As your health starts to improve, and your body starts to work the way it was intended (since it’s being properly fueled by fat), you’ll begin to notice things you never noticed before.
As my body became fat adapted, I started to realize that the way I feel after eating carbs (tired, slow, dreary, generally BAD) was just the way I used to feel ALL THE TIME.
Similarly, the way my body feels when it lacks electrolytes (most commonly referred to as ‘dehydrated’, although I’ll explain why that’s a confusing term…) was a new experience that I had to figure out the hard way.
Symptoms of Low Electrolytes
So what happens to you when you get ‘dehydrated’ and your body lacks electrolytes?
Common symptoms include headache, muscle cramps, and general lack of energy. This is often referred to as the “Keto Flu” (one of the 3 most common problems encountered on the anti-inflammatory diet).
The most serious electrolyte issue I experienced was lightheadedness when standing. It was serious enough that I asked my physician about it, because I have a family history of heart disease. (These days, EVERYONE does…)
After being given an electrocardiogram, I was given a clean bill of health and a general shrug.
“Drink more water”, he said.
Upon doing deeper research on my own, I discovered this is a relatively common issue in highly-trained runners. Fundamentally, it comes down to a combination of your blood vessels being healthy and wide open, your heart running at a slower pace when resting, and low electrolytes. Medically, this is referred to as the Vagal Response.
One fact that is VERY difficult to hunt out in this age of heavy carbohydrate intake is that sodium plays a major role in your body’s ability to pump blood to your brain when you stand up suddenly. SALT.
Once I figured this out, and started adding salt to my diet, the issue completely went away.
And I mean A LOT of salt.
It was a little scary, because I’d been told my entire life that salt was bad for me and would give me high blood pressure and a heart attack. Turns out that’s not the case at all…
What are Electrolytes?
Ok, so I’ve said ‘electrolytes’ like 1,000 times already. But what exactly are they?
To keep it simple, electrolytes are Sodium, Potassium, and Magnesium. Essential nutrients that your body needs to operate properly.
Sodium helps regulate your HEALTHY blood pressure, and keeps your heart and blood vessels working the way they should. If your sodium is low, you’ll start craving salt and may experience lightheadedness like I did.
Potassium and Magnesium are used by your muscles and keep them working properly. If your potassium and magnesium are low, muscle cramps are the most obvious indicator.
You’ve likely been taught, like I was, that salt is horrible for you, and you should avoid it. Don’t add it to your food if you want to be “healthy”.
There is SOME truth to that.
When you eat the Standard American Diet (SAD!), you probably don’t realize that your goto food staples that are high in carbs are ALSO extremely high in sodium.
When you’re eating a lot of carbs, adding salt to your diet really is overkill.
So does that mean that keto is not a natural way to eat? If we need electrolytes, and we don’t get them from our food, how can this be the “right” way to feed our bodies?
The super-abridged answer is that the modern method of grain and corn feeding livestock is just as bad for the animals as it is for us. And as a result, their meat lacks many of these essential nutrients.
Grass fed animals and grass fed meat have more than enough of these critical nutrients. And if you can afford to eat exclusively grass fed meat, then you won’t need to worry about electrolytes nearly as much.
For us mere mortals with bills to pay, we need to supplement.
‘Cheating’ and the Electrolyte Rollercoaster
In addition to the initial “Keto Flu” that you may experience when STARTING an anti-inflammatory diet, a carb-splurge can result in a similar ‘dehydrated’ state.
When your body consumes carbs, it retains extra water in the body to help digest them and remove sugar from the bloodstream. When you STOP consuming carbs, your body flushes the extra water out, along with lots of your precious electrolytes.
When I go carb crazy and take the kids out for ice cream, have candy and popcorn at the movie theater, or enjoy a hamburger with a big-ol-bun and sweet potato fries, I ALWAYS feel the effects the next day.
Digestion issues come first (gas and diarrhea are pretty typical, especially after your gut bacteria has become adapted to a high fat diet), followed by thirst, salt cravings, and lethargy over the next 1-2 days.
In the case of a MULTI-DAY carb binge, muscle cramps and lightheadedness can return 2-3 days later.
