@Okaygoahead
Key info about carb flu (which is on the FAQ thread:
7. What is carb flu?
Carb flu, or keto flu as it’s sometimes called, occurs as your body transitions from burning sugar (i.e. carbs) to burning fat for most of its energy needs.
Switching from a high-carb diet to a very-low-carb diet lowers insulin levels in your body, one of the primary goals of a ketogenic diet.
When insulin levels are very low, your liver begins converting fat into ketones, which most of your cells can use in place of glucose.
When your body is mainly using ketones and fat for energy, you’re in a state of ketosis.
However, it takes your brain and other organs some time to adapt to using this new fuel. When your insulin levels drop, your body responds by excreting more sodium in the urine, along with water.
Because of this, you’ll likely find yourself urinating a lot more often in the first week or so of low carb eating.
This change is responsible for some of the rapid – and usually very welcome! – weight loss that happens in the early stages of a low carb diet. However, losing a lot of water and sodium is responsible for many of the unpleasant symptoms of carb flu.
It’s well known that response to this transition is very individual. Some people may feel fine or slightly tired for a day or two after starting low carbing. At the other extreme, there are those who develop symptoms that strongly impact their ability to function for several days.
These are the classic symptoms of carb flu:
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Irritability
• Difficulty focusing (“brain fog”)
• Lack of motivation
• Dizziness
• Sugar cravings
• Nausea
• Muscle cramps
You may only get one or two – you may be lucky and not suffer at all! But if your current diet is very high in carbs, prepare yourself for this.
However, carb flu doesn’t have to be unbearable and there are things you do to get through it and make it less unpleasant.
(Adapted from www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/flu-side-effects)
8. So how do we avoid, or at least deal with, carb flu?
There are three key electrolytes which you need to be consuming when you’re low carbing – low levels of these contribute towards your symptoms. These are sodium, magnesium and potassium.
Sodium is the easiest one to deal with, and The Diet Doctor suggests this:
“During the first few weeks of your keto lifestyle, whenever you develop a headache, lethargy, nausea, dizziness or other symptoms, drink a glass of water with half a teaspoon of salt stirred into it. This simple action may alleviate your keto flu symptoms within 15 to 30 minutes. Feel free to do this twice a day or more, if needed”
Magnesium and potassium can be found in foods like salmon, avocado, spinach and full fat natural yoghurt.
You can also take an electrolyte supplement, like Zero
9. Why do you recommend that we consume more salt – I thought too much salt was bad for us?
As well as stored carbs holding on to water, they also hold on to sodium. So when you restrict your carbohydrate intake, it’s not only water that’s excreted but also sodium. Sodium is one of the key electrolytes that your body needs.
We’re told that too much salt (aka sodium) is bad for us, so many people do restrict their usage of salt. It’s quite common for me to read on Bootcamp threads that people aren’t cooking with it or using it on their food because of this. If you were to continue to eat a high carbohydrate diet this would be fine, but when we’re low carbing, we’re ‘washing out’ a lot of sodium too – and there are dangers in a diet that’s too low in sodium.
There’s a lot of contradictory findings about this, but there are some suggestions that a diet that’s too low in sodium:
can increase insulin resistance (which is when your body’s cells don’t respond well to signals from the hormone insulin, leading to higher insulin and blood sugar levels)
may increase your risk of dying from heart disease
may increase your risk of dying from heart failure
may increase your LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides
may increase your risk of death if you have diabetes (Type 1 or 2)
is associated with hyponatremia, a condition characterized by low levels of sodium in the blood. Its symptoms are similar to those caused by dehydration. In severe cases, the brain may swell, which can lead to headaches, seizures, coma, and even death. Certain populations, like older adults, have a higher risk of hyponatremia, because older adults are more likely to have an illness or take medication that can reduce sodium levels in the blood.
(Source: //www.healthline.com/health/hyponatremia)