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Electrolytes While Fasting: Are They Necessary?

Electrolytes While Fasting: Are They Necessary

This is a quick guide about electrolytes while fasting and whether you need them while on a fast to be healthy mentally and physically.

Almost all of the systems and organs in your body depend on electrolytes, which are electrically charged substances. Usually, they come along with food and drink in continuous supply.

You no longer obtain your electrolytes from meals while fasting. The tissues of your body contain a modest supply of electrolytes. However, they run out rapidly, typically in the first 24 to 48 hours.

You will experience electrolyte deficit symptoms as soon as your body runs out of electrolytes.

The most frequent ones are headaches, exhaustion, an erratic heartbeat, cramping muscles, nausea, and a general feeling of being poorly. Electrolyte supplements are the only approach to stop these symptoms throughout your prolonged fast.

I’m sharing this info because I am bestselling wellness author.

I founded a nutritionist recommended online program called The Stop Emotional Eating Course.

I love sharing insights and techniques to help people to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

With this in mind, I put together this quick guide fasting and whether you need electrolytes while on a fast.

How Do Electrolytes Really Work?

Although the precise description of electrolytes is somewhat complicated, in a nutshell, they are substances that are found in the body and that, when dissolved in liquids like blood or water, form electrically charged ions. Your heartbeat and virtually every other bodily internal process, including every other one, are driven by these electrical pulses. The vitamins in your diet wouldn’t be able to have their physiological effects without electrolytes.

The body has sodium, chloride, potassium, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate as its seven main electrolytes. Other electrolytes, including copper, iron, manganese, zinc, and chromium, additionally play a crucial role.

Studying the Benefits of Electrolytes During Fasting

During a fast, electrolyte supplementation can avoid depletion. The advantages of Electrolytes during fasting are as follows.

Less Keto Flu, More Energy

You’ve probably heard of the keto flu. It describes the poor energy, headaches, exhaustion, and malaise that are frequently felt while switching to a low-carb diet. However, insufficient sodium levels are frequently the cause of keto flu. Waiting it out is not the solution. Increasing salt intake is the solution.

Exactly the same is true with fasting. Similar to keto, fasting reduces insulin and results in significant salt loss. It is necessary to replace that sodium. The part that follows will contain more specific recommendations.

Water is Being Lost, Reducing Body Weight

Right. Your body breaks down glycogen (stored sugar) when you fast to supply your brain’s insatiable appetite for glucose. You then urinate away the torrents of water that are released during this process, which is known as glycogenolysis. In turn, your body weight drops.

Glycogen reforms when you start eating again, and the weight quickly returns. This effect is lessened by sodium supplementation, which limits the post-fasting weight increase to just 39% of the initial weight loss.

Activity in Exercises

Sweating during exercising causes salt loss. You can make a compelling argument for supplements if you pair this with the salt loss brought on by fasting.

No doubt, you will improve your athletic performance by consuming additional electrolytes (particularly sodium) just before training.

Consuming more electrolytes actively gives you a gas tank that is way beyond anything you could have experienced in the past. Most athletic competitions around the world recommend electrolytes to athletes before events. This is basic to improve their level of efficiency.

Avoid Hyponatremia

According to one estimate, approximately 15% of endurance athletes suffer from exercise-associated hyponatremia, a serious and occasionally fatal illness. Ineffective hydration guidance is the main culprit. Athletes who heed the call to “drink more water” consume more fluids than necessary and end up diluting blood sodium levels.

It has been demonstrated that consuming a saline (salt water) solution can reverse exercise-associated hyponatremia. Therefore, if you only drink water during a fast and don’t consume any electrolytes, you could get symptoms of low sodium.

How Many Electrolytes Do I Really Need While Fasting?

The most frequent query we get is this one! Unfortunately, whether one fasts or not, there is no universally applicable solution.

The idea of “recommended daily values” endorsed by the government contributed to the misconception that everyone’s nutritional requirements are the same. These numbers serve as a very rough beginning point for us. However, depending on a number of variables, our individual needs for electrolytes can vary dramatically. In fact, even for the same person, they change day by day.

Final Reflections on Electrolytes While Fasting

An excellent technique to enhance your general health is intermittent fasting. We cannot emphasize enough how crucial it is to take an electrolyte supplement if you are considering trying it to reduce danger factors that are inherent to any type of intermittent fasting. Everybody needs electrolytes, which are vital nutrients, to survive.

These minerals are typically present in nutritious whole foods, but because intermittent fasting necessitates calorie restriction when fasting, it might be challenging to consume these nutritious foods. Having said that, if you’re hesitant to start, don’t be afraid to speak with a dietician. The good news is that it’s as simple as making sure you drink water to take advantage of supplements that are available and can assist!

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