Salt in general and for newbies

(Marianne) #1

I am into day 6 now and so far, so good. Loving the food (!) and eating two meals a day. I drink at least 64 oz. of water a day. Like a lot of people have suggested, I have been vigorously salting my food to avoid keto flu and cramps and take a multivitamin (most days). Do you think so much salt has an impact on blood pressure? I have HBP and am somewhat concerned about that. When you get keto adjusted (how do you know when that has happened?), can you lighten up on the salt? Thank you.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #2

The old notion that salt causes high blood pressure is as faulty as the old low-fat advice was. Salt, potassium and magnesium are all tied together metabolically. I have been using increased salt for months now and my blood pressure stays stable in a healthy range. Our bodies need that sodium and the chlorine doesn’t hurt either, it’s a building block for hydrochloric acid (stomach acid).

(Carl Keller) #3

Here’s a really good article about salt that might reassure you:

(Marianne) #4

Interesting; I read the article. Do you take an electrolytes supplement like the author mentioned?

(Alex) #5

salt can only cause issues in conjunction with a high carbohydrate diet. you do not need to worry about over-consuming it while eating ketogenically. rather, a viable fear would be getting too little of it while following a low carb diet. if you type ‘keto aid’ into the search bar, you’ll find drink recipes which a lot of people on this forum consume regularly to assist in supplementing sodium, potassium and magnesium, which most of us consider the top electrolyte priorities while eating this way

(Carl Keller) #6

I do not take supplements but I won’t say they can’t help. I believe that proper sodium levels is key to regulating all the electrolytes. If you get that one right, the rest are more likely be in balance by eating a variety of nutritious foods.