Carbs Consumption: A Remedy Or A Myth For Keto Flu?

The keto flu is a collection of flu-like symptoms that occur in the first week or two of starting a keto diet. It is caused by the body's response to carbohydrate restriction. Symptoms include tiredness, fatigue, stomach pains, and dizziness. The severity of the keto flu and its symptoms depend on how metabolically flexible the person is. To get rid of the keto flu, it is recommended to increase your intake of sodium, potassium, and magnesium, eat more fat, do low-intensity exercise in the morning, and get plenty of sleep.

Increase your salt and water intake

When you start a keto diet, your body will be flushing out water and sodium at a rapid rate. This is because when you eat carbs, your body stores them as a reserve energy source, and these stores require a lot of water for storage. So, when you cut out carbs, your body burns through its carb stores and loses a lot of water weight in the process.

To avoid dehydration, it's important to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Aim for a minimum of 2.5 litres of fluid every day during your first week of keto. You can also add a pinch of unrefined salt to your water, which will help to replenish the sodium that your body is losing.

If you're experiencing symptoms like dizziness, nausea, cramping, headaches, or gastrointestinal issues, increasing your water and salt intake may help to alleviate these issues. It's also a good idea to weigh yourself each day during the first five days of the keto diet, as this will help you to understand how much water you're losing and how much you need to be drinking to stay hydrated.

In addition to water and salt, you can also try drinking bone broth, which is an easy way to sneak more water into your diet and also provides electrolytes such as sodium and potassium. However, be mindful of the ingredients in store-bought bone broth, as they may contain additives. Making your own bone broth in a slow cooker is a healthier alternative.

Increasing your water and salt intake is a simple yet effective way to combat keto flu. By staying hydrated and replenishing your body's sodium levels, you can help to reduce symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and nausea.

Eat more fat

Eating more fat is one of the most important things to do when experiencing keto flu. This is because your body is transitioning from burning sugar to burning fat for energy. By eating more fat, you can help speed up this transition and reduce the symptoms of keto flu.

• Eat Plenty of Healthy Fats: Include more coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, tallow, lard, and MCT oil in your diet. These fats will help boost your ketone levels and provide your body with the energy it needs.
• Increase Your Fat Consumption: Make sure you're eating enough high-fat foods such as fatty meat, salmon, butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, and nuts. This is especially important during the first couple of weeks of starting a keto diet.
• Add Fat to Your Meals: Be generous with butter or other healthy fats when preparing your meals. This will ensure you're getting enough fat to support your body's energy needs.
• Choose Fat-Rich Keto Foods: Avocados, avocado oil, grass-fed butter, extra virgin olive oil, nuts such as pecans and macadamias, and seeds such as flaxseed and chia seeds are all excellent choices.
• Supplement with MCT Oil: MCT oil can help increase your ketone levels and make the transition from burning carbs to burning fat more comfortable.

Remember, it's important to listen to your body and adjust your fat intake accordingly. The goal is to eat enough fat to feel satisfied and energised while your body adapts to using fat and ketones as its primary fuel source.

Take an electrolyte supplement

When you switch to an extremely low-carb ketogenic diet, you cut out some of the richest natural sources of electrolytes, such as starchy fruits and vegetables. Not getting enough electrolytes in your diet can lead to fatigue, irritability, dizziness, muscle cramping, and cognitive symptoms such as confusion. Low electrolytes play a big role in the onset of keto flu symptoms.

To get more electrolytes in your diet without kicking your body out of ketosis, take an electrolyte supplement at least once per day. If you're active, you'll also want to make sure you're taking electrolytes after you work out to prevent muscle cramps and dehydration.

Look for an electrolyte supplement that contains sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Why Electrolyte Supplements Work

When you switch to an extremely low-carb ketogenic diet, you end up cutting out some of the richest natural sources of electrolytes, such as starchy fruit and vegetables. Not getting enough electrolytes in your diet can lead to fatigue, irritability, dizziness, muscle cramping, and cognitive symptoms such as confusion. Low electrolytes play a big role in the onset of keto flu symptoms.

