Is it safe to increase salt intake on a ketogenic diet?
In the setting of a well formulated ketogenic diet, a modest increase in salt intake is safe, and does not raise blood pressure (Hallberg 2018). The only exception to this is for people taking medication for high blood pressure.
Interestingly, a large multi-national analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the lowest overall mortality in people with salt intakes of 4-5 grams per day, which is above current guidelines (O’Donnell, 2014). Another recent study showed higher mortality and hospital readmission rates in patients with congestive heart failure who severely restricted their salt intake (Mente, 2016).
