The humidity where I live and train has extremely high humidity. I stay soaking wet so I don’t see salt stains. When I race in a dry climate my jersey will turn white with salt so much so that other racers have commented on it. I do get light headed when I stand up and cramp to the point that I can no longer continue. This happens after 4 or 5 hours of riding.
Take potassium twice a day and you won't have salt stains anymore. You lose potassium in your sweat too... and if you're low on potassium you become hyper sensitive to salt and end up with salt stains. I sweat even if I'm not working out, and if I sweat a lot (which I usually do), I'll have to change my shirt because of salt stains. I started taking about 300mg of potassium and my salt stains went away in a day. Now I can soak my shirt with sweat during a heavy work out, and there are no salt stains when it dries. Also, my blood pressure dropped 20 points to 109/68.
I just listened to you on the Physical Performance Show and found a link to here from your website. I always thought I had my hydration sorted but now realise that I am a salty sweater and I get hyponatemic on most long runs (so swollen). Will be experimenting more with my electrolytes on my long run this week. Thanks for all the great advice!
It's always a school day, even for us at the PF&H HQ! It is awesome to hear you seem to be on the right track now and if you would like any further support please feel free to reach out to us directly. We are always here to support! ☺
Thanks so much for making this video and article. I've moved to a whole food plant based diet and hadn't realized how low my salt intake was now that I don't eat processed food. Just did a decent session on the cross trainer after weights two days in a row, while purposely trying to get a sweat on and felt dizzy. I'll make sure to salt my food and eat some pre workout gherkins!
No worries at all @rxp91. Do get in touch if you ever have any questions and we'll be happy to help you refine your pre-workout gherkin intake ;) You're more than welcome to book a free one-to-one consultation with one of our team if you do have any questions about your sodium intake for exercise going forward: www.precisionhydration.com/book-a-sweat-expert-call/ Cheers!
I often crave salty food after workouts, gf says my sweat tastes salty (XD) and on the recent 100 mile ride I very suddenly felt a blood pressure drop. Will eat more salt in the future. Thanks a lot.
My sweat evaporates and disappears in this uncomfortabe hot, moderate humid climate where I live. But the volume of my sweat lose is so high I have to drink lots water even during low or moderate exercise. I never detect salt lose and my body quickly acclimates fast when the 5 month summer heat wave sets in. But salt is the holy grail of taste it seems. Though I love and am fussy about preparing flavourful gourmet foods, practically none of the stellar taste enhancing ingredients or cooking techniques I use works without salt. That need for salt to enhance taste is probably universal. And that is a problem in America where salt intake is high and people are unaware. Packaged foods, snacks, deli meats, resturant fare, drinks -- the whole American diet is loaded with sodium (salt). The health impact of high sodium intake, along with carbs, cholesterol, transfats and saturated fats each year is as high as covid the last 2 years, though many victims end up in nursing facilities and acute care units than the morgue. Of course, not everybody is effected -- as with covid. Nevertheless I think eliminating salt, packaged foods, restaurant visits, convenience stores and fast food is a good choice. The problem is that eating is a social affair with everything from football games to family meals to labor intensive workers salt needs to what grocers will stock to what food manufacturers will package to politicians pocket books. To be blunt, high sodium intake in America is an uncontrollable social epidemic.
Hi @WhimpyPatrol, thanks for your comment, you make an interesting point. Sodium and salt is demonised in general society and in a lot of cases, like you've listed, to some extent rightly so. That said, in an athletic population, we know that athletes, particularly endurance ones, have higher needs for sodium. This boils down to them sweating frequently, often in high volumes, and sometimes with very high sweat sodium concentrations (Andy is a great example of this combination). Everyone loses sodium in their sweat but some individuals have extremely high sodium losses (largely genetic). The body doesn't particularly store sodium, nor does it make it, therefore if we are depleting our body's levels of the electrolyte (via heavy sweating) then in order to maintain performance an athlete may need to supplement with higher intakes to keep up with their significant sodium losses. Sodium is key to the body's optimal functioning; helping to maintain fluid balance, neuromuscular and cognitive function and depletion of sodium can cause all kinds of issues. Again, you're right that for the 'average Joe', sodium/salt supplementation is unlikely to be necessary because their losses will not exceed their regular dietary intake. But, for high performing athletes the advice can be quite different. A couple of papers we would suggest taking a look at would be: Bergeron (1996) - Heat Cramps in Tennis Players Valentine (2007) - The importance of salt in the athlete's diet If you have any further questions, please get in touch with us - hello@pfandh.com Thanks again :)
I work outdoors in Florida where temps are regularly 90F+ with 80% humidity by 8 am. My sweat rate is extremely high when training as well as when working. I definitely notice salt on my hat after work and not sure how to calculate for a 6-8 hour work day in the sun and also training after work?
