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Writer's pictureFranco Cavaleri, BSc, Ph.Dc

Ketone Salts and the Sodium Paradox

Updated: Oct 16, 2023

INDEPENDENT REVIEW BY ConsumerHealthDigest

Original post: May 22, 2018



Ketone Salts and the Sodium Paradox

It’s no secret that sodium intake by North Americans is scaling through the roof because sodium finds its way into processed foods in many unexpected forms. Even before we add sodium chloride (table salt) to spike a bland meal, the daily sodium load from hidden sources is enough to raise heart gasping flags. Irrefutably, sodium is essential for life but too much can kill you especially if there’s a predisposition of cardio- or cerebro-vascular disease.


Nevertheless, experts are not all on the same page when it comes to this sodium issue because sodium plays so many critical roles in the body as a cation in communication, fluid balance and in the basic cellular homeostasis. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1500 mg of sodium per day yet typical daily intakes work out to be 3300 mg. Theoretically, the body is said to need about 200 mg.


Research that is somewhat contradictory but adds another dimension to this savory story eludes to chloride factoring into the morbidity equation as well. From the standpoint of chloride, research tells us that limiting sodium chloride in the diet can result in chloride shortfalls that also increase health risk. So from this standpoint raising sodium without the chloride anion might be a double jeopardy when it comes to health risk.


Somewhere in all this debate is a healthy medium but this too depends on so many variables. There’s no doubt that sodium demand increases for athletes that are, especially, enduring extreme loads in hot environments where water loss can be extraordinary. Nevertheless, on the other side of that issue research also demonstrates irrefutably that excessive sodium intake is ergolytic to impede performance potential. Additionally, sodium is not the only electrolyte; demand for all electrolytes can increase proportionally, not just sodium.


Ultimately, the likely reliable way to clear some dust on this cloudy issue is to look more closely at sodium-potassium ratio. This ratio is more strongly associated with cardiovascular risk and performance shortfalls than either sodium or potassium status alone. Maybe, this is, in fact the basis for the controversial positioning. Typically sodium-potassium ratio moves around drastically with age so adding unnecessary sodium to the diet that you could otherwise control isn’t a good idea.

It’s well documented that about one tenth of US adults have a sodium-potassium status consistent with WHO guidelines related to reduced risk of morbidity. That is… 90% of us according to recommendations ingest too much of the salty stuff and not enough of the counter-effective potassium and as such increase health risk. Let’s pass right by performance for a moment and talk more about optimal health. The American Heart Association recommends we consume at least 4.7 grams of potassium daily for optimal health and this demand goes up as we get more active.


Herein we see why we have a common problem. Too many of us consume too much processed food that is loaded with hidden sodium. To compound matters we tend to consume a shortfall of the fruits and veggies that are good potassium sources. If you’re dedicated to a ketogenic diet and are failing to get your vegetable and fruit intake for fear of carbohydrate intake you’re setting up a serious risk factor. Sodium intake will likely be high and potassium will be drastically short. Bottom line, be aware of your goals and plan appropriately. Your athletic or basic fitness goals are NOT achievable if your basic health fails you. Furthermore, feeding your body with the ratios it needs to perform maximally will get you to your goal with greater efficiency anyways.


Supplement with programs you have sodium control over limiting sodium contribution but enhancing potassium load to keep the ratio in line. KETOBA™ is designed to deliver an electrolyte balance with an understanding that you will get sodium from your diet elsewhere quite easily if you need it. Just to put some perspective on the sodium subject have a look at the following table. A processed food or supplement that delivers 1000 mg sodium delivers that double jeopardy and possibly even a triple jeopardy: high sodium; no chloride; no potassium.

For Example: ½ teaspoon table salt delivers 1070 mg Sodium : 2500 mg Sodium Chloride 1 teaspoon table salt delivers 2140 mg Sodium : 5000 mg Sodium Chloride *Sodium Chloride

If you consume a supplement – Ketone salt or not – that delivers 1000 mg sodium, it equates to the sodium content found in a 1/2 regular load or full flat teaspoon of table salt!! Further more, it is absent of the chloride anion. I’d rather add table salt to food in a controlled compensatory way.

KETOBA™ is designed to offer an electrolyte balance: magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium and more to accompany the KETO- BA coupling. Furthermore, it is designed with careful attention to sodium delivering less than 50 mg of sodium per serving while offsetting this benign sodium contribution with a healthy potassium level.


Conflict of Interest Statement. The author/researcher is the owner of a biomedical research group – Biologic Nutrigenomics Health Research Corp and Biologic Pharmamedical Research, that funds and executes research on the pharmacology of nutritional and nutraceutical agents that are studied in the context of disease pathology including characteristics that have been associated with inflammation and dementias. The author/researcher is also the owner of related Intellectual Properties. author copyright Franco Cavaleri PhDc

Franco Cavaleri, BSc, PhDc, is The Rhema Group’s Chief Science Officer. He is also the principal research scientist at Biologic Pharmamedical; is a former Mr. IFBB North America; and is completing a doctoral degree in Experimental Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine.



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