Before you ever try water fasting, you need to know how to regulate your electrolyte balance and fluid retention. This article is a guide to everything about getting enough electrolytes while fasting. Salt fast included.

Are You Getting Enough Nutrients During a Fast

When you look at what fasting means, then it’s the abstinence from food and other forms of caloric intake. There are different types of fasting like water fasting, alternate day fasting, intermittent fasting, and dry fasting.

It’s true that your body can go through short periods of absolutely no food or water at all and it’ll have a tremendously beneficial hormetic effect on your overall health. However, the key is doing it intermittently while still getting the essential nutrients for survival.

The most important thing for your survival after oxygen is water. All of your cells, organs, and tissue are made of water so it’s definitely important to keep this in mind while fasting. Although you’re abstaining from food, you still want to adequately hydrate yourself.

There are some benefits to mild dehydration but it shouldn’t be done as a long-term strategy. I’m not going to go into it here, but check out my article on dry fasting.

What Electrolytes Do You Need While Fasting

The next thing important thing to pay attention to while fasting is electrolytes. In fact, doing very long extended fasts without proper electrolyte intake can be quite dangerous.

Electrolytes are chemicals that are vital for an array of physiological processes of your body. Muscle contraction, nerve impulses, heartbeats, blood pressure, and brain neuron firing all require certain minerals and nutrients.

Here are the major electrolytes your body needs:

Sodium – the most common one that you can find in your regular table salt. Sodium helps to balance the body’s fluids, regulate blood pressure, contract muscles and direct nerve signaling

– the most common one that you can find in your regular table salt. Sodium helps to balance the body’s fluids, regulate blood pressure, contract muscles and direct nerve signaling Magnesium – critical for muscle contraction, heartbeat, nerve firing, and digestion. Most people are severely deficient in this essential mineral.

– critical for muscle contraction, heartbeat, nerve firing, and digestion. Most people are severely deficient in this essential mineral. Potassium – helps to stabilize blood pressure and heart health. It’s another one of those minerals that’s incredibly important but not most people get enough of.

– helps to stabilize blood pressure and heart health. It’s another one of those minerals that’s incredibly important but not most people get enough of. Calcium – needed for bone integrity and strong teeth. It’s also used in cell division and blood clotting. Although most people tend to get more than enough calcium in their diet, they still suffer from bone fractures and osteoporosis due to not getting some of the other essential fat soluble vitamins that help to transport that calcium into the right place, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin K2.

– needed for bone integrity and strong teeth. It’s also used in cell division and blood clotting. Although most people tend to get more than enough calcium in their diet, they still suffer from bone fractures and osteoporosis due to not getting some of the other essential fat soluble vitamins that help to transport that calcium into the right place, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin K2. Chloride, Phosphorus, Phosphate, Bicarbonate, and Natrium Chloride also have a major role to play in maintaining a proper electrolyte balance in the body

Some common signs of electrolyte deficiencies include:

Headaches, dizziness, confusion

Exhaustion, tiredness, fatigue

Muscle cramps, spasms, twitches

Increased thirst and hunger

Heart palpitations and irregular heartbeats

Elevated heart rate or blood pressure

Most common causes of electrolyte imbalances are caused by fluid loss and inadequate salt intake, which can happen especially while you’re fasting or sweating a lot.

Don’t Make This Mistake

Not getting enough electrolytes is the most common reason why people fail fasting for longer periods of time. It’s also why you experience the keto flu.

Essentially, once you stop eating carbohydrates or when you start fasting by avoiding all foods altogether, you’re suppressing your insulin and blood sugar levels. This is going to make your kidneys hold onto less sodium and water.

Lower insulin leads to your body holding onto less water and sodium because you’ll be urinating them out. This can lead to electrolyte imbalances.

That’s why doing just water fasting without adding in some of the minerals we’ve talked about is very bad for your health and the fasting experience.

If you only consume pure water, then you’re practically just flushing out all of the essential minerals from your body, which can cause serious dehydration and problems with nerves.

You HAVE TO Consume These Electrolytes While Fasting

Therefore, never do just strict water fasting!

Instead, you have to get some additional electrolytes and minerals. This is not optional – you have to do this if you want to have a successful and healthy fast.

