Sodium is one of the most important minerals in your body and sustains life. Without salt, you would be unable to maintain fluid balance, regulate blood pressure, have proper circulation, regulate blood sugar, and support proper muscle and nerve function. How can you utilize salt to better improve your lifestyle and athletic performance?
Let’s take a look at the many health benefits of salt:
- Blood Pressure improvement
- Mental Focus & Clarity
- Muscle contraction & Performance
- Improve sleep
- Energy
- Minimize headaches/migraines
- Minimize thirst/Dehydration
- Iodine transport (salt is needed to drive iodine to the thyroid for hormone production)
Sodium intake is not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but instead very important for our immune, renal, endocrine, and neural pathways. There can be a safe range between 2.3-4.6 g/day for most individuals and even more for individuals who train regularly (O’Donnell et al., 2020).
What about during exercise?
Water consumption without salt is what researchers call getting “water-logged” which is like flushing out sodium from the blood. During longer periods of exercise and higher intensities, consuming salt with your water is essential to avoid dehydration and decreased performance (Dinicolantonio, et al., 2021).
Sweating leads to a 1-2 liter of water loss per hour of exercise (Dinicolantonio et al., 2021). Not only are we losing water but precious electrolytes so proper electrolyte-filled meals leading up to the exercise session as well as sipping on an electrolyte drink can greatly reduce dehydration.
Performance Benefits of salt:
- Less fatigue/perceived exertion
- Less cramps
- Increased blood volume
- Increased speed
- Increased power
- Increased endurance
How to tell if you are Dehydrated or Over Hydrated?
If you are exercising in the heat or for extended periods, weighing yourself before and after will help determine fluid loss. A good rule of thumb is to slowly rehydrate 1,200 mg of sodium per liter of water lost over 15 minutes (Cheuvront, S.N. & Sawka, M. N., 2005). 1 liter is approximately 2.2 pounds.
What about urine color? Experiencing cramps is usually the last stage and when it is too late. Look at your urine regularly and ensure it is not too clear or too brown. Remember- Drinking too much water without salt will flush out electrolytes. In addition, just drinking coffee can also flush out our electrolytes specifically magnesium.
Performance Enhancement of Salt:
Salt is not only necessary for endurance athletes or athletes competing in hot environments but for strength and power athletes. Boost blood volume for increased power, strength and endurance by performing the following schedule:
- >1 minute to <10 minutes of exercise- Consume 2,000 mg of sodium with your water 60-90 minutes before exercise. Slowly consume over 30 minutes.
- 10-20 minutes of exercise- Consume 2,300-3,000 mg of sodium 90-100 minutes before exercise. Slowly consume over 30-60 minutes.
- >20 minutes of exercise- Consume 2,300-3,000 mg of sodium 90-100 minutes before exercise. Slowly consume over 30-60 minutes.
- Before big competition? Slowly load more sodium 8-12 weeks prior.
Salt can be a huge performance benefit, as well as improving many health measures related to nerve conduction, immune function, and the endocrine system. If you want to perform well throughout the day, please be sure to make salt a staple in your diet.
A few important points to remember:
- Properly hydrate- especially with an electrolyte drink like Liquid IV, ELMNT or some homemade mixture of squeezed lemon, salt and a little honey.
- Check your urine as a basis of hydration levels.
- 6-10 days and several hours before a big event or competition, start loading salt with your water to improve performance. If you have brain fog or low energy levels, your electrolytes may be off.
References
Cheuvront, S.N. & Sawka, M. N., 2005. Hydration Assessment of Athletes. Gatorade Sports Science Institute: Sports Sci-ence Exchange, 18, 1-6. https://www.gssiweb.org/sports-science-exchange/article/sse-97-hydration-assessment-of-athletes.
Dinicolantonio, J. & Land, S. (2022). The Obesity Fix. Victory Belt Publishing.
Dinicolantonio, J., & Land, S. (2021). Win. Victory Belt Publishing.
O’Donnell, M., Mente, A., Alderman, M. H., Brady, A. J. B., Diaz, R., Gupta, R., López-Jaramillo, P., Luft, F. C., Lüscher, T. F., Mancia, G., … & European Heart Journal. (2020). Salt and cardiovascular disease: Insufficient evidence to recommend low sodium intake. European Heart Journal, 41(35), 3363–3373. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa586
