Tue, Jul-05-05, 10:15
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Registered Member
Posts: 4,815
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Plan: My Own
Stats: 280/118/117.5
BF:
Progress: 100%
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by tom sawyer
I have a question concerning the assertion that ketone bodies (or any other metabolites elevated during ketosis) act as diuretics. Is there evidence for this?
I thought the rapid loss of water in the early phase of the Atkins diet, was solely attributed to the loss of water bound to glycogen in the liver. So that when glycogen stores were depleted, the water had nowhere to stay.
I've been doing LC for well over a year now, and when I first started I got muscle cramps. The frequency has gone down with time but I still experience a cramp now and again. Using lite salt (half potassium) has helped.
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Yea the water loss the first few days is mostly from depleting glycogen, but I think extreme low carb is diuretic in of itself.
This is conjecture on my part, but I believe when one is in deep ketosis and eating very few carbohydrates, insulin is so low that the body finds it more difficult to store and retain much of anything. We all know insulin plays a key role storing/retaining nutritional energy so it's easier to lose weight & hunger is correspondingly decreased in ketosis. However insulin also plays a role in storing/retaining minerals, electrolytes, and maintaining fluid homeostasis. That's why people who tend toward high pressure, bloating, retaining sodium etc these conditions get immediately better once carbs are restricted.
So if you're in a state that is predominantly catabolic because you're eating so few carbohydrates, thus reducing insulin, you might also find it that you tend toward dehydration and electrolyte loss.
As I see it your options are to increase fluid intake and make sure to supplement with minerals or to increase carbs slightly until symptoms abate... however this might interfere with weight loss effectiveness as hunger may increase slightly and metabolism drop.
Just my :2cents:
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