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E is for electrolytes!
“You’re not drinking enough water!”
How many times have we heard that? Pretty annoying right? Yip. But whoever is trying to impart their wisdom is not entirely wrong. Dehydration sucks and can lead you to feel pretty crappy or worse. And if you are walking, talking, breathing, driving, thinking, eating, going to the toilet (enough examples!) you are in the constant active process of dehydration.
But it’s not just losing and topping up water that you need to worry about. It’s electrolytes too.
E is for electrolytes!
About 60% of our body is water. We are literately walking, talking intelligent vessels of water. But without electrolytes we can’t do anything – we can’t contract our muscles, pump our blood throughout our body… you get the picture.
So, what are electrolytes anyway? Loosely put, electrolytes are elements or compounds that allow your body’s cells, tissues and organs to communicate. It’s what’s allowing the impulses from my brain to cause the muscles in my fingers to contract and relax so I can type this blog. We’ve all heard of the common ones like calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium but there are loads more. We get electrolytes when we consume nutrition and we lose them in our body moisture like when we sweat or go to the bathroom.
Ok, but why is that relevant to my low carb or keto diet?
Glad you asked! When a person is on a keto diet their insulin levels drop and with that the body gets rid of more sodium in the urine than it would on a non-keto diet. When sodium levels drop one may feel weak and fatigued. If you’ve been doing keto for about a week or two without increase your sodium intake, you’ll likely know what I’m talking about here.
So, what should we be doing about it?
Well, the first thing we need to do is make sure we’re getting enough hydration. If you think you’re not drinking enough water, you’re probably not drinking enough water! Feeling thirsty, sluggish, having darker urine are all ways your body is trying to tell you to get your fluids up.
And if you’re eating a ketogenic diet, you might need an electrolyte top up. That could range from drinking an electrolyte mixture or salty homemade drink or adding extra salt to your food.
Always make sure to check with your healthcare professional before adding or changing any electrolytes in your diet.
Where to start?
After you’ve spoken to your healthcare professional, consider which option of electrolyte top up would be best for you. Below are some of the products that we have available at Low Carb Emporium. Personally, in our household we start the day with some sparkling water with Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar and some Redmond Real Salt – it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and it is predominantly a salt boost but it works well for us.
Click on the below to visit the relevant product/range page