Hi LittleJulio, thanks for reaching out. That's a great question and we'd love to dive into your hydration strategy + measuring your sweat rate in more detail. With that in mind, pop us an email at hello@precisionhydration.com and one of our team of Sports Scientists will be on hand to discuss. Alternatively, you can book a free online video call with us here: precisionhydration.as.me/schedule.php?appointmentType=14563677 We look forward to chatting soon, Cheers!
In my old age, I have to watch my sodium, and I went over today by 200 milligrams. But I mowed the yard and went to the gym and sweated like a pig. I feel better about that. My sweat does taste salty, and when I used to run, my shirt wild have salt stains on it.
I've always been a heavy sweater even just by walking normally ,but in the last 3 years I'm leaving a lot of salt on my shirts. I've lived in southern california all my life. So it's hot here. In the past 5 years I've also started to get horrible leg cramps from time to time while lying down. I drink over 2 liters of water every day. So I need to add sodium to my water?
Cramp is one of those hotly debated topics in sport and medicine and the exact cause isn't known for certain. Possible theories include neuromuscular fatigue, glycogen depletion, and most commonly the dehydration/electrolyte theory (sometimes referred to as heat cramps). The latter theory suggests that depletion of sodium can cause fluid shifts within the body which lead to the misfiring of nerves, causing cramp. Whilst from our experience of working with many athletes prone to cramping, a sodium deficit accumulated during or after competition via sweating is often the underlying factor, and being proactive with their hydration and sodium replacement is the game-changer, it's not always the case. If you're yet to try increasing the amount of sodium in your fluids, especially during very warm weather or heavy periods of exercise, then it's a good idea as you'll soon know if it helps or not. A sensible place to start would be to aim for ~1000mg of sodium per 1L/32oz of fluid. On the precision hydration website, if you visit our blog section and search 'cramp' you'll find a comprehensive blog that dives deeper into this topic and is well worth a read if you're interested to learn more.
The humidity where I live and train has extremely high humidity. I stay soaking wet so I don’t see salt stains. When I race in a dry climate my jersey will turn white with salt so much so that other racers have commented on it. I do get light headed when I stand up and cramp to the point that I can no longer continue. This happens after 4 or 5 hours of riding.
Take potassium twice a day and you won't have salt stains anymore. You lose potassium in your sweat too... and if you're low on potassium you become hyper sensitive to salt and end up with salt stains. I sweat even if I'm not working out, and if I sweat a lot (which I usually do), I'll have to change my shirt because of salt stains. I started taking about 300mg of potassium and my salt stains went away in a day. Now I can soak my shirt with sweat during a heavy work out, and there are no salt stains when it dries. Also, my blood pressure dropped 20 points to 109/68.
All of these points apply to me.
I just listened to you on the Physical Performance Show and found a link to here from your website. I always thought I had my hydration sorted but now realise that I am a salty sweater and I get hyponatemic on most long runs (so swollen). Will be experimenting more with my electrolytes on my long run this week. Thanks for all the great advice!
It's always a school day, even for us at the PF&H HQ! It is awesome to hear you seem to be on the right track now and if you would like any further support please feel free to reach out to us directly. We are always here to support! ☺
How do I combat this??
Thanks so much for making this video and article. I've moved to a whole food plant based diet and hadn't realized how low my salt intake was now that I don't eat processed food. Just did a decent session on the cross trainer after weights two days in a row, while purposely trying to get a sweat on and felt dizzy. I'll make sure to salt my food and eat some pre workout gherkins!
No worries at all @rxp91. Do get in touch if you ever have any questions and we'll be happy to help you refine your pre-workout gherkin intake ;)
You're more than welcome to book a free one-to-one consultation with one of our team if you do have any questions about your sodium intake for exercise going forward:
www.precisionhydration.com/book-a-sweat-expert-call/
Cheers!
I often crave salty food after workouts, gf says my sweat tastes salty (XD) and on the recent 100 mile ride I very suddenly felt a blood pressure drop. Will eat more salt in the future. Thanks a lot.
