Salt reactions

#1

Hi, I am 3 weeks into keto WOE today, so far I have not focused on salt intake, but last night after getting muscle spasms in odd places for me (above side of ankle in my legs), I thought I had better purposefully have some. Well, I consumed maybe a total of 1/2 teaspoon on food. This morning my weight had fluctuated up 2lbs and my hands were very puffy for the first time since beginning keto. My question is, with my body reacting this way to the salt, should I not seek out additional salt? Am I getting too much salt if I am retaining water and puffing up? Appreciate anyone’s input or experience on this.:thinking:

(Dawn Michelle) #2

Muscle spasms could also be related to magnesium. Most people are deficient. I take 800 mg of magnesium citrate daily. That’s a ton and could cause diarrhea, so start slowly.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #3

@BeStill

I agree with what Dawn says about magnesium. You can safely get your mag up buy taking a hot bath with 2 or more lbs of UNSCENTED epson salts in the water. That should help you know quickly if this is your problem.

I take mag supplements daily unless I am fasting (the ones I have have junk in them I don’t want during a fast). Then the day after a longer fast (2+ days) I soak in epson salts bath. Today I will do that after completing a 3 day fast yesterday.

I have a friend that went keto 8 weeks ago and had twitching and pain in his lower legs and took mag supplements and it went away within the day.

(Bunny) #4

I would definitely check with your doctor about your reactions and symptoms?

Sodium, potassium and magnesium levels are adequate?

Here are some possibilities to be aware of also:

[1] What is it called when you drink too much water?

When it’s hot outside or you’re exercising, drink lots of water. … In rare cases, drinking an extreme amount in a short time can be dangerous. It can cause the level of salt, or sodium, in your blood to drop too low. That’s a condition called hyponatremia. It’s very serious, and can be fatal. …Drinking water too fast can cause intoxicating

[2] How do you know if you drink too much water?

Too much water, too little salt. Hyponatremia is caused by drinking too much water or sports drinks, which dilutes blood salt levels below the normal range. … Brain swelling from hyponatremia can cause headaches and vomiting, while muscle cell swelling can trigger whole-body muscle cramping. …More

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

I have read that more salt, not less, prevents bloating, but I’m not sure I understand that.

What I do know, however, is that several studies that came out a few years ago have consistently shown that we are healthiest consuming sodium at the level of 4-6 grams daily, which translates to 10-15 grams of table salt (sodium chloride) a day, including salt already present in food. And because the body uses some of the same mechanisms to regulate sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, if salt intake is correct the others tend to be properly regulated as well. Also, don’t force fluids, but do drink to thirst.

Good luck figuring everything out.

#6

Thank you, I do have a big thing of Be Calm Magnesium, I started with 1/4 tspn, probably need to up that though, when I took it a few nights ago I felt immediate relief from the restless leg sensations I was having, but within a couple hours the sensations returned.

#7

Thank you, I will definitely try the epsom salt in a bath!

#8

Appreciate this, thank you, I had not heard that information before about sports drinks being included and although I have been drinking some electrolyte stuff like Mio Sport, I didn’t consider it having the same effect as water.

#9

Thank you, I think maybe I should add (at least for a little while) something to track my sodium along with my macro tracking, right now I really couldn’t make an educated guess of what I am consuming daily.

(Carl Keller) #10

I had cramping in my legs wake me up a few times at night and increasing my sodium the next day seemed to fix the problem. I won’t say magnesium won’t help but cramping correlated to low sodium for me.

Too much sodium can cause bloating because it can mess with your kidneys’ ability to pull water out, since it now needs to stay in the blood to dilute sodium. While 1/2 a teaspoon is not that much over the course of a day, it might be too much at once. Try for two+ teaspoons over a 24 hour period.

Edit: forgot to furnish the link to what I was quoting and I don’t agree with the amounts this article suggests as healthy. This link is purely to reference the bloating issue:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #11

Don’t forget, however, that the kidneys excrete sodium at a faster rate in the absence of dietary carbohydrate. Sodium is very tightly regulated, and the kidneys are quite capable of getting rid of any excess.

(Carl Keller) #12

Agreed, but we can’t ignore the water retention and spreading out the sodium over the course of a day is a very easy and low risk way to address the bloating. I’m not suggesting less sodium… I’m suggesting more but not all at once. :slight_smile:

(Jon) #13

Go and get your blood checked asap.

There are many reasons for edema and in your case most likely electrolyte imbalance.

I take 400mg Mg 600mg Ca + the usual stuff of supplements. My magnesium was on the low side and was troubled with camps, nothing after starting supplements

#14

Thank you for the suggestion, your probably spot on, I will definitely spread it out going forward :relaxed:

#15

Thank you, I have gotten a lot of relief with the supplements :blush: