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Beat Keto-Flu with Homemade Electrolyte Drink

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Beat Keto-Flu with Homemade Electrolyte DrinkPin itFollow us 148.4k

This recipe was inspired by a great electrolyte drink created by Wellness Mama. Apart from using electrolyte drinks for rehydrating during sports, it's an effective natural keto-flu remedy. Electrolytes, especially magnesium, are often deficient when you eat less than 20-30 g net carbs.

Making an electrolyte drink that tastes good was a real challenge. At first, the drink was too salty and I had to make a few batches before I was happy with the result. I used slightly different ingredients than the original recipe to increase the potassium and magnesium content and to make it suitable for a keto diet. If you've ever been through keto-flu, you know how bad the symptoms can be: headaches, muscle weakness, cramps or fatigue are just some of the side effects you don't want to experience during the transitional period of the ketogenic diet.

Note: If you need to add more sodium to your diet, try Homemade Bone Broth!. For more potassium try avocados!

Also check out our Quick Guide to Keto-flu Remedies and pin it to your board!

Tips for Alternatives

  • Drink with meals (not on an empty stomach). Start with a cup per day and increase to no more than 2 cups per day to avoid stomach discomfort. Too much magnesium citrate causes loose stools so keep that in mind.__
  • Instead of potassium chloride, you can use lite salt or cream of tartar. To read more about potassium supplements, read this post: The Importance of Potassium in Low-Carb Diets.
  • You can use coconut water instead of water for extra electrolyte boost, especially potassium and sodium. The downside is that coconut water may be too high in carbs for some people. There are about 6 grams of net carbs, 600 mg potassium, 252 g sodium and 60 mg magnesium per cup of coconut water.
  • Instead of Erythritol, you can use other healthy low-carb sweetener from this list.

Hands-on Overall

Serving size cup/ 240 ml/ 8 fl oz

Allergy information for Beat Keto-Flu with Homemade Electrolyte Drink

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Nightshade free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free
✔  Beef free
Pescatarian
Vegetarian
Vegan

Nutritional values (per serving, cup/ 240 ml/ 8 fl oz)

Net carbs1.7 grams
Protein0.1 grams
Fat0 grams
Calories6 kcal
Calories from carbs 90%, protein 4%, fat 6%
Total carbs1.7 gramsFiber0.1 gramsSugars0.8 gramsSaturated fat0 gramsSodium104 mg(5% RDA)Magnesium179 mg(45% RDA)Potassium216 mg(11% EMR)

Ingredients (makes about 6 cups)

Instructions

  1. Juice the lemons or limes (or a combination of both). Beat Keto-Flu with Homemade Electrolyte Drink
  2. Place everything in a jug and stir until well combined and no crystals appear on the bottom. Beat Keto-Flu with Homemade Electrolyte Drink
  3. Add some ice cubes if needed and enjoy! If you suffer from keto-flu symptoms, have 2-3 cups per day with meals (3 cups only if you are physically active and have no stomach discomfort) and also add more sodium to your diet (try Homemade Bone Broth). Store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Beat Keto-Flu with Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, cup/ 240 ml/ 8 fl oz)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Water, still
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Lemon (juice), fresh
1.3 g0.1 g0 g4 kcal
Potassium chloride, supplement
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Natural Calm, magnesium supplement
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener)
0.3 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Total per serving, cup/ 240 ml/ 8 fl oz
1.7 g0.1 g0 g6 kcal

Beat Keto-Flu with Homemade Electrolyte DrinkPin itFollow us 148.4k

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

Let us know what you think, rate this recipe!

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Comments (158)

Hi Martina,
I have been in a ketogenic diet for a year now, with my doctors approval (health reasons). Any way, can this be used for someone that is long term keto? I have been extremely tired, I believe I may need all that is in your keto flu beverage help.

Hi Marianna, it should help if it's keto-flu related. I hope you are feeling better now!

I love your books and recipes. Just a note for those who  don't know: Natural Calm is magnesium carbonate, not citrate but becomes magnesium citrate (more bioavailable form) through a chemical reaction with the citric acid after dissolving in water. In hot water this is instant. In cold it can take 15 minutes so people should be sure its completely dissolved first before drinking to get the most benefit.

