Electrolytes are having a moment. In case 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 rapidly and successfully.
There’s one product, particularly, that many athletes are testing out: salt capsules. The tiny white tablets, which include a concentrated quantity of sodium chloride, have exploded in popularity on TikTok, with many individuals swearing the capsules have taken their athletic efficiency to the subsequent stage.
I known as up two sports activities dietitians who work with endurance athletes and requested them what they actually take into consideration salt capsules. They have been in settlement: the typical athlete shouldn’t hassle messing with them.
“Most individuals who train don’t want salt capsules; nevertheless, for endurance athletes and individuals who train in scorching environments or at very high-intensity ranges, salt tablets could possibly 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 numerous fluids and electrolytes, together with sodium, potassium, and calcium. In case you don’t change these misplaced electrolytes, you may grow to be dehydrated.
With out sufficient fluids in your physique, you may anticipate your muscle operate, athletic performance, and cognition to take a success. “You’re ultimately going to need to decelerate or cease exercising,” says Jena Brown, a sports activities dietitian for endurance athletes and proprietor of the diet teaching service Victorem Efficiency Diet.
In case 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 severe situation known as exercise-induced hyponatremia. This electrolyte imbalance happens when you might have too-low sodium ranges in your blood as the surplus water dilutes salt focus. This could set off cramping, fatigue, confusion, and low blood stress, in keeping with the National Kidney Foundation.
“Quite a lot of athletes understand salt tablets as a security internet that’ll shield them from hyponatremia,” says Childress. The attract is apparent: salt capsules, in concept, supply athletes a fast resolution after they’re on the go. However can a tiny capsule really maintain you quenched throughout and after prolonged exercises?
Figuring Out How Many Salt Drugs to Absorb a Day
Understanding what number of salt capsules 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 it’s best to ingest might fluctuate, doubtlessly 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 individuals expel extra salt than others.
The one approach to know, for positive, how a lot sodium chloride you want after a tricky 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’ll 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 need to take a salt capsule that has 1,000 mg of sodium throughout (or proper after) your exercise to replenish the misplaced salt, Childress explains.
In case 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 method, you received’t need to guess what it’s essential 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 easy methods to do one at house.)
Sure. It Is Doable to Take Too Many Salt Drugs.
Right here’s the problem: most individuals wing it. As a result of they’re unlikely to understand how a lot sodium they lose of their sweat, they’ll pop a number of salt capsules, hoping to rehydrate. However taking too many (salt capsules 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 related—so some individuals might develop weak spot and assume they’re dehydrated when, in fact, their sodium ranges are method too excessive. Then, they’ll take much more salt capsules and exacerbate the problem. In very excessive instances, this may trigger individuals to collapse or have a seizure.
You Don’t Want Salt Drugs—Hydrate This Manner As an alternative
Athletes need to watch out about what number of salt tablets they take, Childress says. Not solely are salt capsules pointless for athletes, however they’re additionally potentially dangerous.
Nevertheless, in case you’re nonetheless set on taking salt capsules, begin with a low dose, says Childress, and be sure to drink sufficient water with them. “You’re not going to have any hydration profit in case you’re taking salt capsules and never ingesting fluid. They go collectively,” Brown says.
In case you don’t suppose salt capsules are well worth the hype, you may skip them altogether. Brown recommends ingesting 16 ounces of fluid per hour that you simply’re understanding. In case you’re a brilliant sweater, you might need to up that to (at most) 1 liter per hour, she provides.
A straightforward approach to verify your hydration ranges is by evaluating your urine. In case your pee is darkish otherwise you’re going to the lavatory much less often than typical, it’s best 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 to be mild lemonade, she says.
Go for a Salty Snack or a Piece of Fruit
For these exercising a minimum of three hours or in scorching circumstances, alternate between ingesting water and sports activities drinks to maintain your electrolytes in stability, Childress says. You may as well munch on water-rich vegatables and fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, celery, or broccoli.
To revive your sodium ranges, as a substitute of a salt capsule, 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 case you, like me, don’t maintain observe of your sweat or water consumption, then merely drink to thirst, suggests Childress. Lastly, if you wish to nail your hydration recreation, 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 an expert who can run the sweat assessments and design an individualized hydration technique.”
