Electrolytes are having a moment. In the event you 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, particularly, that many athletes are testing out: salt tablets. The tiny white tablets, which include a concentrated quantity of sodium chloride, have exploded in popularity on TikTok, with many individuals swearing the tablets have taken their athletic efficiency to the subsequent degree.
I known 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 hassle messing with them.
“Most individuals who train don’t want salt tablets; nevertheless, for endurance athletes and individuals who train in sizzling environments or at very high-intensity ranges, salt tablets may very well 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 Capsules?
Perspiring throughout vigorous train causes you to lose numerous fluids and electrolytes, together with sodium, potassium, and calcium. In the event you don’t change these misplaced electrolytes, you may turn out to be dehydrated.
With out sufficient fluids in your physique, you may anticipate your muscle perform, athletic performance, and cognition to take a success. “You’re finally going to need to decelerate or cease exercising,” says Jena Brown, a sports activities dietitian for endurance athletes and proprietor of the vitamin teaching service Victorem Efficiency Vitamin.
In the event you 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 known as exercise-induced hyponatremia. This electrolyte imbalance happens when you’ve 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 strain, in response to the National Kidney Foundation.
“Lots of athletes understand salt tablets as a security internet that’ll defend them from hyponatremia,” says Childress. The attract is apparent: salt tablets, in concept, provide athletes a fast answer after they’re on the go. However can a tiny tablet truly hold you quenched throughout and after prolonged exercises?
Figuring Out How Many Salt Capsules to Absorb a Day
Understanding 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 precise route, the quantity of electrolytes you need to ingest might range, probably considerably, from the quantity your good friend requires, Brown says. Your rehydration wants largely rely upon how a lot you sweat (and the way a lot sodium is in your sweat) as a result of some individuals expel extra salt than others.
The one method 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 fee and composition. “If an athlete is aware of how a lot sodium they lose, they will change it to the T,” Childress says.
Sodium focus, or the quantity of sodium in your sweat, varies broadly from individual to individual, says Childress, however, on common, individuals lose about 1 gram or 1,000 milligrams (mg) of sodium per liter of sweat. So, in case you sweat out a liter of fluids—and subsequently about 1,000 mg of sodium—you’d wish 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.
In the event you’re on the lookout 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 concentration. That means, you received’t need to guess what you must ingest to remain hydrated. If you wish to work out how a lot sweat you lose, a sweat fee check is useful; this entails weighing your self on a rest room scale earlier than and after an intense exercise. (Learn here about how one can do one at house.)
Sure. It Is Potential to Take Too Many Salt Capsules.
Right here’s the problem: 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 in a 200- to 400-milligram dose) can wreak havoc in your physique. “The draw back is you may overdose on them fairly simply in case 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 spot, and dizziness.
Hypernatremia and hyponatremia can look and feel comparable—so some individuals might develop weak spot and assume they’re dehydrated when, truly, their sodium ranges are means too excessive. Then, they’ll take much more salt tablets and exacerbate the problem. In very excessive circumstances, this could trigger individuals to collapse or have a seizure.
You Don’t Want Salt Capsules—Hydrate This Method As a substitute
Athletes need to watch out about what number of salt tablets they take, Childress says. Not solely are salt tablets pointless for athletes, however they’re additionally potentially dangerous.
Nevertheless, in case you’re nonetheless set on taking salt tablets, begin with a low dose, says Childress, and ensure you drink sufficient water with them. “You’re not going to have any hydration profit in case you’re taking salt tablets and never ingesting fluid. They go collectively,” Brown says.
In the event you don’t suppose salt tablets are well worth the hype, you may skip them altogether. Brown recommends ingesting 16 ounces of fluid per hour that you simply’re figuring out. In the event you’re an excellent sweater, you might wish to up that to (at most) 1 liter per hour, she provides.
A straightforward method to test your hydration ranges is by evaluating your urine. In case your pee is darkish otherwise you’re going to the lavatory much less steadily than typical, you need to improve your fluid consumption. Clear pee suggests you’re over-hydrated and will use some electrolytes, Brown says. The objective is on your pee to appear like mild lemonade, she says.
Go for a Salty Snack or a Piece of Fruit
For these exercising no less than three hours or in sizzling circumstances, alternate between ingesting water and sports activities drinks to maintain your electrolytes in stability, Childress says. You too can munch on water-rich fruit and veggies like watermelon, cantaloupe, celery, or broccoli.
To revive your sodium ranges, as an alternative 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.
In the event you, like me, don’t hold monitor of your sweat or water consumption, then merely drink to thirst, suggests Childress. Lastly, if you wish to nail your hydration recreation, your greatest wager is to speak to a sports activities dietitian. She explains, “It’s actually well worth the time and money to fulfill with an expert who can run the sweat checks and design an individualized hydration technique.”