The most important electrolytes you need are sodium, magnesium, and potassium. But you also have to pay attention to the quantities.

How Much Salt During Fasting

RDA for sodium is 1500-2300 mg, which is about 1 tsp or 6g of salt a day. However, this is definitely not enough while fasting or when eating a low carb ketogenic diet. Instead, you should aim for 4000-7000 mg-s of sodium, which is up to 3 tsp or 15-18g of salt.

What your individual sodium requirement depends on your activity levels. If you’re sweating a lot because of exercising, taking a sauna, or living in warmer climates, then you definitely should aim for the higher end of that spectrum.

To promote the absorption rate of sodium, you’d want to mix it with water.

I recommend are pink Himalayan rock salt because it has additional minerals like magnesium which you also need. Good quality sea salts can be also good. Avoid regular table salt because it has other filler agents like nitrates, dextrose and heavy metals that will cause health issues. That’s the reason why salt intake is thought to be bad for you – it’s not the salt – it’s the other ingredients that are being put into table salt. Sodium itself is vital for health and you can see animals craving for it in nature all the time.

I also sometimes like to take these large chunks of sea salt crystals and just chew on them. It’s just so good and delicious, especially while fasting when you need the additional electrolytes. So, mix it with water and then chew some rock.

RULE OF THUMB: Get at minimum 2000 mg-s of sodium a day (1-2 tsp of salt). If you’re physically active or sweat a lot, then aim for 4000-7000 mg-s (2-3 tsp of salt). Mixed with water.

Potassium and Fasting

What goes hand in hand with sodium is potassium.

Inside your cells, there’s this thing called the sodium-potassium pump that regulates the flow of electrolytes and energy in the cell. During active transport of ATP, the sodium-potassium pump pumps out 3 ions of sodium and pumps in 2 ions of potassium. 3 going out and 2 going in. If you’re losing more sodium from the outside of the cell than you’ll also lose potassium from the inside of the cell because of offsetting the membrane potential of the cell.

Long story short – not enough sodium will lead to potassium deficiencies, which will cause muscle cramps and indigestion.

The RDA for potassium is about 1000-4700 mg, which can be covered by eating a lot of things like green leafy vegetables, spinach, avocados, pumpkin seeds, and almonds.

There are specific potassium salts like potassium chloride and potassium citrate. You can also take the Nu-Salt brand, which has 3180 mg of potassium per tsp.

Sodium is potassium sparing. If you’re getting enough sodium, then you don’t have to worry that much about potassium as long as you stay between 2000-4000 mg-s per day. You only need the higher ends of potassium intake if you’re sweating a lot.

However, if you’re taking some blood pressure medications, then you can interfere with potassium so you have to remember that.

RULE OF THUMB: Make sure you get your daily sodium intake before worrying about potassium that much. At minimum get 2000 mg-s of potassium but don’t go above 4700 mg-s.

Magnesium Fasting

The RDA for magnesium is 300-450 mgs, which can be difficult to get with just fasting.

Foods high in magnesium are spinach, almonds, avocadoes, fish, and nuts, but those are non-negotiable while fasting.

Pink Himallayan rock salt has some magnesium but in small amounts. There are specific magnesium salts or magnesium flakes that you can add to your water.

If you’re fasting for only like 1-2 days, then you don’t have to worry about magnesium deficiencies as long as you get your sodium.

If you’re fasting for longer than 3 days then you can take a magnesium supplement but you have to make sure that it doesn’t have additional fillers that may potentially kick you out of a fasted state. Most pills and powders tend to have dextrose, rice flour, soylechtin or other things so look out for that – get just pure magnesium citrate.

How Much Water Should You Drink With Electrolytes

What about the water to sodium ratios? How concentrated should your salt water be?

You shouldn’t cram all your sodium and potassium intake into a small amount of liquid because it’s too concentrated and hard on your stomach. Drinking solutions that resemble sea water will give you ulcers and make you even more thirsty.

Instead, you want to spread out your sodium intake and mix it with higher amounts of water.

In general, you’d be drinking about 1-2 liters of water a day, which means that to get your minimum intake of 2000 mg of sodium, you’d have to spread it with that 1-2 liters. You can mix that 2000 mg with just 1 liter and then drink 1 liter of pure water but you shouldn’t consume all of your sodium with like a small 250 ml cup of water.

