What is keto flu, and how can I alleviate its symptoms while adapting to a ketogenic diet?

As you transition from sugar burning to fat burning you may experience headaches, body aches, cravings, brain fog, fatigue, nausea, chills, or loss of appetite. These symptoms are called “keto flu.”

This is usually due to low sodium. Keto does cause more sodium loss so you don’t want to consume too much water and not enough salt.

Additionally, when cells are converting over and changing to a different type of fuel, they need certain nutrients, minerals, vitamins and electrolytes. Specifically, B vitamins and electrolytes are vital to support your body during and after this transition. Consuming these will help you to avoid keto flu symptoms.

You can use nutritional yeast (non-fortified) for replenishing the B vitamins, and electrolyte powder for the sodium and other key electrolytes. For sodium, you can even use 1 tsp of Himalayan sea salt per day to restore minerals that have been lost.