My sweat evaporates and disappears in this uncomfortabe hot, moderate humid climate where I live. But the volume of my sweat lose is so high I have to drink lots water even during low or moderate exercise. I never detect salt lose and my body quickly acclimates fast when the 5 month summer heat wave sets in. But salt is the holy grail of taste it seems. Though I love and am fussy about preparing flavourful gourmet foods, practically none of the stellar taste enhancing ingredients or cooking techniques I use works without salt. That need for salt to enhance taste is probably universal. And that is a problem in America where salt intake is high and people are unaware. Packaged foods, snacks, deli meats, resturant fare, drinks -- the whole American diet is loaded with sodium (salt). The health impact of high sodium intake, along with carbs, cholesterol, transfats and saturated fats each year is as high as covid the last 2 years, though many victims end up in nursing facilities and acute care units than the morgue. Of course, not everybody is effected -- as with covid. Nevertheless I think eliminating salt, packaged foods, restaurant visits, convenience stores and fast food is a good choice. The problem is that eating is a social affair with everything from football games to family meals to labor intensive workers salt needs to what grocers will stock to what food manufacturers will package to politicians pocket books. To be blunt, high sodium intake in America is an uncontrollable social epidemic.
Hi @WhimpyPatrol, thanks for your comment, you make an interesting point. Sodium and salt is demonised in general society and in a lot of cases, like you've listed, to some extent rightly so.
That said, in an athletic population, we know that athletes, particularly endurance ones, have higher needs for sodium. This boils down to them sweating frequently, often in high volumes, and sometimes with very high sweat sodium concentrations (Andy is a great example of this combination). Everyone loses sodium in their sweat but some individuals have extremely high sodium losses (largely genetic).
The body doesn't particularly store sodium, nor does it make it, therefore if we are depleting our body's levels of the electrolyte (via heavy sweating) then in order to maintain performance an athlete may need to supplement with higher intakes to keep up with their significant sodium losses. Sodium is key to the body's optimal functioning; helping to maintain fluid balance, neuromuscular and cognitive function and depletion of sodium can cause all kinds of issues. Again, you're right that for the 'average Joe', sodium/salt supplementation is unlikely to be necessary because their losses will not exceed their regular dietary intake. But, for high performing athletes the advice can be quite different. A couple of papers we would suggest taking a look at would be:
Bergeron (1996) - Heat Cramps in Tennis Players
Valentine (2007) - The importance of salt in the athlete's diet
If you have any further questions, please get in touch with us - hello@pfandh.com
Thanks again :)
I work outdoors in Florida where temps are regularly 90F+ with 80% humidity by 8 am. My sweat rate is extremely high when training as well as when working. I definitely notice salt on my hat after work and not sure how to calculate for a 6-8 hour work day in the sun and also training after work?
Hi LittleJulio, thanks for reaching out. That's a great question and we'd love to dive into your hydration strategy + measuring your sweat rate in more detail. With that in mind, pop us an email at hello@precisionhydration.com and one of our team of Sports Scientists will be on hand to discuss.
Alternatively, you can book a free online video call with us here:
precisionhydration.as.me/schedule.php?appointmentType=14563677
We look forward to chatting soon,
Cheers!
In my old age, I have to watch my sodium, and I went over today by 200 milligrams. But I mowed the yard and went to the gym and sweated like a pig. I feel better about that.
My sweat does taste salty, and when I used to run, my shirt wild have salt stains on it.
I've always been a heavy sweater even just by walking normally ,but in the last 3 years I'm leaving a lot of salt on my shirts. I've lived in southern california all my life. So it's hot here. In the past 5 years I've also started to get horrible leg cramps from time to time while lying down. I drink over 2 liters of water every day. So I need to add sodium to my water?
Cramp is one of those hotly debated topics in sport and medicine and the exact cause isn't known for certain. Possible theories include neuromuscular fatigue, glycogen depletion, and most commonly the dehydration/electrolyte theory (sometimes referred to as heat cramps). The latter theory suggests that depletion of sodium can cause fluid shifts within the body which lead to the misfiring of nerves, causing cramp.
Whilst from our experience of working with many athletes prone to cramping, a sodium deficit accumulated during or after competition via sweating is often the underlying factor, and being proactive with their hydration and sodium replacement is the game-changer, it's not always the case.
If you're yet to try increasing the amount of sodium in your fluids, especially during very warm weather or heavy periods of exercise, then it's a good idea as you'll soon know if it helps or not. A sensible place to start would be to aim for ~1000mg of sodium per 1L/32oz of fluid.
On the precision hydration website, if you visit our blog section and search 'cramp' you'll find a comprehensive blog that dives deeper into this topic and is well worth a read if you're interested to learn more.