On a fast, how should one consume a sodium/potassium/magnesium drink?

I saw somewhere on reddit...might have been this community...you should take sodium, potassium, and magnesium in drink-form during fasts. **But the interesting thing is, people were warning that you don't chug it all at once - or else you'll have upset stomach (or worse). They recommended taking couple of sips every hour.** So I use "LMNT" drink mix to that end. With each packet consisting of: * *1,000 mg SODIUM* * *200 mg POTASSIUM* * *60 mg MAGNESIUM* **And I take a one or two sips every hour. That works out to a single cup of this drink (maybe a little more) per day.** Now browsing through YouTube, I saw this video where the guy did a 7 day fast. Relevant to our topic, he mentioned that he went through 3 or 4 LMNT packets a day: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSSBiNPZs8Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSSBiNPZs8Q) According to LMNT's mixing ratio...one packet is around 2 cups worth of the drink. So he'd be consuming around 6-8 cups of this stuff a day: * *HOW TO USE: Mix one packet with 16 ounces of water (or more, depending on preference). Or try with sparkling water for a delicious mocktail. May not be suitable for those following a low-sodium diet* Obviously, he can't be doing that by sipping a couple of times every hour. He'd have to be chugging the stuff. **Is that safe to do?** **The reason I ask is that I feel great after I take my couple of sips. But then the effect wears off within 30-40 minutes. That's when I feel sluggish. I'm especially noticing this on day 6 of my fast.** **I was wondering if it'd be safe to drink more of this stuff at a time? Or does that come with risks?**

Answer

There’s a difference between daily fasting and a 7-day fast.

If you are fasting daily (so there is a period where you do eat something), you are getting nutrients from other sources and supplementing with the electrolyte drink.

If you are fasting for 7 days (not eating anything for 7 days) and drinking water only, you are diluting and depleting your electrolytes and would need to supplement for that.

I believe LMNT advertises as a daily supplement to food intake and doesn’t really promote extended fasts. So they’re going to recommend what’s generally safe and not get into a level that might be considered unsafe.

And no, you don’t have to chug water to consume 64 oz in the course of a day. That’s a pretty reasonable level of water intake and might be quite low.

I take 2-3 scoops of powder added to 64 oz of water, helps me get in all my water and supplements my electrolyte levels. I’m awake for about 16 hours a day… that’s 4oz of water an hour. Hardly requires chugging.

ETA: important difference! I use Ultima, which has a lot lower sodium so for me is a better choice for supplementing at that level since I get my sodium needs through food.

Answer

I think for extended fasts you do need, or at least would do better, with more than your one packet. I’ve done a salt shot with ~1100 mg sodium (I can’t sip it, the shot is better), with water chaser, and then ~640 mg potassium in maybe a cup of water over the next half hour with no ill effects. Also, a magnesium capsule around then as well. I’m following the advice I saw on some subreddit page, but I can’t remember which, of course! It was super helpful, but I only got some screenshots and can’t find it again. They suggest the 1100 mg sodium (1/2 tsp salt), 640 mg potassium (1/4 tsp no-salt) in 24 oz water with a 100mg magnesium citrate capsule 4x a day for an extended fast.