 Hey everybody, Dr. O here. This video is going to be all about electrolytes. I get a lot of really good questions about how to use electrolytes as part of your intermittent fasting program. Fasting has transformed my life. You all know that by now. I want you to feel great on your fasting journey, just like I do. And electrolytes are a key part of that process. So let's cover everything you need to know to figure out if you need electrolytes, which ones you need, and how much you need. Now it's going to be hard, really impossible, for me to prescribe a good dose for you, since everyone is different and unique. But I'll share my personal electrolyte recipe, I call it my potion, and then help you find a good place to start. Please reach out and let me know if you use electrolytes as part of your fasting plan and how much you use. What I want to see is, I want to see if we can, as a community, if we can figure out like an average amount that helps the typical person if it's different from mine. I have to be clear, this is not medical advice or an exact prescription, right? But this should get you pointed in the right direction. So first frequently asked question, I'm going to answer quite a few of them here. Why do I need electrolytes? The simple answer is they're the solution to most of the problems that can occur during a fast. Are you tired? Try adding electrolytes. Do you have brain fog? Try adding electrolytes. Muscle cramps? Try adding electrolytes. Headache? Hungry? Poor workout performance? Try adding electrolytes. Are you seeing a trend here? I hate to sound like a broken record, but 90% of my responses to people who are struggling with fasting involve making sure they are properly hydrated with water and electrolytes. It's the fasting equivalent of rebooting your computer and how that fixes about 90% of your issues. We're going to focus on the key electrolytes that are needed during fasting here. Sodium is the top priority by far, so a lot of people do fine just by adding some salt to their water. But I do believe that potassium and magnesium help most people have a better fasting experience as well. We won't focus on chloride, even though it's super important, because as long as you're getting your sodium from salt, which is sodium chloride, you don't need to worry about it. So here's an image from OpenStacks Anatomy and Physiology, one of the textbooks I teach from. Electrolytes are critically important for hydration because they help water do its job. Sodium and chloride are outside of your cells, and pull water one way. Sodium and magnesium are inside your cells and pull water the other way. This is why the balance of these electrolytes is the key. This is also why drinking a bunch of water without getting enough electrolytes can actually make things worse by diluting things like sodium. So why do most people supplement with electrolytes while fasting? The shorter answer is because we aren't eating. Right? Normally, we get a steady supply of these electrolytes from our food. When fasting, you're no longer getting your electrolytes from food. So the longer you fast, the more your body has to dip into your electrolyte stores. As soon as your electrolyte levels start to drop, you will start to feel some symptoms. So what are some of those symptoms of electrolyte deficiency? So here you see them. Headache, fatigue, brain fog, muscle cramps or weakness, hunger, mood issues, sleep issues, constipation, irregular or fast heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, or just feeling lousy or off. Right? Now you see why electrolytes are the answer to so many of the problems that can occur during a fast. Electrolyte deficiency is not the only thing that can cause these problems. Right? Obviously there could be some other underlying condition or you could still be struggling to get fat adapted or your blood sugar could be too low. There are other things to consider, but these are all symptoms of electrolyte deficiency. You'll notice that these symptoms sound very familiar to the keto flu if you've ever gone on a low-carb diet. That's because fasting, well really fasting is a ketogenic diet, right? But fasting and low-carb diets both lead to similar fluid and electrolyte losses because they both lower insulin levels, which is a great thing, but this is also why it's extra important to add electrolytes if you fast and are keto, like myself. So do I have to use electrolytes? Clearly the answer is no because some people don't. The decision to take electrolytes should be based on whether you experience any of the symptoms that I just mentioned. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's always my policy. If you feel great while you're fasting, you may not need to add any electrolytes at all, keyword there being great, but I've worked with hundreds of people and talked to thousands more who use intermittent fasting and the vast majority of them do better when they add electrolytes. So what's my personal electrolyte recipe? Right? I want to share my personal plan here so you can see it all in one place, but then I'm going to explain how I chose the amounts that I use. I also offer tips so you can decide what amount seems right for you. Seems right for you. For example, keep in mind, I'm six foot two. I'm very physically active. I prefer longer fasting windows and I have perfect blood pressure, right? So your results may vary, your needs may vary, excuse me. So I want to just see it all here in one place in case you want to copy it, but I will show you how I ended up with these amounts moving forward and I'll teach you how to figure out your own plan at the end. All right, so you see there's my sodium, potassium, and magnesium intakes. I won't read