Thank you so much Sara, that is great to know!

In order for the Calm mag to work you need to heat water and add the calm. This causes the chemical reaction. I don't see this in your directions. Or am i missing it?

Hi Dawn, Sara mentioned it above - you can also wait for a few minutes for this to happen.

I have the same background and find your recipes inspiring

Thank you!

great drink. been on and off keto diet for over a year, each time the flu totally floored me. I feel great , managing to stay awake and physically do stuff, found energy otherwise lost, so yeah, 100% recommend this recipe/drink.Thanks.

Thank you Tina! It's my favourite recipe for electrolytes. Sometimes I use just lime or lemon, or I even add some frozen berries.

Thanks for your recomendation!

Have been on and off keto about 3 times in past year. The flu almost flattened me each time. Thank Goodness for this drink. Totally different energy with it, no return to flu like symptons and more encouraged and incentivated to carry on. Thank you for the recipe.!!! xx

Thank you so much Tina, it's a favourite in my house too, especially now as we have a heatwave in the UK 😊

Martina, I make a similar drink.  I use 2 tsp Redmonds, 1/2 tsp potass. chlor., 2 oz lemon jc,  2 TSP Calm ( I also take a mag pill before bed) and 64 oz water. Some times I sweeten, other times..not. I don't mind the salty taste and I use that much to be sure I get at least 2 tsp salt a day (I usually drink about 3/4 of the container)+ whatever I use on food.  Any thoughts on my recipe?  Thank you. (In the beginning of keto when I didn't understand a lot of things I had a low sodium episode that put me in the hospital for 4 days on a drip!)

I'm sorry to hear that Judy, that sounds terrifying! I think the drink you make sounds good - more potassium and salt, less magnesium (as you drink the whole 2L so you don't want more than that). If you also take magnesium pills (which you don't necessarily need if you drink the whole 2L), just avoid citrate - instead magnesium glycinate is a good choice. Too much citrate may add up and cause GI distress. More potassium is ok here (far from toxic levels) and the sodium I assume is what you were advised by your doctor. All sounds good to me!

Hello! I needed to find an alternative for electrolytes so this will help. Which potassium chloride did you use?
Thanks!

HI Alejandra, I used food grade potassium chloride which I got from Amazon - you can find the link in the list of ingredients

Hi,
Can these be made into gummies for on the go, or should I just leave it a drink?

That's a great idea! The only worry I'd have is that it needs more flavour. If you make this as gummies you'll need to use less water.

Thank you, Martina fo this much needed electrolyte drink. It helps me so much when I experience the Keto flu. I've been wondering if magnesium malate powder can be substituted for the magnesium citrate, or if there is a particular reason for using the latter. Thank you.

Thank you Diana! If it's powdered it will work just fine. I don't know how it tastes compared to citrate (refreshing, lemony, sour) but I assume that the flavour will be similar.

Thank you so much for your beautiful, very helpful, interesting , marvelous ketodietapp.
God bless you and whoever has helped you gathering all these information for people like me. After 5 months being in keto diet and searching finally i think i m lucky enough to find you with so much support. I will recommend you to all my friends in different keto community that i m in .
Thank you 🙏.

Thank you so much, I appreciate your kind words! I'll let my partner reply to the printing question.

Hi
I really appreciate your Homemade Electrolyte Drink to beat the Keto-Flu. It works !!! But I cannot print the recipes with my Windows 10 Desktop. Any suggestions ? I really appreciate your great website and books - I have just purchased several of them on Amazon.   R.C.  

Hi Robert,
Thank you for your feedback. I just tried this on Windows 10 using Microsoft Edge and Chrome, can I ask which browser you're using? Do you get an error when you click to print?
Thanks, Nikos

The serving sizes are supposed to be 2 teaspoons for the natural calm, not tablespoons. For the love of God edit this before someone dies.

Brian, before making these claims, please do check the serving size. This recipe makes 6 servings. Not to mention that you are confusing magnesium with potassium.

These numbers seem a bit extreme, just curious how you came to these proportions? And if what's listed below is accurate.
Sodium    0.25 tsp  (590mg)  
Potassium  0.5 tsp  (2160mg)
Magnesium  2 tbs  (1950mg)
Most keto electrolyte supplements have more sodium than anything.

