Keto is a popular diet with very good reasons. It is sustainable, easy and filled with delicious food to choose from. It has been studied that Ketogenic diet can reverse metabolic syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes, improve skin conditions and enhances mental performance.

People will be excited to start their keto journey but will be turned off once they experience keto flu. This can be very intimidating and can cause worry resulting to stopping what you have started.

What is Keto Flu?

Keto flu is a set of flu-like symptoms that occur within a week of starting keto diet. This is often time includes:

• Headache
• Lethargy
• Exhaustion
• Brain Fog
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Nausea
• Irritability

Before starting keto, your body is used to burning glucose and utilising it as the primary source of energy. The day that you start your keto diet, body gets confused as the fuel source that it was using is now gone.

When you stop eating carbs and start to burn fat instead, your body starts to adapt to a new way of utilising energy. This will lead to being in a state of ‘withdrawal’ which is associated with unpleasant symptoms.

The body does not know how to make ketones yet and it will take several days before it achieves ketosis

Processed carbohydrates are highly addictive and it stimulate and trigger the pleasure centre in the brain, and then will lead to production of endorphins.

Keto flu is the group withdrawal symptoms you are encountering when you stop eating these kinds of food. This can also be compared to alcohol and tobacco addiction.

Keto flu is not a dangerous thing. It is a hurdle that you need to surpass when you are on your keto journey. However, some people might not experience this and it maybe related to genetics, body composition, capability of the body to produce enzymes and hormones, etc.

Hydration lessens Keto flu symptoms

In keto, your body water is depleted. We must remember ‘where Sodium is, water follows’. During ketosis, salt is being expelled from your body (NaCl) and that will also mean you will lose water.

In addition, your glycogen reserves are being utilised when you are on ketosis. Glycogen holds water. This will result to water being released from the body.

When you are on keto, there is a threat of not getting enough hydration. We must remember to drink water through out the day to compensate for the water loss and also monitor how many times you are going to the toilet. This will give you a rough idea of how much water you need to replace.

Utilising electrolytes and minerals when doing Keto

Since you are missing good amount of electrolytes and minerals when you stay away from fruits and other food that are high in carbs, we need to replace them.

If you decrease the amount of carbohydrates in your food, you also decrease the level of insulin and electrolytes in your body.

If you are eating loads of carbs, you are holding a good amount of water in your body. Once you start your keto diet, you will lose your excess fluids and your kidney will excrete this in the form of urine which will also contain a lot of electrolytes

Magnesium supplements

Magnesium is vital in maintaining your over all health. This is involved in your heart function, blood pressure level, blood sugar control, bone health, etc. Unfortunately in Keto, magnesium rich food are also rich in carbohydrates.

You can have this in gel form, Epsom salts, Magnesium salt supplements.

Why do you need salt on Keto Diet?

Since keto can deplete your electrolytes, it will definitely lower your Sodium level in your body. Having said this, you need to add salt to compensate for that loss. Sodium is important because it regulates the water movement in and out of the cells.

When you are in your first few weeks of keto, your weight loss may be attributed to fat loss and, also, sodium and water loss.

Most people on Keto will use Himalayan salt and they add it onto their drink or meal.

Low sodium level in the body can lead to muscle cramps, prominent keto-flu symptoms and digestive problems.

Good quality of sleep to help with Keto Flu

Ketogenic diet can cause low level of serotonin and melatonin which can greatly affect your sleep.

To combat insomnia, limit your caffeine intake and make sure that you have your coffee in the morning and avoid having it in the afternoon or evening.

Moderate exercise

Do not over do it! High intensity exercise requires the body to have enough energy and power. When you are in a low-carb diet, this may not be able to boost your performance. You can do this but make sure that you don’t over do it.

Alternate this with long walks, yoga, stretching and meditation.