you them here now because I'll explain them separately, but if you want to copy them down, there they are. All right. The best place to start is with sodium, right? So sodium I get, I aim for a minimum of 1600 to 2000 milligrams of sodium per day, which is from four to five grams of Redmond's sea salt, real salt. But I typically get three to 4,000 milligrams of sodium per day, and I split it into three or more doses. So you might be thinking, wow, that's a lot, right? Why so much? Well, first of all, remember I'm not eating, right? If I was eating, I'd be consuming this much sodium in a day anyways. But fasting provokes an increase in sodium loss through your urine, right? It's called the natrioresis of fasting. This is great news if you have excess fluid in your body. This is bad news if it leads to dehydration, right? So unfortunately, drinking plain water dilutes your blood sodium levels and can make the problem even worse. But remember, true hydration is water plus electrolytes. So you need more sodium than the other electrolytes because you're losing more of it in your urine. All right, so here's a typical day for me. I take, this is the nutrition facts label from the Redmond real salt that I use. So I take a half teaspoon of Redmond real salt with two big glasses of water, first thing in the morning, right? That's about 1000 milligrams of sodium to start off my day. I just put the salt in my mouth and I swallow it down with the water. This is a pro tip if you don't like how salty salt is, right? You barely taste it this way. If you put it in your water, you taste it with every drink. If you do it this way, you can just kind of get it over with. Then I add another one half to one teaspoon into a shaker bottle that I'll drink the rest of my day. That's going to give me another 1000 to 2000 milligrams of sodium. I'll also add more sodium as needed, depending on how hard I train, how much I sweat, etc. So this means that a typical day will be close to 3000 or 4000 milligrams of sodium. It will be even higher though during the summer, since I train in my garage and it can get really hot out there. This is where I feel the best. That's how I determine these numbers. I also do this every day, not just on my fasting days. My massive weight loss and my health improvements have actually made low blood pressure a bigger concern than high blood pressure. So I make sure to keep the salt flowing, but you'll need to decide what works best for you. Alright, now next we have potassium. So for potassium, you'll see that I use 175 milligrams of potassium twice per day for a total of 350 milligrams. And I get it from what's called potassium gluconate powder. But why do I add potassium? The main reason is that one of potassium's jobs is to balance sodium's effect on your blood pressure. I also used to experience muscle cramps. I'd get it in my calves, my toes, all over the place, until I started adding potassium on my fasting days. This small amount made a huge difference. No more cramps. Can't remember the last time I had one. So here's the powder that I use from Now Foods. So potassium gluconate, pure powder. I add this potassium gluconate powder to the same shaker bottle that I mixed my salt in. I typically drink half the bottle around 10 and the other half around two. So I actually drink most of my fluids early in the day, so I don't have to get up to pee at night, just if I'm being honest. That's why it's pretty early. So why so little potassium? This is a question I've been asked in my course at least three or four times. Why do I only get 350 milligrams of potassium per day? Even though health organizations recommend getting 3,000 to 4,700 milligrams per day, you're gonna see that most electrolyte supplements actually have small amounts of potassium. Elementi, when you know a famous example, has 200 milligrams. There are two main reasons for this. Potassium supplements can cause heart concerns if they make your blood potassium levels rise too quickly. So here in the United States, the FDA limits the amount of potassium that you can put in a multivitamin or like a potassium pill to 100 milligrams. They are airing on the side of caution because too much potassium can hurt some people. I'm the same way. I also prefer to air on the side of caution when I make recommendations that thousands of people will see. There's no room for nuance on a video like this. But this is actually not why I personally take 350 milligrams per day. I have found that higher doses lead to gastrointestinal issues in lots of people, including me. I get loose stools if I take too high of a dose. I've made that mistake multiple times. My gut is limiting my intake more than my brain. So some people can definitely consume way more potassium than I do while fasting. Right here are two keto electrolyte supplements with 1000 milligrams per serving, the keto chow daily minerals, and Dr. Berg's electrolyte powder. I can't use either of these personally because of the potassium level. I don't see any issue if you wanna creep your dosage up as long as you're healthy and can tolerate it. Just be careful and work with your doctor if you have any issues or questions. We'll come back later to like who needs to be extra careful with electrolytes. So now we're looking at magnesium. Magnesium is a crucial mineral with over 300 functions in the human body. It's needed for energy production, DNA repair, and sleep, just to name a few. So I think between 400 and 600 milligrams seems to be optimal for most people. Now you'll see here that I get 544 milligrams of magnesium per day from two different forms. I take 400 milligrams of magnesium in the form of magnesium glycinate, or you see here it's from magnesium bisglycinate