Sodium question

(Rob Kiefer) #1

I have been on a very strick LCHF program for almost a year. My question is I am sensitive to salt. In the past I have gone pretty heavy on all sorts of different salts. If I supplement with magnesium potassium zinc as well as a good multivitamin/ mineral and B complex would I get anyside effects from lowering my salt intake?

#2

What do you mean by sensitive to salt? Fluid retention? If so, keto would have the opposite effect.

Carbs cause the body to retain sodium, so dropping/eliminating them will allow the sodium to get excreted very, very regularly to the point that I would expect severe cramps and constipation if not drastically increased.

(Rob Kiefer) #3

I retain a bit of fluid if I have to much salt. Are you saying if I limit my salt intake I will have constipation?

(Cheryl Meyers) #4

The bigger danger I think would be the cramping of muscles. Your heart is a muscle too, and a cramp there is not a good thing… Recommended intake for keto dieters is around 5 grams (5,000 mg) daily. And drink lots of water to help move it around and out. KC and pee on… :wink:

edit: just saw this on another forum http://www.humansaltlick.com/

(Mike W.) #5

I do. It’s awful. Need lots of water too.

#6

I think the fluid retention was mostly from carbohydrates and only exacerbated by salt, so the real problem was the carbohydrates which are strictly limited in keto.

Yes, Dr. Stephen Phinney describes the process in one of his YouTube videos, but basically when sodium is low, the body doesn’t properly hydrate the large intestine and stools become very hard leading to constipation.

@MiKetoAF had seen this and I’ve seen it in myself as well.

At one point, since I wasn’t having cramps, I thought the problem was insufficient magnesium, but I found that increasing sodium had a far greater effect than just increasing magnesium, so I’ve been able to drastically reduce magnesium.

I’d also point out that the most commercially available salt contains dextrose, which is a sugar, as well as other things such as anti-caking agents, and switching to a high-quality sea salt usually doesn’t have those, so I’d suggest switching to a good sea salt.

I buy Pink Celtic Sea Salt in the 5 pound bag and it lasts quite a while for me and far less expensive in bulk than buying the small containers.

https://smile.amazon.com/Celtic-Sea-Salt-Pink-Pound/dp/B01FCFDCXY?th=1

(Mike W.) #7

I’ve really noticed it lately when I started eating one meal a day. I still need to eat more salt

(Michael Wallace Ellwood) #8

I don’t particularly enjoy the result when I add salt to what I’m eating (and I only use good sea salt), especially if I accidentally over-salt it. But I’ve found that a fairly enjoyable way of getting extra salt / sodium is adding (sea-)salt to water and apple-cider-vinegar. I usually drink it slightly warmed (to help to dissolve the salt), although in hot weather, drinking it cold might be more refreshing. Anyway, for some reason, the taste combination is quite nice to me, and helps me get down more salt than I would just adding it to food or plain water. And the ACV is supposed to have various benefits.

(Jennifer) #9

I love those! How fun - I wonder if anyone would even notice, thinking it was just a necklace.

(Mike W.) #10

$42 for some salt on a rope…

(Jennifer) #11

I’m not saying I’d buy it. lol…

(What The Fast?!) #12

Hi there!! I did NOT realize that low salt caused constipation but I am, like. VERY excited to hear that hoping my salt could potentially help this major problem I’m dealing with!!! I have salt tablets to make things a bit easier than constantly drinking salted water. Each pill says it has 1g

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How many of these bad boys should I take a day??

I’m experiencing some headaches, consistent constipation, and leg cramps at night.

@billjay ? Any other salt experts?? @carl maybe the guest on last week’s show gave a specific number and I missed it?

(Dean) #13

I really upped my salt intake minimum of 5g per day, I’ve been keto for about 2 years and was having lightheaded and heart palpitations for 3 months, I use chicken broth and Redmond real sea salt, I feel much more stable in the last month. I may be a person who needs more salt, I work in a hot environment 10 hrs a day,

Recently listened to the book " the salt fix" which was pretty informative

(Rosemary Easter) #14

how much salt do you put in your water? I do this too in the morning but put 2 small pinches of salt in.

(Chris) #15

This book appears relevant to this thread:

“The Salt Fix: Why the Experts Got It All Wrong–and How Eating More Might Save Your Life”

At Amazon:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0451496965/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2F1U7B5SAHERU&colid=38QL49IP53B9Q&psc=0

(Lori Calhoun) #16

I have a bottle in my frig with Himalayan Sea Salt and water. This way it is already diluted and I just ad a couple table spoons (depending how I am feeling) to the liter bottle of water I take for the day.