Even though this way of eating has been tied to health benefits, there are many other things you can do to benefit your health that don’t involve fasting. People who have kidney failure or are on dialysis do need to be careful about their electrolyte intake. And kidney failure is complicated, so definitely consult with your nephrologist (kidney specialist). 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. 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. Salt is crucial to maintain an adequate blood volume and blood pressure ensuring that our tissues are perfused with the oxygen carrying blood and nutrients. Salt is composed of equal parts sodium and chloride. When we measure the electrolytes in the blood, salt (sodium and chloride) are by far and away the most common ions. For example, normal blood will contain sodium at a concentration of approximately 140 mmol/L, and chloride at 100 mmol/L, compared to potassium at 4 mmol/L and calcium at 2.2 mmol/L. No wonder we need salt so badly.

But as I said, this isn’t individual medical advice, so talk to your own medical providers. What about Kidney Failure? Paradoxically, fasting begins to get easier as you fast for a longer time. After the first stage of fasting, appetite generally declines. Fat Loss 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. Fasting begins about eight hours after your last meal. This stage is characterized by changes in your blood sugar levels. Stable Blood Sugar With the loss of excess water, your body also flushes out electrolytes like sodium, potassium and magnesium. Your body needs to produce sugar for energy when fasting, so it begins a process called gluconeogenesis, during which your liver converts non-carbohydrate materials like lactate, amino acids, and fats into glucose. As this occurs, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) uses less energy and your blood pressure and heart rate are lowered. Think of this as your body going into “power saving mode”[ *].The evidence from the United States was not encouraging either. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) are large-scale surveys of American dietary habits carried out periodically. The first survey found that those eating the least salt died at a rate 18% higher than those eating the most salt. This was a disturbing result. People are generally able to meet their calorie and nutrient needs on various types of intermittent fasting programs. A 2021 study looked at 31 people with obesity who participated in an alternate day fasting regimen while also following a low-carb diet for 6 months. The study found that this regimen did not affect sleep quality or duration, or insomnia severity ( 20). Some people use food grade Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate) or Milk of Magnesia as a sources of Magnesium, however both have severe laxative effects so Magnesium supplements in capsule form are much preferred Stage four occurs sometime around day 16 and continues through the duration of your fast. While there may be some changes moving beyond this juncture, there is a daily balance that starts to set in. How You Feel: Balanced

There are some limited potential benefits to medically supervised water fasting diets, but most experts agree that the potential risks, particularly when attempted at home, far outweigh the benefits, and people with certain medical conditions should not attempt to water fast. What You Can Eat 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.After about eight hours without food, your blood glucose begins to dip. You may experience hunger, fatigue, food cravings, and trouble concentrating. Not unlike the regular flu, you may feel feverish when entering ketosis. It’s possible that if you are burning fat, that it could cause an increase in heat which leads to an elevated temperature, however there is not enough conclusive evidence to determine this. 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. But when people are told to limit their sodium, that usually means keeping the amount of sodium that they eat under 2 grams (2,000 milligrams) per day.

Generally the amount of sodium you’d want to consume during extended water fasting is somewhere between 4 grams and 7 grams (4,000 milligrams and 7,000 milligrams) of sodium per day. This can cause you to feel unusually tired and weak until things balance out more. This is often a symptom that causes people to quit fasting before they get into ketosis and see the benefits. Remember that this transition doesn’t occur immediately and you need to give your body time to adjust, since it’s not used to going long stretches of time without food. Don’t expect to be full of energy as you begin intermittent fasting. Hunger and Sugar Cravings Otherwise, you’ll be going from whatever you normally consume, all the way down to 0 grams of sodium per day. And therefore you might have some of the same symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, or not feeling able to exercise on the days when you’re fasting. How Can You Supplement Salt / Sodium while Fasting? Since you’re not consuming any salt with your food on fasting days, and you’re also losing more sodium in your urine, for most people it does make sense to consume more salt on a fasting day than they otherwise would. Lowers risk of heart disease: There is limited evidence that water fasting can help with heart disease. One study enrolled 30 apparently healthy volunteers into a 24-hour water fast. At the end of the fast, the participants showed lower levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, two big risk factors for cardiovascular disease.Digestive issues — including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and bloating — are symptoms you might experience if you do intermittent fasting ( 3, 5). Diabetes: Fasting may increase the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Long story short – not enough sodium will lead to potassium deficiencies, which will cause muscle cramps and indigestion. Certain people may be more at risk of adverse side effects related to fasting, so it’s important to determine whether intermittent fasting is the safe choice for your specific needs ( 23). While I’m not giving individual medical advice in this blog post, or anywhere else, here are a few things to consider:

When doing any type of extended (multi-day) fasting it's important to replenish your electrolytes. Electrolytes are constantly lost by the body through sweat and urine, and their depletion over time can have scary effects on everything from blood pressure (light-headedness/fainting) to muscle function (heart arrhythmia). A study of healthy adults found that 48-hour fasting increased human growth hormone (HGH) secretion by up to 400%. It also increased the frequency of growth hormone bursts throughout the day[ *]. By stage two, ketosis has begun. Ketosis is a critical phase of the fast where your body starts to burn stored fat as its primary power source. As the processes of ketosis are carried out inside your body, you might stop feeling hungry and tired. The practice of putting your body into ketosis has a growing movement behind it. It is ideal for weight loss, balancing blood sugar, and more. Best of all, you don’t even have to fast to put your body into ketosis. Eating the right foods at the right time can be enough to start this fat burning process. There are even vegan ketogenic diet plans available so you can still eat health-promoting foods to stay in ketosis. What’s Happening With Your Body: Fat Burning Mode You can expect a big flush in water weight, which can leave you dehydrated and exacerbate the above symptoms. Drink plenty of water and consume bone broths that are rich in minerals. Increase Salt Intake

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 When you reduce your calorie intake or go long periods without taking in calories, you may experience increased hunger. Some people may experience irritability and other mood disturbances when they practice intermittent fasting. When your blood sugar is low, it may cause you to feel irritated ( 9). We pride ourselves on being your source for the best, scientifically-accurate advice for healthy living.