Why is the daily sea salt intake so important?
 

I switched to sea salt a few years ago to cook and season my food with. I've been on the IP diet for just over 2 weeks now, but I keep forgetting to ask my coach why the 1/2 tsp of sea salt daily is so important, especially since some of the packets seem to contain a lot of regular salt. Can anyone here tell me?

thank you for posting this question I was wondering the same thing. Also to build on this is there a daily quota of salt we are suppose to consume?

According to my coach, it helps combat the headaches!

Oh I see! Thank you! I am prone to them, although I have NOT had any since I started this diet (other than the AWFUL terrible migraine I got on day 2!!!) I will continue to be sure that I get that in then.

My clinic tells me 1/2 tsp daily :)

I was told that you need sea salt to ensure that your body has all the sodium it needs to function properly

Because we are not taking any sodium in through processed foods we run the risk of an Electrolyte Imbalance - the side effects can be headaches, fatigue and muscle cramps

yes it is very important to take your salt, I read on here that someone didn't and they ended up in the hospital really sick

This is correct. Sodium is an essential mineral meaning your body cannot produce it internally from other minerals in the body. Sodium is also not stored. Sodium is critical to sustain life. A half tablespoon is probably overkill but better safe than sorry.

Also, It doesn't have to be sea salt - it can be table salt.

Personally - I use salt lite which is 1/2 sodium and 1/2 potassium. (Not on IP diet but I do occasionally mix in a PSMF day)

i wonder if it would kill my raging headache right now..im assuming that came with the first day of IP..

Because getting the proper amount of iodine in your diet is crucial to weight loss and a healthy body. Iodized table salt doesn't contain enough. If you need to follow low sodium for some reason, you can get iodine in onions, seaweed/kelp or a seaweed/kelp iodine supplement.

Now if there's more than that for the IP diet specifically I don't know. But most people don't get the measly low recommended amount of iodine daily, let alone what our bodies actually need!

Definitely the electrolyte balance! I was feeling tired/sluggish for a few days and I let me coach know - turns out I wasn't using enough of the sea salt. He gave me a shot glass of water and sea salt to drink, and an extra potassium pill for 3 days - I felt better after 30 minutes!

I got pretty loose on my sea salt. I am one of the IPers that suffer from gout. For people like me I tend to be chronically dehydrated each time I go in for my weigh in. This, in combination of higher protein diets is a cause of gout. I thought the BMI system was just wrong, because I'm drinking well over 80-90oz a day. How could I be dehydrated? My coach got back from an IP seminar and told me the sea salt helps the water hydrate you. It helps get the water into your vital organs and cells. So this week, I've been drinking a lot of water, at least 90-100oz and taking 1/2 tsp of sea salt each day. So tomorrow, I'll see what happens on my weigh in and BMI reading. By the way if you get gout, start the Alapurinol from the beginning and don't get off and you won't have any problems. I did, and I'm suffering right now.

Hi,
I suffer from gout and I started the IP diet last sunday. Any suggestions that I should follow?

Gout is caused by your kidneys not processing your uric acid correctly. That uric acid crystalizes and finds its way to a joint. This is how the pain is caused. It won't go away, until those crystals are broken down. Foods high in purines seem to create the uric acid. There are many seemingly healthy foods high in purine, which makes it even more frustrating. I was dialed into the IP diet, and eating asparagus. That can cause gout! They also say loosing weight can cause releasing ketones which increases uric acid levels. (I can't remember specifics on this fact). It's also a genetic thing. My Dad had it for years, and it seemed to be passed along to me. So I've just learned to live with it.

So yes, I've experienced gout on IP program. The coach and doctors would suggest a gout diet. Read a gout diet and it seems counter to the IP diet. Or limitations to the foods you enjoy on the IP diet. They'd suggest more water which will help flush out that uric acid and because dehydration plays a part. So what do you do?

Well not being a doctor, or a certified coach I'd have to tell you to consult with them. Being someone who has suffered from gout for years, I decided to accept it and continue on with IP diet. I really didn't want to limit my healthy foods even more, so I passed on the gout diet. Your doctor can prescribe you the appropriate short term and daily medications to prevent it. Also if you feel something coming on, Aleve or the generic naproxen sodium will break it up.

After you get to your goal, you'll have a lot less attacks in the other phases and ongoing maintenance because you'll be healthier. Surprisingly after starting IP again in 2014, I only recall a couple of gout flare-ups. I choose the medication route, because the long-term benefit of taking the weight off addresses so many more health issues in the long run.

My IP info sheet says that part of the reason to encourage sodium intake is that normally insulin tells the kidneys to retain sodium instead of passing it into the urine. P1 is very low carb, which means very low insulin level, which means our kidneys not getting the message to hold onto sodium. Thus we are losing more through urine, hence the need for replacement.