Electrolytes are having a second. If you happen to head to your native grocery retailer or vitamin store, you’ll discover rows of electrolyte-infused powders, tablets, and drinks that declare to rehydrate you shortly and successfully.
There may be one product, specifically, that many athletes are testing out: salt tablets. The tiny white tablets, which include a concentrated quantity of sodium chloride, have exploded in reputation on TikTok, with many individuals swearing the tablets have taken their athletic efficiency to the subsequent stage.
I referred to as up two sports activities dietitians who work with endurance athletes and requested them what they actually take into consideration salt tablets. They had been in settlement: the typical athlete shouldn’t trouble messing with them.
“Most individuals who train don’t want salt tablets; nonetheless, for endurance athletes and individuals who train in sizzling environments or at very high-intensity ranges, salt tablets might be helpful,” says Allison Childress, a registered dietitian and affiliate professor within the Division of Dietary Sciences at Texas Tech College.
What’s the Hype with Salt Drugs?
Perspiring throughout vigorous train causes you to lose plenty of fluids and electrolytes, together with sodium, potassium, and calcium. If you happen to don’t substitute these misplaced electrolytes, you may develop into dehydrated.
With out sufficient fluids in your physique, you may anticipate your muscle operate, athletic efficiency, and cognition to take successful. “You’re ultimately going to must decelerate or cease exercising,” says Jena Brown, a sports activities dietitian for endurance athletes and proprietor of the vitamin teaching service Victorem Efficiency Vitamin.
If you happen to drink an excessive amount of water or solely drink water, says Childress, throughout extended train—4 hours or extra (for instance, marathons or Ironman distance triathlons), you may wind up with a critical situation referred to as exercise-induced hyponatremia. This electrolyte imbalance happens when you have got too-low sodium ranges in your blood as the surplus water dilutes salt focus. This may set off cramping, fatigue, confusion, and low blood stress, in response to the Nationwide Kidney Basis.
“A whole lot of athletes understand salt tablets as a security web that’ll shield them from hyponatremia,” says Childress. The attract is clear: salt tablets, in principle, supply athletes a fast answer after they’re on the go. However can a tiny tablet truly maintain you quenched throughout and after prolonged exercises?
Figuring Out How Many Salt Drugs to Absorb a Day
Realizing what number of salt tablets to take—and when to have them—is a fragile dance. Even when, say, you and your buddy are backpacking alongside the identical actual route, the quantity of electrolytes you need to ingest could fluctuate, probably considerably, from the quantity your good friend requires, Brown says. Your rehydration wants largely rely on how a lot you sweat (and the way a lot sodium is in your sweat) as a result of some folks expel extra salt than others.
The one solution to know, for certain, how a lot sodium chloride you want after a troublesome day on the path is to conduct a sweat check to measure your sweat price and composition. “If an athlete is aware of how a lot sodium they lose, they will substitute it to the T,” Childress says.
Sodium focus, or the quantity of sodium in your sweat, varies extensively from individual to individual, says Childress, however, on common, folks lose about 1 gram or 1,000 milligrams (mg) of sodium per liter of sweat. So, when you sweat out a liter of fluids—and subsequently about 1,000 mg of sodium—you’d need to take a salt tablet that has 1,000 mg of sodium throughout (or proper after) your exercise to replenish the misplaced salt, Childress explains.
If you happen to’re searching for a sweat check to find out salt loss, get in contact with a sports activities dietitian. They’ll measure how a lot fluid you lose throughout train and calculate your sweat electrolyte focus. That approach, you gained’t must guess what you have to ingest to remain hydrated. If you wish to work out how a lot sweat you lose, a sweat price check is useful; this entails weighing your self on a toilet scale earlier than and after an intense exercise. (Learn right here about methods to do one at house.)
Sure. It Is Potential to Take Too Many Salt Drugs.
Right here’s the difficulty: most individuals wing it. As a result of they’re unlikely to know the way a lot sodium they lose of their sweat, they’ll pop a number of salt tablets, hoping to rehydrate. However taking too many (salt tablets usually are available a 200- to 400-milligram dose) can wreak havoc in your physique. “The draw back is you may overdose on them fairly simply when you don’t know what you’re doing,” Childress says. When that occurs, you may develop hypernatremia, a situation the place there’s an excessive amount of sodium within the blood, which causes extreme thirst, nausea, confusion, muscle weak point, and dizziness.
Hypernatremia and hyponatremia can appear and feel comparable—so some folks could develop weak point and assume they’re dehydrated when, really, their sodium ranges are approach too excessive. Then, they’ll take much more salt tablets and exacerbate the difficulty. In very excessive instances, this may trigger folks to break down or have a seizure.
You Don’t Want Salt Drugs—Hydrate This Means As an alternative
Athletes must watch out about what number of salt tablets they take, Childress says. Not solely are salt tablets pointless for athletes, however they’re additionally probably harmful.
Nevertheless, when you’re nonetheless set on taking salt tablets, begin with a low dose, says Childress, and be sure you drink sufficient water with them. “You’re not going to have any hydration profit when you’re taking salt tablets and never consuming fluid. They go collectively,” Brown says.
If you happen to don’t assume salt tablets are well worth the hype, you may skip them altogether. Brown recommends consuming 16 ounces of fluid per hour that you just’re figuring out. If you happen to’re a brilliant sweater, you might need to up that to (at most) 1 liter per hour, she provides.
A straightforward solution to examine your hydration ranges is by evaluating your urine. In case your pee is darkish otherwise you’re going to the lavatory much less continuously than standard, you need to enhance your fluid consumption. Clear pee suggests you’re over-hydrated and will use some electrolytes, Brown says. The purpose is in your pee to appear like gentle lemonade, she says.
Go for a Salty Snack or a Piece of Fruit
For these exercising not less than three hours or in sizzling circumstances, alternate between consuming water and sports activities drinks to maintain your electrolytes in stability, Childress says. You can even munch on water-rich vegatables and fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, celery, or broccoli.
To revive your sodium ranges, as a substitute of a salt tablet, throw in one thing extra satisfying, like a bag of pretzels or salted nuts, unfold cheese on a number of crackers, or seize some chips, she says.
If you happen to, like me, don’t maintain monitor of your sweat or water consumption, then merely drink to thirst, suggests Childress. Lastly, if you wish to nail your hydration sport, your finest guess is to speak to a sports activities dietitian. She explains, “It’s actually well worth the time and cash to satisfy with knowledgeable who can run the sweat checks and design an individualized hydration technique.”