What to Look for in an Electrolyte Supplement

You'll want to make sure your electrolyte supplement is keto-friendly, meaning it has no sugar or artificial sweeteners added (zero-calorie sweeteners like stevia and xylitol are fine). Look for an electrolyte supplement that contains sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Make Your Own Keto-Friendly Sports Drink

As for electrolyte sports drinks, they typically contain processed sugar in some form, like glucose syrup or high-fructose corn syrup. Avoid these by making your own keto-friendly sports drink at home using one cup of water, one teaspoon of mineral sea salt, and freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice.

Other Ways to Get Electrolytes

You can also get electrolytes from food. Your body doesn't contain pure water. Your cells are bathed in saltwater that contains electrolytes like calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. When you lose water weight, your kidneys begin excreting electrolytes to go with it. As a result, you can end up low on electrolytes.

Make sure you replenish them by increasing your sodium intake, supplementing with magnesium, eating potassium-rich keto foods, and eating calcium-rich keto foods.

Drink bone broth

Drinking bone broth is an effective way to combat the keto flu. It is a nutrient-dense food that can be easily incorporated into your diet and has many health benefits.

Bone broth is made by roasting and then simmering animal bones, typically from cows or chickens, for many hours. The bones are then strained, leaving a nutrient-rich broth.

The keto flu is a natural reaction your body can have when you suddenly remove carbs from your diet. It is not an actual flu but can cause flu-like symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, headaches, and dizziness. Bone broth can help alleviate these symptoms and prevent the keto flu.

Electrolytes

Bone broth contains all four important electrolytes: potassium, magnesium, sodium, and calcium. When you go on a keto diet, you cut out major sources of electrolytes, namely starchy vegetables and fruits. This electrolyte imbalance is a significant cause of the keto flu. By drinking bone broth, you can naturally replenish your body's electrolytes and reduce the symptoms of the keto flu.

Low in Carbs, Moderate Protein

Bone broth typically contains between 0 and 2 grams of carbs per serving, making it easy to fit into a keto diet without increasing your carb intake. It also has a moderate amount of protein, with about 10 grams per serving. This is important because consuming too much protein on a keto diet can knock you out of ketosis.

Collagen and Gut Health

The process of making bone broth releases collagen from the bones, joints, and ligaments, which has various health benefits. Collagen helps rebuild joints, tendons, cartilage, skin, nails, hair, and organs. It also supports gut health and improves conditions like leaky gut syndrome, where it helps heal gut tissues and reduce inflammation.

Sleep and Insomnia

A reduction in carbs can lead to insomnia for some people. Bone broth is rich in glycine, an amino acid that has been shown to improve sleep quality. Therefore, drinking bone broth can help regulate your sleep patterns while on a keto diet.

How to Consume Bone Broth

You can drink bone broth straight from a mug or use it as a base for soups and stews. You can also add it to smoothies or use it for sautéing vegetables. If you don't want to make your own, you can purchase bone broth from companies like Kettle & Fire, which offers chicken and beef bone broth that fits well within keto diet macros.

Take an exogenous ketone supplement

Taking an exogenous ketone supplement is a popular way to reduce the symptoms of keto flu. Exogenous ketones are supplements that can help a person achieve ketosis while being slightly less strict about their diet. They are available as either salts or esters of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB), a ketone body produced during ketosis. Ketone salts are typically bound to a salt like sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium, while ketone esters are linked to another compound called an ester.

Exogenous ketone supplements are considered a safe and effective way to increase ketone body concentrations in the blood, which can help alleviate the symptoms of keto flu. These symptoms include constipation, headache, bad breath, muscle cramps, diarrhoea, and general weakness.

Ketone supplements have been shown to decrease appetite, which may aid weight loss. They can also improve fueling during exercise, reduce lactate production, and enhance athletic performance. Additionally, they may have positive effects on anxiety and mental performance.

However, it is important to note that taking ketone supplements may not be suitable for everyone. They can cause extreme stomach upset and increase the risk of electrolyte imbalances. Furthermore, ketone salts that contain sodium could be dangerous for people with high blood pressure.

Before taking exogenous ketone supplements, it is recommended to consult a doctor to ensure they are safe for your individual needs and will not interfere with any medications you are taking.

Frequently asked questions