Question about beta blockers and electrolytes

(PJD) #1

Hey All,

New to the community. I’ve been on keto + IF for almost 20 months and have maintained my 30 lb weight loss, 193 to 165. I feel fine but as always have to learn new things as I go along. So one question I have is using supplements to address electrolyte loss. Now for the most part I’m fine at home but I’m going on a 3 week RV trip on May 8th and I know I’m not going to do what I normally do. For one, I won’t be able to perfectly cook everything I normally eat in my 2 meals. Having a bathroom available will help me drink my fluids but I really will have issues with maintaining the balance of macros and nutrients.

So now I take a potassium and magnesium supplement to correct increase in HBP. I’m taking Atenolol - 100mg to address HBP and palpitations. So I order a powder from Dr. Berg that has 1,000 mg Potassium. That’s far higher than my normal supplement of 90 mg. I intend on starting half a dose of his powder in double the water and drink that 24 ounces once daily. I normally eat 6 ounces of salmon daily with green veggies (2 cups) and an avocado, but I tend to fast really hard on travel. I’m one of the few who tends to lose weight when traveling. I just don’t have the appetite.

So my question - should I refrain from taking extra Potassium on this trip since I’ve read that Atenolol ‘may’ increase Potassium levels in the blood?

#2

Shouldn’t need to, RDA is over 3x that, and Pot also needs to balance with Sodium, you’re most likely taking in more sodium than normal which gives you some more wiggle room. When your body doesn’t like your potassium intake, it let’s you know! Starting off a little under full dose is the right move in your situation.

On the HBP though, is your sodium intake really high?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #3

Just be careful not to overdo the potassium. Hyperkalaemia can be just as deadly as hypokalaemia.

(PJD) #4

So I did have HBP on some nights and couldn’t figure out why since I’m eating just 2 times a day and it’s usually clean Keto. About the ‘dirtiest’ I go is using SOLA bread that appears to work better than even some of the bread I bake. I found that psyllium husk gives me massive bloating and many of the YT recipes use it. But SOLA doesn’t impact me at all. If I do use it, it’s for making 2 eggs, 3 bacon sandwiches. The rest of the time it’s grass fed, grass finished beef and a veggie like broccoli or a salad.

I do have a nutritionist who told me to increase salt because being on Keto and IF depletes your sodium pretty hard and low sodium will increase palpitations and HBP. Once I did that (pink Himalayan salt), I haven’t had any palpitations or HBP at night except on occasion that magnesium and/or potassium was low (I forgot to take my supplement). I think mostly the issue was low sodium because that’s the 1st thing anyone does on Keto, remove the salt to lower HBP.

(PJD) #5

That’s why I’m going to take half the dose Dr. Berg recommends. I may even go down to a 1/4th to be sure. A 4th will add just 250mg potassium which shouldn’t be any worse than the 90 mg I’m taking now. The only thing I don’t know is if Atenolol is increasing my blood potassium and if so, how much.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

Actually, a couple of recent studies have shown that the healthiest sodium intake is between 4 and 6 grams a day, which is 10-15 grams of table salt (sodium chloride). The same is true, whether people have hypertension or not. It’s even true for salt-sensitive hypertension, the only difference being that the risk curve outside of the sweet spot is steeper for salt-sensitive hypertensives than it is for everyone else (most cases of high blood pressure are not salt-sensitive, by the way).

I increased my salt intake when I embarked on a ketogenic diet (because the kidneys more readily excrete sodium when insulin drops to ketogenic levels) and found that my blood pressure dropped from something like 140/90 to 112/70. So the higher salt intake obviously did not interfere with the lowering of blood pressure that a ketogenic diet is known for.