fluid intake on keto, as the reduced
carbohydrate intake will mean you
turn water over at an increased rate
and with this you will also dump
electrolytes out of your system.
To safeguard against this, it would
be wise to add additional sodium,
potassium and magnesium to your
plan. Below are some guidelines for
the desired intake levels of these
key electrolytes and some good
sources of these derived from food.
Sodium – 5000-7000mg (bacon/
cured meats, sea or Himalayan
salt, broths, pickled foods,
salted nuts)
Potassium – 2000-4000mg
(spinach, avocado, nuts, fish,
meats, mushrooms)
Magnesium – 3-600mg (spinach,
nuts, fish, chicken, beef,
avocado)
Often, the cause can be the lack of
electrolytes and hydration. It is
essential that you increase your
Supplements that may be
most beneficial during keto
adaptation
Electrolytes:
Hitting requirements solely from diet
may be difficult, so having the
following on hand may be very useful:
Sodium:
Sea/Himalayan salt
Potassium:
Potassium citrate preferred
Magnesium:
Magnesium citrate or gluconate
if struggling with GI distress
Amino acids:
Whilst many keto advocates don’t
rate supplements, I feel a quality
essential amino acid product is
beneficial during training. We must
remember you’re an athlete training
with high intensity, and during
adaptation the body will still crave
primarily glucose and can’t create
this in times of glucose restriction
from amino acids via gluconeogen-
esis. Without amino acids supple-
mented into this training window,
it increases the risk of the body
leaching these from skeletal mus-
cle... something none of us want. So,
it’s wise to safeguard against this.
10-20g taken in across the
workout will be sufficient. I
recommend Aminotaur from
Project AD. This yields 13.5g per
serving, with additional L – carni-
tine (also aids fatty acid utilisa-
tion).
Digestive Aids:
Some, not all, MAY have some GI
distress when switching to a high
fat diet, a digestive supplement will
help with this. Look for a product
with a strong digestive enzyme
content.
Betaine HCL:
This is in some digestive aid prod-
ucts but not all. HCL bolsters
stomach acid in order to assist the
breakdown of food ingested.
Ox Bile:
Ox bile is a lesser known supple-
ment that will specifically help with
the breaking down of fats, thus
allowing them to be assimilated
easily; this can be a lifesaver for
many in adaptation.
These items are all available
individually from any good health
store.
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FLEX | APRIL 2018