in this video we are going to talk about electrolytes on a carnivore diet what
they are why they matter and how to balance them correctly electrolytes can
seriously make or break your results on a carnivore diet just last week I had a
subscriber asking me why she was experiencing heart palpitations since
switching to carnivore we realized that her sodium intake was probably lower
than it should be and since making that change the palpitations have went away
in this video I am going to talk about sodium potassium magnesium and calcium
signs you are not getting enough of them and how to balance them for optimal
health
before I begin I would like to thank cells squared for sponsoring today's
video cell squared is an Australian company that offers ancestral health
staples for holistic modern living they have a range of ancient salts rich in
electrolytes and healthy fats such as grass-fed ghee I will talk more about
their products and how they can help you balance your electrolytes later in this
video but if you want to check them out you can head to cell squared dot com dot au
hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is Kait I'm a
health coach and I post videos on a high fat nutrient-dense way of eating if you
like this video please give it a thumbs up feel free to share and make sure to
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share new posts every single day what are electrolytes electrolytes are
essential minerals that are key for so many functions within the body they
regulate nerve and muscle function hydrate the body balance blood acidity
and pressure and help rebuild damaged tissue on any version of a low
carbohydrate diet whether that be a carnivore diet or a keto diet we need
more electrolytes this is because when insulin levels are low as they are when
you restrict carbohydrates the kidneys excrete more sodium
and this disrupts other electrolyte levels as well we are going to start
today at talking about sodium because I believe it to be the most important then
we'll move on to potassium magnesium and finally calcium sodium the presence of
sodium is essential for muscle contractions the largest and most
important of which being the heart as I said at the start of this video if you
are experiencing heart palpitations upping your sodium is going to be the
place that you want to start other signs of a sodium deficiency include fatigue
headaches weakness and trouble focusing now it is important to distinguish the
difference between salt and sodium I think this throws a lot of people off
when they are trying to measure their intake salt is made up of sodium and
chloride so this means that one gram of salt is not equal to one gram of sodium
which is a mistake I often see people making in reality there is a bit under
400 milligrams of sodium in one gram of salt so you might be consuming less than
half of what you thought you were so how much sodium should we be aiming to get
each day the average person requires between 3 & 6 grams of sodium every day
but as I already said when we are eating a low carbohydrate diet that need can
increase 5 grams of sodium is a good place to start if you are sedentary that
equals out to be about two and a quarter teaspoons exercise and physical activity
increase our need for sodium as well as we lose some from sweat and this goes if
you live in a hot climate - if you are pretty active I would start with trying
to get seven grams of sodium every day which is about three teaspoons you will
be able to get some sodium from your food but probably not enough to meet
your required amount 100 grams of beef contains only 54 milligrams and a cup of
bone broth is a better source with about 500 ml
so it is really important that you use a high quality salt - salt your food
generously and also to add to your water I start every day adding half a teaspoon
to my water bottle and here is where today's sponsor comes in Snell squared
is an Australian company based in Melbourne that has a range of ancient
salts that are rich in electrolytes each salt has a different trace mineral and
electrolyte content but for the purposes of sodium I recommended their sea salt
flakes this sea salt is sourced from the great ocean road in Victoria Australia
they use a traditional panning method in order to retain trace minerals like I
said before I start my days by adding half a teaspoon into my water I will
also continue to salt my water throughout the day and I use it to salt
my food generously as well if you want to check out Sol squared they currently
only ship within Australia but they will be expanding to international shipping
soon you can head to their website Sal squared condo to you to learn more
thanks again to saul squared for sponsoring this video
potassium potassium and sodium try to remain in balance within the body when
sodium is low it not only impacts sodium levels but potassium as well the kidneys
will try to reabsorb more sodium while excreting more potassium to maintain the
balance signs of a potassium deficiency include muscle cramps and muscle
twitching as well as heart palpitations on a card of our diet you require
between three to four point eight grams of potassium every day and potassium is
a bit easier to get from our food than sodium is 100 grams of beef has 350
milligrams of potassium meaning that if you eat a 300 gram steak this is a bit
over one gram 100 grams of mackerel is an even better source with about 520
milligrams and even better 100 grams of bacon has 550 milligrams
bone broth is also a good source with 450 milligrams a couple of steaks and a
couple cups of bone broth and you're probably good
again if you are more active you probably require a bit more and if you
do not think you are getting enough you can always supplement but just know that
too much concentrated potassium can be dangerous so don't start supplementing
without careful consideration magnesium magnesium helps to maintain proper
muscle function and nerve function it supports your immune system and
regulates your heartbeat signs of a magnesium deficiency include muscle
twitching and muscle cramps heart palpitations fatigue and constipation
now you might be thinking a lot of the signs of deficiency between the three
electrolytes so far have been pretty similar so how can you tell which one
you are deficient in if you're experiencing any of the symptoms that go
for all three I would suggest starting by upping your sodium then move to
magnesium and if that hasn't fixed the problem then go to potassium last most
people require about 400 milligrams a day but again this can be higher if you
are active 100 grams of beef has 20 milligrams 100 grams of mackerel has 100
milligrams and 102 sardines has 40 milligrams you can supplement using
tablets or a powder if you don't feel like you're getting enough and another
way to supplement it is transdermally cell square has a pure magnesium oil
which I love it is one of the most concentrated magnesium oils on the
market the oil is formulated here in Australia using magnesium chloride
flakes from the Dead Sea in Israel and South squared really prioritizes the
sourcing of their products they source their magnesium flakes from the Dead Sea
in Israel because it is the purest source available you can spray this
directly on sore muscles or joints or you can simply spray it on your stomach
if you just want to increase your levels again really great products from cell
squared I'm so happy to be working with them on this video calcium calcium is
important for bone health slow contractions and blood-clotting the
RDA is set at one gram per day but a lot of people think that this is set too
high this is because calcium needs vitamin D and vitamin K to be absorbed
in the body and most modern diets are highly lacking in both of these to make
up for the poor absorption rate the thinking was to increase the RDA but
this isn't really a solution even with the RDA being set high it is still hard
to get a decent amount of calcium if you are only eating steak 100 grams of beef
has only 12 milligrams if you are including dairy this is the easiest way
to get a good amount 100 grams of parmesan takes you over the RDA with 1.1
grams of calcium other cheeses yogurts butters all have a decent amount as well
and 100 grams of sardines has about three hundred and eighty milligrams
grinding eggshells into a powder and sprinkling that on your food is another
option and before you go adding cheese back into your diet in an attempt to up
your calcium please watch my other video about cheese on a carnivore diet because
it isn't for everyone and if you are still worried about getting enough
calcium on a carnivore diet here's something to consider there is a clinic
in Hungary called paleo medicina which uses a Paleolithic ketogenic diet to
treat patients the diet the patients are fed is basically only meat organs and
bone broth with no dairy and their patients show no signs of calcium
deficiency so take that for what you will one last thing I will add before we
wrap up is that another sign of an electrolyte deficiency can be cravings
so if you are eating a carb or diet and you're finding that you are always
hungry you might need to up your electrolytes and that is everything you
need to know about electrolytes on a carnivore diet let me know in the
comments down below if you upped your electrolyte intake and if you
experienced any benefits and if you're in Australia and looking for a good
source of sodium and magnesium make sure to head to cell squirrel
you to check out their ancient salts and other products thank you guys for
watching if you found this video helpful feel free to share it with your friends
and family if you'd like to check out my video that is all about the importance
of salt you can click here if you would like to catch up on my most recent
upload you can click here and if you are interested in starting a ketone or
carnivore diet you can check out my coaching programs here thanks again guys