us.

For other salt needs, general cooking, that kind of thing, we tend to use just regular salt, often Real Salt, and I’m not exactly sure what all that may have in it besides just the sodium and chloride, I’m guessing quite a number of other things more likely in trace amounts.

Just sharing…