Hi Ben, keep in mind you are looking at the whole recipe so a "serving" is a lot less than that - it's certainly not extreme. One or two servings are ideal for most people. The amounts are also a matter of flavour. More salt would make this drink unpalatable. I've tried it and I was aiming for the "sweet spot".
This means that the sodium values are not too high but enough to help you replenish electrolytes. This drink is not meant to provide 100% of your daily values - apart from supplements you also need to consider the electrolytes you get from whole foods (the majority). Some electrolyte supplements may have higher values but the ones I've seen come in pills so you can't really taste them.

I love this drink. I found that I like this without the added sugar. Thank you for this great recipe!

Super yummy!   Have to watch not to drink to much.  I am glad to have found this recipe as I have a colonoscopy scheduled this week.   They suggested an electrolyte drink so I will add this to my beverages.  Thanks so much!

Thank you Tanya, you might also like this one 😊 Sugar-Free Blueberry & Lemon Electrolyte Drink

I drink electrolyte replacement drinks with ACV and lime equal parts.  when taken along with cinnamon, cayenne, salt, and cream of tartar, it works well.  I will want to look at magnesium, so thanks about that.

Hi can or should you take this at least once a day even if you haven't gotten the "keto-flu" or would that do something bad? I'm brand new to the keto diet (just started Monday) so if you have any advice for me let me know.
Oh and is coconut sugar or coconut palm sugar ok for the keto diet or not I've read a ton a different stuff about it.

I don't drink this electrolyte drink every day but I do drink magnesium (Calm) almost every single day (or take magnesium supplements). I find that even with more carbs (30+ g net) I can't get enough magnesium.

Now I know where the dizziness was coming from. It was an element of the keto flu. I even had a little slight nausea! So I made your delicious electrolyte drink, just now and drank a glass and I am already feeling better. Was I supposed to use a half teaspoon of cream of tartar? Probably doesn't matter if it's too much for now since I'm low in potassium. Your recipe calls for half a teaspoon of potassium chloride but your recipe is  not specific about how much cream of tartar? Thanks for your answer in advance.  

Hi Jen, there is potassium in cream of tartar but not as much as in supplements or some keto foods like avocados. You can use 2-3 teaspoons per recipe but to get the same effect you'd have to use a lot more - and there are extra carbs (there is only 330 mg potassium and 1.2 g net carbs per 2 teaspoons). I hope this helps!

Good recipe.  I didn't read all the instructions, so I made a quart and drank the whole thing.   DO NOT do that.  Trust me 😲

I totally agree - do not exceed the recommended serving size (GI distress).

Every time I try to go Keto, I get the awful Keto flu so I am hoping this will help. My question is do I drink this instead of Pickle juice or should I still use Pickle juice along with this electrolyte drink?  Thanks for suggestions and recommendations on this.  

I have never used pickle juice in that way but I assume that's for additional sodium? I'd swap it with bone broth. My worry is that pickle juice may have added sugar or sweeteners.

Hi Martina.  Thanks for the recipe.  I was looking at reviews for this potassium you recommend and some say that potassium citrate is a better potassium to take.  Not sure why but what do you think and why you chose the chloride over the citrate?  Thanks.  

Hi Judy, I don't have a preference because I use it sparingly and only in my electrolyte drinks. Both options are suitable!

Potassium Glycinateis the most absorbable of the types of minerals but it is a challenge to find and more expensive as a result.

Just made up a batch as a preventative measure. We aren't more than a week on Keto, but we are trying to avoid the worst of the symptoms if possible. Thanks for this.

Ah, the keto flu. It's a helluva ride, but worth it if you can get to the other side. I've been using moringa powder as a natural substitute for potassium chloride and natural calm. This drink along with a nice essential oil inhaler (I just like grapefruit essential oil) for the crazy angry monkey mind and I can usually get through the keto-flu in a couple days 😊

Hi ,
Can you have this drink if you are not doing leto and you are on a low carb diet.
Regards Rohini

Yes you can! This is a great option for hydration and replenishing electrolytes, especially for those who exercise.

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