Do you have to take supplements on Keto? Yes and no.
Supplements are not compulsory. You can certainly get all the nutrients you need from Keto foods alone. Some people do very well on Keto with zero supplements.
However, many Keto dieters choose to boost their diets with advanced nutritional support.
Of course, supplements are not magic pills. They will NOT help lose weight or compensate for a bad lifestyle.
But if you are already working hard on your diet and exercise, the right combination of supplements can help you smash through obstacles and reach your goals faster.
Once you are at your target healthy weight, supplements can help to protect your long-term health. They can also boost your energy, productivity and well-being.
Let’s look at common types of supplements and how they can help your Keto diet.
Keto Diet Multivitamins
Keto foods like meat, fish and salad vegetables are very rich in nutrients. If you follow the guideline of eating primarily natural wholefoods, you are unlikely to suffer any vitamin deficiencies on Keto.
However, a targeted multivitamin can do a lot more than deficiency prevention.
For example, extra-strong B-vitamins reduce fatigue and improve your energy levels while vitamin C protects your cells from oxidative stress and boosts your immune system.
Multivitamins can make a big difference in the beginning of your Keto diet. Although low-carb foods can provide all the required micronutrients, their quantities and composition will be different to those you used to get on a “standard Western diet”.
This change in micronutrient profile can lead to sugar cravings and fatigue in the first few weeks of Keto. A high-quality extra-strong multivitamin will help to bridge any gaps and help your body adjust to its new ketogenic lifestyle.
Make sure to choose a product that’s zero-carb, sugar-free and calibrated for Keto nutrition.
Keto Diet Electrolytes
Electrolytes are strongly recommended for Keto, especially in the very beginning of your diet.
As you are probably aware, most Keto beginners experience the infamous “Keto flu”. Its common symptoms are fatigue, headaches, muscle cramps and heart palpitations.
Most of these symptoms are related to electrolyte deficiency which occurs as a result of water balance shift. Water stored in your body is bound together with glycogen and electrolytes. Rapid depletion of stored glycogen on Keto leads to an equally rapid loss of stored water and electrolytes.
Electrolytes (magnesium, potassium, sodium) supplements can help you beat this condition quickly. Most people choose to continue electrolyte supplementation for maintenance even after they are completely adapted to ketosis.
Solving common Keto problems with supplements
Let’s have a look at some other common issues you might face on Keto and how to solve them with supplements.
Sugar cravings on Keto
Sugar cravings are most likely to occur in the very beginning of your diet. Your body is still adjusting to burning fat for fuel instead of carbs which can lead to carb cravings.
The following supplements play a role in blood glucose regulation and are often taken as an aid to reduce sugar cravings:
- Chromium Picolinate
- Magnesium
- Alpha-Lipoic Acid
- Co-Enzyme Q10
- Green Tea Extract
- Cinnamon Extract
Struggling to break into ketosis
Some people struggle to break into ketosis even after faithfully following all of the Keto guidelines.
Our metabolisms can vary a great deal at the cellular and hormonal level. Some people have a high degree of “metabolic resistance” which makes it harder to switch into ketosis.
Dr Atkins recommended Co-Enzyme Q10 and L-Carnitine to boost fat-burning metabolism to make it easier for your body’s cells to use fat for fuel. This combination helps to speed up your transition to ketosis. It can also help you break through a weight-loss plateau if you hit one later in your diet.
Nutri-Align Keto Catalyst provides both nutrients in the recommended quantities.
Another ketosis aid for beginners is BHB ketones.
They provide an energy boost and can help your body get adjusted to burning ketones for fuel.
But please remember that ultimately, they are not a substitute for your own natural ketosis. Exogenous ketones will artificially boost your ketone levels but this won’t have the same impact on your health and weight loss as natural ketosis.
Constipation on Keto
Some of us struggle with constipation on Keto due to reduced amount of fibre. Most natural sources of fibre are high-carb foods like grains and fruit.
Some electrolytes that have a laxative effect, for example magnesium citrate.
However, lack of fibre continues to be an issue, consider taking a fibre supplement.
Dr Atkins recommended psyllium husks and flaxseeds for this purpose which are both super-high in fibre and naturally very low in digestible carbs.
Hair loss of Keto
Hair loss on Keto is not as common as Keto flu or sugar cravings. But some of us are affected by this unwanted side effect.
Usually this occurs as a result of certain pre-existing vitamin deficiencies, especially Biotin. In those cases, a hair support formulation with strong Biotin solves the problem quickly.
Nutri-Align Hair Defence formulation was designed specifically for this purpose.
Please note that hair loss can be caused by other reasons like hormonal imbalance, ageing and health conditions. Unfortunately, a supplement won’t be able to fix it in those circumstances.
Other popular Keto supplements
Finally, there are some supplements that everyone can benefit from whether on Keto or not.
The most important ones are Omega Oils and Vitamin D.
Both are essential for your health. Unlike other micronutrients, it’s not uncommon to be deficient in them.
Vitamin D comes primarily from exposure to sunlight. Those who live in Northern climates often don’t have the opportunity to replenish it naturally. In Sunnier places, the widespread usage of sunscreens can interfere. Vitamin D deficiency can have a serious impact on your long-term health and immunity. So most people would be better off supplementing it.
Omega Oils are vital for cardio health. Low-carb food sources of omega oils are fatty fish, flaxseeds and some nuts like walnuts. If you don’t have much of these foods in your diet, consider an omega oil supplement.
Nutri-Align Supplements for Keto Diet
Nutri-Align Keto Supplements range was launched in 2012 and has been going strong ever since. Available to buy from our website and on Amazon.