Why You Need More Sodium On A Paleo And Keto Diet
When anyone talks about a whole food diet online they typically praise it and talk about all the vitamins and minerals that you get from eating whole foods. Yet it’s often ignored that what we don’t get is sodium and the general recommendations for sodium is just all over the place. We have population specific studies that show morbidly and mortality increases under two grams of sodium per day. The American counsel of sports medicine recommends that individuals working out in heat increase their sodium intake but there’s a very general recommendation. What about if that same person is is on a paleo or keto diet? (1)
All of our conversations around sodium revolve around heart health particularly hypertension, high blood pressure. With an FDA and CDC recommended level of 1,500 mgs, other studies look at higher levels. See the confusion?
A 2011 study in the Journal of American Medical Association examined the relationship between sodium and cardiovascular health. Individuals who consumed less than 2 grams of sodium per day were at an increased risk of cardiovascular problems with the lowest rate of cardiovascular events being around 5 grams of sodium daily. A second study in Preventive Medicine concluded that individuals who consumed LESS than 2.5 grams of sodium per day had higher blood pressure than those who ate more sodium! (1,2)
What makes the paleo and keto diet different?
Water follows carbohydrates is the old school bodybuilding phrase and with good reason. Your body will retain water when muscle glycogen levels are high yet with a paleo or keto diet, carbohydrates are kept lower so it’s harder to store water. There’s a certain natural diuretic aspect of keto and low carb paleo diets, we know that the kidneys remove electrolytes faster than on other diets higher in carbohydrates.
A study done in the Journal of Sports Science looked at sodium in athletic populations estimated that athletes training in the heat can lose upwards of 10 liters of water and 7 grams of sodium! (3)
Why would we want more sodium?
Did you know that the following symptoms are signs of low sodium levels?
Feeling run down, muscle cramping, lightheadedness when you stand up, difficulty sleeping and difficulty staying asleep are all low sodium symptoms. Those are pretty common. (4)
Sodium may also be a performance enhancer as it is involved in proper muscle contractions as well as hydration of a muscle cells which is an anabolic signal.
There’s absolutely a disconnect with our sodium recommendations. The answer very well me be more sodium depending on how active you are and the climate that you train in. I do sprinkle pink Himalayan sea salt in my water as I lift and I will also put it in my daily water during the day in addition to using electrolyte products.
Can you feel an impact with more sodium? That’s for you to tell but I think it’s clear that we need more.
About The Author
Jimmy Phillip, MS,CSCS, is a lifter, reader, runner and small business owner of The Physique Formula all natural supplement company.
References
1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22110105/ 2) https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317099 3)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22150427 4) https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-hyponatremia