If you’re on a keto diet, intermittant-fasting, or water-fasting, you might be supplementing with electrolytes to alleviate Keto-flu, heart palpitations, headaches, muscle-shakes, and a variety of other ailments that can happen when you’re restricting your food intake.
But what is the reference intake, or recommended daily allowance, for these electrolytes?
The list below breaks down the essentials.
Sodium Chloride (Salt)
- No more than 6g of salt (2.4g of sodium) a day
Potassium
- 3500mg a day for adults
Magnesium
- 300mg a day for men (19 to 64 years)
- 270mg a day for women (19 to 64 years)
*Figures based on UK NHS recommendations.
What should I take for electrolyte supplementation whilst fasting?
This is not official medical advice (consult your Doctor, as they say). but my personal recommendation is MyProtein Electrolyte tablets. They’re easy to swallow, and are very simple and effective. Rather than trying to work in the electrolytes in some other way or just chugging salt directly (yuk)
If you work out and sweat a lot, 2 of these tablets a day will help maintain your electrolytes under a normal diet. Whilst fasting or on keto, I’d cautiously suggest 3-5 tablets spaced throughout the day. DO be very careful with how many you take and start small – excessive consumption of electrolytes can have many negative side-effects. See this LiveStrong article for details.
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