If you’re getting around 4000-7000 mg of sodium, then you can increase your water intake slightly and go for about 2-3 liters but you don’t really need to force-feed yourself any more than 2 liters of water because it’s going to make you flush out more water and actually lose more electrolytes. So, drinking less can make you preserve more minerals.

To know whether or not you’re dehydrated or running low on electrolytes, look at how often you urinate. The colour of your urine also indicates levels of hydration. Don’t start drinking more water if you have crystal clear piss and you’re peeing all the time because you’re losing your electrolytes. Instead, make sure you get your minimum potassium and sodium and follow your thirst.

What About the Other Minerals?

What about the other electrolytes and minerals like calcium and phosphorus? Shouldn’t you have to worry about them as well? It’s true you need them but they’re not as important if you’re fasting for just a few days.

Your body is built to go through long periods without food or water and it’s perfectly capable of dealing with zero intake of calcium or phosphate, especially if you’re fasting for just 1-3 days. You’d only want to consider taking a multivitamin or something like that if you’re fasting for longer than 5-7 days or so.

In fact, abstaining from micronutrients and food for a short timeframe actually helps you to mobilize the micronutrients that are already in your body. Your bones and fat tissue can store most of the nutrients you need for survivial and if you’re fasting you’re actually using those stored minerals. It also makes you more sensitive to those micronutrients after you start eating and you’ll absorb them better because it creates a hormetic response.

Therefore, as long as you’re getting in your sodium and potassium, you don’t have to worry about the other minerals on a 2-5 day fast.

Additional Sources of Electrolytes

To help the mobilization of your body’s minerals and balance the electrolytes, there are some additional things you can consume while fasting.

Baking Soda – it’s 100% sodium bicarbonate and 1 tsp of baking soda has 1259 mg of sodium. Baking soda is great for balancing the body’s pH levels, fixing digestive issues and healing the kidneys. It’s a natural antibacterial and antifungal agent that promotes alkalinity in the body.

– it’s 100% sodium bicarbonate and 1 tsp of baking soda has 1259 mg of sodium. Baking soda is great for balancing the body’s pH levels, fixing digestive issues and healing the kidneys. It’s a natural antibacterial and antifungal agent that promotes alkalinity in the body. Apple Cider Vinegar – it’s a fermented type of alcohol that has many health benefits like reduced inflammation, improved insulin sensitivity, and digestion. ACV is zero calories but it has trace amounts of potassium and other minerals so it’s great to consume while fasting.

You don’t want to be consuming any more than 1 tsp of baking soda a day because of the high sodium content and getting too much apple cider vinegar can also cause an upset stomach as well as mess up your teeth. In most cases, you can drink 2-4 tsp of ACV and get most of the health benefits.

What I like to do is combine apple cider vinegar and baking soda with water to create this small concoction that boosts the effectiveness of the fast.

½ cup of water

½ tsp of baking soda

2 tsp of apple cider vinegar

Pinch of lemon juice (optional)

Remember that combining vinegar with baking soda will cause a chemical reaction and the water can start to bubble up like a volcano so be careful with that.

Drink this 2 times per day and you’ll promote both the fat burning as well as the health benefits of fasting.

Electrolytes and Fasting

And there you have it – everything you really need for getting enough electrolytes while fasting.

Don’t ever do strict water fasting with just water and not replenishing your electrolytes. This will make you flush out all of your body’s minerals, which will lead to fatigue, muscle cramps, excess urination, and tiredness.

Honestly, you’d want to pay most attention to your sodium intake and not worry that much about the other minerals. If you’re fasting for like 1-2 days then even potassium isn’t that important. If you’re going for longer than 3 days, then it’s a good idea to add some potassium salts and magnesium.

What I like the most about this entire thing is that fasting is so easy. You can literally go through several days on simply drinking some salted water. It’s liberating and it’ll empower your body’s fat-burning metabolism, not to mention the lifespan increasing benefits of a long fast.

If you want to learn about how to do intermittent fasting, then check out the Full Guide to Intermittent Fasting FREE BOOK!

Stay Empowered

Siim