Homemade Electrolyte Drink for Extended Fasting

Incorporating electrolyte drink into your fasting regime can prevent discomfort and even boost your overall energy. I like it when that happens. Don’t you? Read on for game changing info.

If you’re feeling sluggish, getting muscle cramps, or performing poorly while fasting, there’s a good chance you’re low on electrolytes. If you are experiencing all those symptoms, it’s more likely that you’ll cut your fast short.  This zero calorie electrolyte drink makes extended fasts more bearable.

Electrically-charged minerals (electrolytes) are important because they help your heart beat, your muscles contract, and your brain cells communicate.

I personally love to add electrolytes to my water when I’m doing extended fasts. They help to reduce the uncomfortable side effects of fasting allowing me to “hang in there” much longer.

So, what does this electrolyte drink entail?

Sodium and Potassium (chloride)

Now, although there are other important main electrolytes like calcium, phosphate, chloride, and bicarbonate. Sodium and potassium and magnesium (I’ll touch on magnesium later) are the ones that people are most likely deficient in. Here’s why they’re important:

Sodium

Sodium is important for energy production, electrolyte balance, helps to maintain blood pressure, helps to fire nerve impulses. Deficiencies in sodium can cause muscle cramping, brain fog, fatigue, water retention, and even insulin resistance. It can also create binge eating after breaking a fast because the body is depleted of essential nutrients.

I recommend using pink salt as sodium source during fasting.

Potassium

Deficiencies in potassium can weaken muscle contraction, cause arrhythmia, and impair insulin production. Low potassium activates calcium signaling which results in excessive autophagy leading to calcification. This is why you should try to eat as many potassium rich vegetables as you can during your eating window to ensure that you get enough potassium.

I recommend using “No-Salt” as a source of potassium (chloride) during fasting.

If your electrolyte levels become unbalanced, you may experience muscle cramps, low energy, headaches, irritability, and neurological symptoms. These side effects can easily occur during a fast.

Why does fasting deplete electrolytes

There are a plethora of things that can deplete electrolyte levels: drinking over the amount of water you need (water intoxication), vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, low-carb diets, and fasting…yes…fasting. But, this process isn’t so straight forward

When insulin levels are low, you pee out more sodium. And no dietary protocol (not even a ketogenic diet) lowers insulin more than fasting.

During a fast, low insulin levels are great for burning fat, but awful for retaining adequate sodium levels.

What are the benefits of adding electrolytes while fasting?

Any fast over 12 hours increases the likelihood of electrolyte deficiency. There are two main reasons for this:

-Food (especially plant matter) is the main source of every electrolyte except sodium. When you fast, you cut off your supply.
-Fasting lowers insulin levels. As a result, your kidneys start expelling sodium, potassium, and water in great amounts.

Taking electrolytes during a fast can prevent deficiency. These are some of the benefits:

You have more energy

You have more energy from increased salt intake.

Lower weight rebound

If you step on the scale a couple days into a fast, you’ll likely see a lower number than expected. Most of this is water loss. When you fast, your body breaks apart glycogen (stored sugar) to meet your brain’s ravenous glucose needs. This process, called glycogenolysis, releases torrents of water which you subsequently pee out. Water is heavy, and your body weight decreases accordingly.

When you break your fast and start eating again, glycogen reforms and the weight comes roaring back. “Sodium supplementation dampens this effect, reducing the post-fasting weight gain to only 39% of the original amount lost.”

Increased exercise performance

During exercise, you lose sodium through sweat. Combine this with fasting-induced sodium loss and you have a strong case for supplementation. Increasing electrolyte intake can give you much needed gas in your tank during fasting.

Prevents Hyponatremia

Low sodium, or hyponatremia, is a dangerous and sometimes fatal condition that afflicts about 15% athletes–according to a source. The root cause is bad “drink more water” advice. Athletes end up guzzling fluids beyond the dictates of thirst and end up diluting blood sodium levels.

Hyponatremia can be reversed by drinking a saline, or a salt water solution. So if you’re only drinking water—but not consuming electrolytes—during a fast, you may end up with low sodium symptoms.

What about the Magnesium mentioned earlier?

Magnesium–another essential daily electrolyte. It supports muscle function, mood, and bone health. At least 300-400 mg magnesium will meet basic requirements and can also help you relax during a fast (these numbers differ for men and women). This comes in handy when you go to bed hungry.

Personal Preference: I do NOT add Magnesium in with my electrolyte drink because I take it at night during extended fasts as it helps with sleep.

I take it in the form of Magnesium Citrate found in this Calm supplement. It contains 350g of Magnesium Citrate per serving. It is said that “men ages 19 to 30 should take 400 milligrams (mg) a day, while men over age 30 should take 420 mg. Women up to 50 years of age should take 310 mg a day.

For more info on fasting, you’ll likely find these articles useful:

10 Intermittent Fasting Tips You Should NOT Follow

What Happens to your Body During a Water Fast

The Ultimate Health Benefits of Fasting

How to Naturally Balance Hormones w/ Fasting

Achieve Your Extended Fasting Goals with Tea!

The Ultimate Vegan Keto Shopping List

Get Into Ketosis Faster with these 6 Hacks

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Article facts/research credit: LMTN Labs at lmnt.com “Electrolytes While Fasting: Benefits and Best Sources” article.

Buy LMNT fasting salts here

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Please See Medical Disclaimer

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