Sodium - Need increased then slightly decreased

#1

When I started keto, I needed to supplement sodium and magnesium (with calcium). It seemed like I was increasing the amounts daily as I was underestimating my needs. It took me a about a month to get it dialed in. I leveled off at just over 5g sodium and 1.5g magnesium daily. Lately, though, I have noticed that I can drop those levels a bit for a few days and not suffer any ill effects. That was NOT the case in the first couple months, but is the case now that I am six months in. Has anyone else noticed a reduction in dietary sodium or magnesium requirements after the initial increases?

#2

I had a similar experience. While I do try to keep up on my sodium/ketoaide, getting a little behind these days doesn’t have the same effects it once did. I chalked it up to homeostasis. That and I eat a shitload of olives which I find far more enjoyable than salt on the tongue.

#3

I used a lot of salt when I first started to avoid “keto-flu”. I felt fine, but I coincidentally had a Dr. appointment at the time and my BP was higher than usual.

I’m in the process of trying to figure out the whole salt/hypertension thing; but I did stop supplementing salt after that ( was about 8 weeks of low carb) and I have been doing fine.

I think about salt, bone broth, etc- maybe I would feel even better; if I was using; but I’m still kind of nervous about BP.

I haven’t been exercising- so maybe that is in my favor, right now.

What “ill effects” are you getting/noticing- Typical keto-flu? cramps? Is it all the time or just with activity?

Thanks.

#4

I exercise a lot. In my first few weeks of keto, I was getting leg cramps at night (which I never had in my life) that I attributed to a lack of magnesium, and I was feeling some malaise and lethargy that I attributed to a lack of sodium. I had been pill and powder free for 12 years before keto, so I was reluctant to supplement. However, upping my salt intake and adding a multivitamin and cal-mag pills sorted me out promptly. Now, if I occasionally skip my bone broth (which contains about about half my salt daily) and some cal-mag pills, it does not seem to bother me.

#5

Ok. Thanks. Good to know.

(Marla) #6

V1ncentt… Is the salt you’ve added to your diet sea salt or regular table salt? I hope this doesn’t sound like a “don’t insult my intelligence” question. If you’re still needing to add salt but concerned about your BP, you might try transitioning to a quality celtic sea salt and see if that helps on both fronts.

(Alison) #7

Same experience here, had to supplement sodium pretty heavily around the 1-2 month point, thereafter the need to supplement fell off quite a bit. Still take the magnesium & multivitamin daily though.

#8

Not insulted. I missed the benefit of sea salt vs regular salt.

(Marla) #9

I’m a big fan of San Franciso Salt Company’s French Grey for everyday cooking and their lemon rosemary sea salt is OMG-Delicious on salads and lots of other things. There is no iodine in celtic sea salt but there are TONS of trace minerals. Just a suggestion!

#10

I use Redmond Real Salt. However, is the phenomenon of requiring less sodium after a while a true phenomenon in the experience of others?

#11

Lol! ok- thanks. I wasn’t aware of all these different kinds of salt. I’ll have to check into it.

(Marla) #12

I don’t think I’m consuming less salt. I used to have very little salt or sodium in my diet following traditional Western dietary recommendations. When I “turned keto,” the amount of salt I had to add to my diet seemed CRAZY and felt like a big adjustment. But now I just add it to everything without thinking about it or measuring. I don’t think I’m actually consuming less salt/sodium but I think it just doesn’t feel like a big deal anymore. I used to HAVE to drink bone broth or bouillon every afternoon but now I add quality salt to almost every meal and I do have at least one glass of water every day with a tiny pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. That’s a lot less sodium than bouillon or bone broth but I think I’m making up for it with a more balanced addition of salt in other ways.

As far as magnesium goes, it is a biological fact that once you reach an optimum storage level in your body and then continue to maintain the levels, you’re good. Many of us come to keto already magnesium deprived and eliminating processed pasta and cereals also eliminates our magnesium supplements. But when we switch to whole foods, we start getting enough dietary magnesium. And usually 30 days of supplementation is adequate to give you that baseline storage level of magensium. So, yes, if you’re doing well with a whole foods diet with lots of dietary magnesium and you restored your “baseline” with supplementation in the beginning it definitely makes sense that you’re not needing to supplement magnesium anymore. (And, yes, this happened to me too and I wondered why which is how I got to this information! haha!)

#13

Another thing I noticed is my need/want for water decreased some after a few months on keto. At one point I was at 1.5-2 gallons of water a day I’d bet. That much water wasn’t helping my electrolyte situation at all. Once the thirst subsided some it seems like everything else calmed down also. Remember: where water goes salt follows. Also, salt and potassium have a correlation. To me the unscientific takeaway to the electrolyte/water balance question is: if one or more reach extreme highs/lows the others will in turn be affected. In my case, once I calmed down with the water consumption things got better. From there I made small tweaks but mostly just drank a ketoade or two when I felt crappy.