It really makes “cheat days” into a conscious choice, because instead of them being pure rewards like they were when I was slogging through a “healthy” low-fat, calories-in / calories-out diet, I really PAY for cheat days now.
Do I want that ice cream cone or donut? Is it worth the bloating and feeling less than my normal “run over mountains and tear down walls” energy?
Sometimes. But I nearly always wish I hadn’t. Which provides its OWN motivation to get back on the wagon.
Just another reason why the high fat, anti-inflammatory diet is so sustainable. It becomes self-regulating once your body is adapted.
Getting Electrolytes Through Food
So assuming you’re not eating 100% grass fed meat and dairy, (I do recommend buying Kerrygold butter if you can. It’s pretty affordable, and adds some grass fed goodness into your life!) you’ll need to supplement your electrolytes in your food.
This is pretty simple, and you can basically just add salt to taste in your meals. And by “to taste”, I mean add as much salt as you want, and then probably a little more. I recommend salt that isn’t ocean sourced, such as the Himalayan Sea Salt you can find in most grocery stores. Or my favorite, Redmond’s Real Salt, which comes from a prehistoric salt lake buried in Utah.
Potassium can also be quite easy to add to food, especially since I discovered “No Salt”. No Salt, or Nu Salt (not sure what other brands there might be), are salt substitutes that you can find in the same aisle as salt in the grocery store.
They exist BECAUSE of the rampant fear of salt, and so they are advertised as “sodium free” food seasoning. Instead of sodium, they’re full of potassium! That’s good for us!
I add Salt and No Salt to every meal now. Sometimes I’m surprised they don’t burst into flame when they contact each other. 😂
Magnesium is a little trickier. Although it can be found in many anti-inflammatory friendly foods like Almonds, Spinach, Avocados, Broccoli, and Pumpkin Seeds, those food also contain sneaky carbs.
I just buy a good daily magnesium supplement from Amazon and call it good. Muscle cramps are a thing of the past!
Getting Electrolytes Through Drinks
This can be harder to adjust to, because most people aren’t used to DRINKING salt. But you adjust surprisingly fast. At least, I did. And many people who have done the same have as well.
The first thing I started doing was adding salt to my morning bulletproof coffee. So for those following along, my morning coffee contains 1-2 tbsp of grass fed butter, 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil, and about 1 tsp of salt. I also recently started adding about 1 tsp of No Salt as well.
Yes, my coffee is BARELY even coffee anymore. But I don’t mind, because I don’t really like coffee on its own, and I only started drinking it as a part of my keto journey to get a shot of fat in the morning and turn my brain up to 11 for the entire day!
More recently, I stopped drinking “normal” water when I get ‘dehydrated’ and thirsty. The reason is because my ‘dehydration’ these days isn’t from a lack of WATER, it’s from a flushing of electrolytes.
Drinking normal water doesn’t replenish electrolytes. And drinking MORE water just makes me have to pee more often, which FURTHER removes electrolytes from my body.
So yes, water can actually ‘dehydrate’ you. This is why I try to avoid saying I’m feeling dehydrated these days. I can more accurately say that I feel my electrolytes are low. 🤓
So what do I drink instead of water?
Well, WATER of course! But I add about 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1-2 tsp of salt, and 1-2 tsp of No Salt.
It’s basically Gatorade, but without all the sugar and carbs. Or, to be more direct, it’s like drinking lemon-flavored sweat. Which you’ll understand more clearly that time you forget to add the lemon juice and just drink the salty sweat-water!
It’s possible to find acceptable electrolyte replenishing drinks in stores, but it’s VERY difficult. Most “healthy” drinks are full of sugar or artificial sweeteners, which you want to avoid. In general, I try to skip store-bought drinks altogether.
Conclusion
Electrolytes are a critical component of healthy, normal body function. On an anti-inflammatory, low-carb diet, unless you’re eating mostly grass fed meat and dairy, you’re going to be lacking sodium, potassium, and magnesium in your diet.
Take the following steps to add healthy electrolytes to your diet:
- Add Salt to your food
- Add No Salt to your food
- Supplement Magnesium daily
- Drink electrolyte replenishing drinks
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