powder. I take that once per day, about 50 to 60 minutes before bed, and then I get 144 milligrams of magnesium from magnesium L3 and 8, split into two doses. So let's talk about these a little bit more. So why magnesium glycinate? Well, magnesium glycinate has the magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine, which improves intestinal absorption. So you're gonna absorb more of it. This leads to less GI issues compared to other forms of magnesium, like magnesium citrate. There's a reason they use magnesium as a bowel prep to clear out your bowels before a colonoscopy. I already told you, my gut isn't a fan of too many electrolytes. So this form keeps me from having gut problems, even though I'm consuming 544 milligrams of magnesium per day. This is also a great form to use to help with relaxation and sleep, which is one of my main goals. But then why the magteen, which is the magnesium L3 and 8? Well, magnesium L3 and 8 crosses the blood brain barrier better than any other form of magnesium that I've ever seen. So it's the best form if you're looking for cognitive benefits. So I want all the above. I want stress reduction. I want sleep. I want brain benefits. So I take both forms. So by the way though, while we're talking about supplements, let me know if you want me to talk more, make more videos about supplements. I have about 30 videos about supplements in my sleep course as well. And I'll do more if these are helping. All right, so why do I take more magnesium than potassium then? The reason I take more magnesium than potassium is number one, I tolerate it better. I already told you too much potassium causes problems for me. Number two, more importantly, I really take magnesium to help me sleep more than as a fasting electrolyte. I think it helps fasting, but I really use it for the sleep promoting benefits. So here again is my plan. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out what works for me. I've used way more and way less of each one of these and here's where I settled at. Sadly, it's gonna take some trial and error for you as well to figure out the right recipe and the right dosages for yourself. Well, let me kind of give you some ideas about how you can do that. But before that, one more important note. I do this every day, not just on my fasting days. Another common question I get. I do this for two reasons. Number one, I wanna restock my electrolytes just like every other nutrient after a fast. This helps me recover from my last fast and prepare for my next one. And number two, my electrolyte needs are higher on my eating days because of my training. So I have electrolyte needs on my fasting days and my eating days because of heavy training. Another question. What are my favorite electrolyte formulations? So as you can see, I don't mind mixing my own concoctions most days. My son Oliver and I call it daddy's potion, but sometimes it's easier to leave it to the pros. Here are a few products that I trust and I use on a regular basis to help me meet my electrolyte needs. I will never recommend anything to you that I don't use myself, that's a promise. So here we see element or LMNT, right? This is something I use quite often when I'm busy at work or I'm traveling. Each of their packets has about, or has 1,000 milligrams of sodium, 200 milligrams of potassium, yes, and 60 milligrams of magnesium. I would use two packets per day, two on my fasting days because I'm fasting, two on my eating days because I'm training. I still take my magnesium supplements on days when I use element, just so you know. I use the raw, unflavored version for my fasting windows, but I really like the flavored ones as a little treat during my eating window. Here's another really good one. The keto chow fasting drops are great as well. I keep a bottle on my desk, in my car, and in my bag. Well, let me, here you go. Actually, right here, just seeing I'm not lying. Can you tell that I take electrolytes seriously? I add a squirt to my water any time I need a little boost. I first started using these fasting drops years ago when I dabbled in extended fasting, like three to seven day fasts. A single serving has 89 milligrams of sodium, 15 milligrams of magnesium, and nine milligrams of potassium. So this is a great option if you like taking a small amount of electrolytes throughout the day. Here's a little different one. This is called keto start. It's an exogenous ketone supplement called a ketone salt. I use it when I want to boost my ketone levels before a tough workout to improve my performance and my recovery. But while I'm doing that, it also gives me 1,065 milligrams of sodium, 45 milligrams of magnesium, 200 milligrams of potassium, and 960 milligrams of calcium. So really, it just kills two birds with one stone. If I'm gonna use a keto start during the day, I use less of my potion or other electrolyte products. What about calcium though? So speaking of calcium, why don't I add calcium into the mix on my fasting days? I've gotten this question a few times as well. It's best to get calcium from food if possible. And most calcium supplements are actually supposed to be taken with food. So I focus on meeting my calcium needs during my eating window, not my fasting windows. But I also don't see an issue with supplementing if it's important to you, right? Go for it, give it a try. But how much sodium, potassium, and magnesium should I take? So now it's your turn. This is the most popular question I get about electrolytes. