We’ve all been there. We stopped worrying about keto and electrolytes; we took a break from working out, we decided we would be back on it in pretty much no time, and now it’s six months later, you have gained 10kg, and you are in a worse shape than when you first started your exercise routine in the first place.
Or maybe that’s just me, who knows? The point is, working out, when not being at your best, can be demanding, push your body to its current limits, and also make it probable to lose a significant amount of the electrically charged minerals we need for the proper functioning of our internal processes.
Are you dizzy, do you have a headache, your muscles are particularly crampy, do you feel weakness in your hands and feet, and your heart is going a bit crazy? Well, congratulations. That sounds like an acute deficiency of electrically charged minerals. So, why not do yourself a favour and consider an electrolyte drink? Electrolytes are crucial for regulating your nerve function, hydrating the body, and maintaining pH levels inside cells. They are the motor that keeps our muscles moving and our ticker beating. But we are prone to losing them.
Our bodies are true works of art that were perfected by our evolutionary line to be some of the most efficient biological machines in the animal kingdom. We are one of the best long-distance runners on the planet, and in the past, we used to chase prey till exhaustion. You know that story of the snail that always follows you and never stops? Well, we were the snail. And to achieve this, we have evolved the most complete cooling solution in the animal kingdom: we began to sweat.
This was amazing for our evolutionary trajectory as a species, and it’s one of the main reasons for us being the most dominant species on Earth. But, sweating also comes with a big asterisk. It makes us lose the precious electrically charged minerals our bodies require for the continuation of internal processes.
This may not be too much of a problem if your job consists of writing blog articles in an AC room and sipping on apple juice. But working out there? In the hot Australian sun? That’s a different story. One that should end with you purchasing an electrolyte beverage. Excessive thirst, twitching muscles, brain fog, or dizziness are not symptoms to ignore. There are signs you are dehydrated. And if you are dehydrated, the wisest thing you could do is aid hydration with the help of an isotonic drink.
A high-quality electrolyte drink will primarily help you if you are an athlete and you push your body to its limit, or if you often find yourself in situations in which sweating becomes something of your second nature. Plus, there is a direct link between keto and electrolytes. But there are also unexpected and seriously unpleasant situations in which electrolyte loss is not only unavoidable, but it can also become dangerous.
Two days ago, on the Ha Giang loop in Vietnam, I had the wonderful and exceptionally magical experience of getting food poisoning while being two hours away from the nearest hospital. Honestly, I think I can safely say it was one of the worst nights of my life. Not only did I throw up things I think I ate at the last Christmas party, but I also started to feel numb, experience dizziness, have a rapid heartbeat, and get close to fainting. I was dealing with the immediate effects of acute electrolyte loss, and it wasn’t pretty.
The good news? I was reading about the link between keto and electrolytes before my trip, so I bought an electrolyte beverage with me from Hanoi. Lo and behold, I started to feel better in a matter of minutes. It didn’t last for long, as the Salmonella in my gut had different ideas, but at least for a couple of minutes I had a modicum of hope.
Electrolyte beverages can refill your body’s sodium, potassium, and chloride reserve, which will be depleted when vomiting, sweating and losing fluids through other, equally unpleasant ways. Electrolytes help the body retain fluids, support muscle function, stabilise circulation, and, honestly, they simply taste amazing when your body is begging you to ingest an ounce of electrically charged minerals. Plus, if you are dieting, you should know that there is a direct connection between keto and electrolytes.
Water is water. It’s the essence of life, and it’s the reason why, right now, you have the utmost pleasure to read this fantastic post. But it alone is not exactly enough for replenishing your lost electrolytes. To get a bit more “scientific”, at a cellular level, your intestines have a transport system, called SGLT1, which pulls sodium, glucose and water across the intestinal walls.
Hydration happens because of this system. Sodium and glucose are absorbed into the bloodstream and then water follows them via osmosis. It’s the reason why distilled water might not hydrate you properly over time. Now, it’s true that plain, clean water also has some traces of charged minerals that can sort of kickstart this process. But an electrolyte drink is significantly more efficient. It’s why ORSs are given to patients suffering from dehydration instead of water. They are faster-working, and they efficiently replenish the minerals you have lost.
Yes, it’s important to drink plenty of water. In fact, it’s probably the most underrated thing you can do to improve your well-being. But, if you are experiencing telltale signs of dehydration and charged-mineral deficiency, going for an electrolyte drink will simply be the safe thing to do.
In my case, I knew I needed to drink an electrolyte beverage the moment my hands started to go numb. But in your case, the symptoms of electrolyte deficiency might manifest a bit differently. Perhaps you are in ketosis right now, and therefore, you need to consider the direct link between keto and electrolytes. Or maybe your body is just built differently.
Everyone reacts uniquely to these things, as our bodies naturally have different baselines of charged minerals. I, for example, always had a slight deficiency when it comes to magnesium levels. Never find out why. My girlfriend, on the other hand, has a lack of calcium even though she drinks milk every day. We are different in this regard, and so, to keep things balanced, an electrolyte drink from time to time can only be a good thing.