Dehydrated on keto

...while breastfeeding.

I know both breastfeeding and eating keto can dehydrate you, and doing both together is proving to be a challenge.

I wake most mornings very dry in the mouth despite drinking enough water that my urine is almost clear.

I worked out that it must be an electrolyte imbalance but have not confirmed it with blood tests. I just took some hydralyte for a day or so and tested my urine on multistix and watched the specific gravity move back from the higher end, and also saw my urine ph go closer to neutral for the first time in ages after seeing it mostly on the acidic end.

I was told to try potassium citrate supplements at a ratio of 4g to 1g sodium. Just can't seem to get potassium citrate at the pharmacies here, and hydralyte, while it helps, also contains glucose, which I'd rather have in a different form so I don't have to skip some carb in a meal.

Today I ate salmon and drank lemon juice in water, which I think gives me potassium citrate as a food source.

Just wondering what other people do to keep the electrolytes balanced on keto?

Brunneria said:

I buy potassium citrate online. Usually (but not always) Amazon.

Have you used one of the nutrition trackers to identify how much potassium, sodium, etc. you are actually eating?
I use the free version of cronometer, but there are several other trackers out there.

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I was just looking at potassium citrate online. Any brand you would recommend? How much would you need to take in a day?
I've not been counting anything that I'm eating and only yesterday saw a cronometer for the first time. I could probably do with one...

I take Magnesium (citrate I think). The optimal keto living facebook page recommend Magnesium malate. Not sure what the difference is. Likewise with the different potassiums.

Supplementing potassium by taking a tablet is probably simpler than trying to drink gallons of lemon juice, but is it better in pill form?

Indy51 said:

Might be worthwhile checking out the keto electrolyte supplement developed by Robb Wolf and the Keto Gains guys:

https://drinklmnt.com/

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Interesting. Aren't there a few other electrolytes? Maybe you get the rest from your keto foods.
For breastfeeding mums the optimal keto living folk recommend 4g of potassium, which seems like s lot! But maybe breastfeeding really does take it out of you..

Sapien said:

3.6 to 4.7 grams of potassium is the recommended daily intake for adults.

Many people get more sodium than potassium. Balance is important, but this article suggests a quite low sodium intake.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/potassium_and_sodium_out_of_balance

If you find you can’t get enough potassium from the food you eat, you can also use NoSalt or LoSalt to add some potassium to the food.

High doses of potassium in supplements are usually restricted due to the danger they can pose for people with impaired kidney function.

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I was reading about that yesterday! Someone posted in another thread about Lo-Salt having potassium. Perfect! Just have to watch the anti-caling agent in the brand available here in Australia called Diet rite lite salt. But still worth a try to get the potassium up a bit.
I had no idea you could overdose on the stuff till I read that yesterday too.

ringi said:

An electrolytes blood test may not tell you much, as our body will dehydrate so as to maintain the correct sodium balance in our blood. Hence don't overlook simple table salt, ideally added to home made bone broth. The kidneys try to save sodium if it is low, this includes allowing more potassium to excape.

In the UK it is easy to get electrolytes tablets or powered, some don't have suger/carbs. Unless you go mad, provided your kidneys are healthy, they will remove from your body any excess electrolytes (including sodium) you take.

Remember that more sodium is needed on a low carb diet then a normal diet.

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I feel like I put salt in and on everything but I'm not measuring so maybe I do need more. On the nights I'm drinking miso soup I put a little extra salt in the mug so I know that's giving me a big part of what I need, but still maybe only half of what I need.
Off to eat something salty for lunch