Yes, I am encouraging all of us to drink more. Water, that is. Why is there such emphasis on drinking water when we low carb? Simple.
It helps us lose weight.
Why is that? Funnily enough... no one knows for sure. As outlined in
this blog post from Dr. Michael Eades, of
Protein Power fame, there are lots of studies in the literature indicating that proper water intake helps humans burn fat. His theory is that proper hydration dilutes our blood volume, which in turn lowers the concentration of insulin in our blood. This releases fat from our cells.
I find that a compelling line of reasoning. My own thoughts are that we need water to perform the conversion of body fat into stuff we burn for energy; without adequate water, these vital processes can't happen. Either way it leads to a lovely image; every swig liberates a few fat cells. Bottoms up!
But as in all things, there's a right way and a wrong way. Here's some tips:
Eye on the electrolytes. Did you know it's possible to overdose on water? We can dilute ourselves too much and mess up all those lovely electro-chemical reactions in our body. While it's unlikely for us to overdo it to such an extent, we can give ourselves
puffy legs, headaches, muscle cramps, and dizziness, anytime we upset our balance. Getting the right amounts of sodium, potassium, and magnesium will help our body stay balanced.
The salt/kelp substitution. I no longer use iodized salt. I switched to sea salt, and kelp tablets. If we are not salt sensitive (and only 25% of the population, WITH high blood pressure, are) this is hard to mess up.
Sea salt and kelp tablets have lots of lovely trace minerals. This is especially important because a lot of our produce is grown in depleted soils. Manufactured fertilizers have a built-in disadvantage; we can't put in what we don't know is missing.
Kelp provides the iodine missing from the sea salt. If we have thyroid issues,
especially if it's Hashimoto's, iodine can be problematical. But if we don't, it keeps our thyroid in shape. If we don't eat seafood very often, kelp is important.
Why was salt iodized in the first place? We had goiter epidemics in the inland United States: it was hard, back when, to get enough fish and seafood if we didn't live close to the ocean. Iodized salt was the cheap and effective way to supply this nutrient to the population, but there are better ways.
Per Dr. Eades:
Quote:
Increasing sodium is just another one of the many counter-intuitive things about low-carb dieting. Just like eating more fat to lower your cholesterol. You’ve got to start thinking differently. The low-carb diet is one that absolutely requires more sodium. A lot more sodium.
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Potassium - but not bananas. If we keep our sodium balance correct, we keep our potassium. We can also get it from low-sodium salt, or supplements. Bananas are much too high in sugar to rely upon; and they aren't even the best source. Avocados, brussel sprouts, and spinach are low carb, high potassium foods.
Magnesium - the "sparkly" mineral. There are over 300 known chemical reactions, vital to the body, which use magnesium.
Dr. Eades says:
Quote:
...most people who are overweight, insulin resistant and/or hypertensive or diabetic are deficient in magnesium. Even people with lipid problems are often magnesium deficient. In fact, even people who don’t seem to have health problems can often be magnesium deficient because most people don’t get enough. The last I read on the subject, about 70 percent of people don’t even get the minimum recommended daily intake of magnesium (which isn’t all that high). So, in my opinion, it’s important to supplement this vital mineral. Good magnesium levels help regulate potassium as well, so keeping your magnesium adequate helps with your potassium as well.
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This state of affairs came about because chemical fertilizers don't put magnesium back into the soil; and we no longer rely on natural, mineral-laden, water sources. By the time our water reaches us, it's safe... and lacks magnesium.
I was sensitive to the type of magnesium I supplement with; you might be, too! Explore
my magnesium supplementation thread for more information.
I realize this is a long post, but it's also a vital one. To our health, and to our weight loss goals. We often think we have a "sodium" problem if we bloat up after a ham dinner or retain water at the drop of a salty hat. But it might be that we are not balancing our other minerals, like potassium and magnesium. This delicate dance is one our bodies must do; and we must help them. If you are curious about how all this works, be sure to read
this blog post for the, you know, skinny.
Next round is on me.