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. You'll need to find your own optimal dosage based on how you feel. If the dosage is not right, right? Either if you're taking too little or too much, you will know it. So what's the best way to find your electrolyte sweet spot? Start small and build up, right? You're less likely to make mistakes that way. Maybe start with just adding a little bit of salt to your water, then increase it gradually based on how you feel. This is where a low-dose product like Ketochaus fasting drops can come in handy as well. If the dosage is too low, you're still gonna have symptoms, right? Hopefully you're starting to feel better, but you're not all the way there. That's okay, take a little more. But if you take too much, now you're gonna have other issues to deal with, like vomiting or diarrhea potentially. So that's how you kind of deal with sodium. You work your way up slowly, but you can do the same thing with magnesium and potassium. Start with small amounts and slowly ramp up until you feel just right. Here are some general questions to ask yourself when you're thinking about your electrolyte needs. How long do you fast? How much do you sweat? Do you exercise or have an active life? Do you eat or drink a lot of electrolytes in your eating window? How do you feel during your fasts? And then do you have any medical conditions or take any medications that will impact your electrolytes? All right, so someone that fasts 16 hours a day does an exercise, eats a nutrient-dense diet and feels amazing while they fast will probably not need any electrolytes at all. Someone like me, though, that fasts 36 hours at a time, trains hard, eats keto and feels better with electrolytes, may need to supplement with as many electrolytes as they can tolerate. But here's my advice to you, though. When in doubt, use them unless you have a specific reason not to. Another one, who needs to be careful with electrolyte supplements, right? We always have to err on the side of caution. Groups that need to be especially careful are people on any medication that will impact potassium levels. The elderly, diabetics, people with underlying heart issues, high blood pressure or people with kidney disease. It goes without saying, if you're on any medication or you have any kind of medical condition, you should discuss electrolyte supplementation with your doctor before attempting it. So we're just about done here, but what are signs that you're taking too much? Right, so diarrhea, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, swollen ankles or fingers, bloating, these are symptoms that you're taking too much, but these symptoms are potentially dangerous. So if you're experiencing any of these in a serious way, break your fast and consult your doctor. I want you to be healthy. Another really important question, one of the most common ones I get is will electrolytes break my fast? Will blank break my fast? Talking about something with electrolytes in it. Electrolytes will not break your fast as long as you are smart about where you get them. I've shown you where I get all of my electrolytes. These are all examples of safe ways to supplement as long as you're using the raw, unflavored LMNT during your fasting window and the keto start exogenous ketones, they will break a fast in my opinion because they have calories and they have sweetener. But there are definitely wrong ways to get electrolytes. Look for electrolytes that don't have calories, sugar or protein. For example, people ask about Gatorade. Gatorade's a bad choice because of the sugar or lots of people have asked me about coconut water. Coconut water will break a fast. It has about 10 grams of sugar in it. It's also way too low in sodium to be helpful. That's a definite no-go during a fast for me. You'll also want to avoid any products that have sweeteners or additives if you're fasting clean. Your safest bet is always pure electrolytes with no added fluff. Another good question, do I have to use electrolytes forever? I think for most people the answer's probably no. I've personally stuck with adding electrolytes almost every day for the last two and a half years. I actually don't remember the last day I didn't. You may not need to, but I feel better when I do, and it hasn't caused any issues. Like I said to you, if it ain't broke, I'm not gonna fix it. But a lot of people do fine if they cut back on electrolytes after your body adapts to fasting. That extra sodium dumping and potassium dumping is pretty bad in the beginning, but then it does get better over time. What are signs that you might be severely deficient in electrolytes? So let's end on a serious note here. Take these types of symptoms very seriously. These are medical emergencies, treat them as such. So confusion, severe muscle weakness, loss of consciousness, seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, muscle paralysis, delirium, brain swelling, brain damage, coma, and death. I'm not sure what you can do about the last one though. I don't want you to get there though. So if you're having any of these other symptoms, treat them like a medical emergency. But I'm not trying to scare you here, right? I want you to take this seriously, but don't let me scare you away from fasting. These types of issues are caused by severe electrolyte deficiencies, usually underlying health problems, kidney disease, et cetera, or medication. A healthy person fasting from 16 to 36 hours, or a person that's being smart about electrolytes while fasting for longer periods, like I used to do three to seven days, has almost zero risk of these types of issues. So here's Angus Barberi, he's from Scotland. He fasted for 382 days in 1965 and 1966. He made it with nothing but electrolytes and supplements. So you should be able to make it just fine for 16 to 36 hours. All right, I hope this video helped. Reach out if you have any questions, I am here to help. Have a wonderful day, be blessed.