This salt thing--Please help me figure it out


(Laurie) #1

I don’t cook with salt or add it at the table. However, I don’t actively avoid foods that contain salt. I found an online quick calculator and came up with a current daily intake of 1600 mg. When I add up the sodium content on the nutrition labels of the bacon, cheese, and other foods I eat, I come up with a similar number.

I’ve been on keto for 7 weeks. I’ve done low carb before; the longest time was 11 months. I have never had constipation or keto flu while on low carb, or any symptoms of salt deficiency. Any constipation, muscle cramps, etc., that I’ve had were when I was eating the standard diet.

Anyway, some of the things I’ve read here and elsewhere indicated that I should eat more salt when on keto. Today I measured out 2 grams of Kosher salt (that’s all that was handy) and drank it in water. Shortly afterwards I had a meal that was also fairly high in sodium: meatballs, tomato sauce, cheese. A couple of hours later I felt weak and irritable.

I know when I’ve accidentally gone over my carb limit because I feel “funny”; I can’t describe what I mean by this. This is not what happened today.

So now I feel discouraged about taking salt.

I welcome any thoughts or suggestions. Thank you.


(Ashley) #2

I mean, my understanding is if you feel fine with the amount your on then don’t worry about it. Most people use salt to avoid keto flu. You do go through salt in your body quicker on keto so some people crave it more. You may be getting more salt than you realize. If not and you feel fine then just KCKO.