Salt

[OakLeaf]

Am I the only one who just can't keep enough sodium in my body? I just hate taking electrolyte supplements all the time, but as liberal as I am with the salt shaker at meals, what processed foods I eat tend to be pretty low in sodium (protein powder and nut/seed milks, primarily), and food just tastes too salty to me way before I'm getting enough. I've tried drinking less water and just wound up dehydrated ... it's just in my nature to sweat a lot. I've read that sweat contains anywhere from 1 to 2.5 grams sodium per liter ... and when you're sweating two liters an hour that adds up. Primarily sodium, but calcium and magnesium too - less so now that I'm eating more vegetables, though.

I'm probably just whining, but if anyone has any suggestions for more palatable less processed ways to get more electrolytes, help!

[Catrin]

Have you considered trying one of the capsule solutions, such as Salt Stick? I use these in the heat of the summer and they work well for me. They've a great profile, according to a couple of sports nutritionists I know. I know this doesn't fall into the "less processed" category...

[ny biker]

What makes you think you're not getting enough sodium? Is this on a day-to-day basis or just when you're exercising for long periods?

When I do long rides on hot summer days I bring Power Gel. It has lots of sodium. I think Gu Roctane also has a decent amount of sodium.

[GLC1968]

What makes you think you're not getting enough sodium? Is this on a day-to-day basis or just when you're exercising for long periods?

When I do long rides on hot summer days I bring Power Gel. It has lots of sodium. I think Gu Roctane also has a decent amount of sodium.

I was wondering this too. How do you know?

I get very little added sodium in my food, but I've never noticed any ill effects. Of course, it's cold and rainy and I'm not doing any long rides right now, so it probably doesn't matter for me all that much. I suppose if I were doing long bouts of exercise, I'd supplement with some type of electrolyte during the activity as necessary.

[OakLeaf]

I spent a lot of years being borderline hyponatremic most of the time, but never really figured it out until I wound up in the emergency room on an IV when I couldn't keep even a sip of water down.

I've finally learned that whenever I'm nauseous for more than a couple of days without symptoms of something infectious, my first guess is mild hyponatremia. I'm almost always right ... couple of Zenergize tablets in a liter of water, or some homemade electrolyte replacement mixed strong, and I go from not being able to swallow even a half a cup of plain water, to feeling 100% within an hour. This used to happen a couple-three times every year. Now, I'm more proactive about getting more sodium, and that hasn't happened in more than a year.

The last time I actually had blood chemistry drawn was about a month after my faceplant ... cold weather, two or three months after my last distance race, and as beat up as I was from that wreck, I was just basically running about three or four miles three or four days a week - hadn't yet been able to return to yoga or cycling at all, and the abdominal wall bruising made it too painful to run any farther than that ... even then, my serum sodium was low enough to get flagged on the report, but not so low that it was of concern, and I wasn't symptomatic at all at that time.


As far as salt stick ... I may just try those leading up to my next race. The dispenser looks handy. I'd used Endurolytes in the past, but they don't have all that much sodium, so I'd typically add a pinch of salt to my gel flask. I DID teach myself to swallow capsules while running, but it's not the easiest thing to do without risking choking or needing more hands than I have ... basically I get the pills out and hold them under my tongue as I approach the aid station, then once water is in my mouth I can swirl them around and swallow them.


ETA - Gu Roctane has 125 mg sodium per packet ... similar to HEED and other sports drinks. You'd have to eat eight of them an hour to get a gram of sodium.

I'm pretty much okay with supplementing DURING my long runs and rides, just because IME the portability and ease on my stomach override using "real" food. I use Skratch Labs Everyday on my long runs in my dual bladder hydration vest - or tuck a Zenergize tablet or two in my jersey pocket for cycling. It's having to use electrolyte supplements during the rest of the day that kind of ticks me off. But I guess if I used more "during" I wouldn't need so much "after" - which is kind of the reverse of what I'm discovering about protein, that now that I'm eating meat regularly I don't need so much protein during a long run or ride.

[Melalvai]

I really love V8 on long hot rides. One little 6 oz can has 290 mg sodium and 320 mg potassium. Interestingly it helps when I'm extremely hungry too.

[ny biker]

ETA - Gu Roctane has 125 mg sodium per packet ... similar to HEED and other sports drinks. You'd have to eat eight of them an hour to get a gram of sodium.

I used the sodium recommendations in Nancy Clark's book and found that using a combination of regular Gu, Gu Roctane and Gatorade to meet her recommended level made me feel much better during and after long rides on hot days.

But then I also eat bread on a regular basis, which makes me different from just about everyone else on this forum.

Soups and dried meats (like beef jerky) are high in sodium. Maybe you could make some yourself with more salt than is in the food you usually eat.

[indysteel]

But then I also eat bread on a regular basis, which makes me different from just about everyone else on this forum.

This made me laugh. You're not alone NY Biker; I eat bread, too!

[tulip]

I eat beef jerky and salted nuts on rides.

[indysteel]

Oak, you could eat salted roasted potatoes during your rides--if that might appeal to you.

[carlotta]

I even make my own. AND, I add gluten.

Yum.

I was thinking about this as I was making bread last weekend (yum, indeed!). I'm fairly happy with my sandwich bread recipe if I keep the flours fairly basic (whole wheat/all purpose/bread, in a roughly 1:1:2 ratio by weight), but I like other things (bran/germ/oat flower/flax meal/etc) in my sandwich bread and I have trouble getting the gluten to develop if I add too many of the weird/non-wheat components. I've always baked bread with my grandma/mom/dad, but tended to stick to all wheat flour recipes and I've never actually seen a recipe that calls for added gluten-- I wasn't even sure there was such a thing until I saw your post.

So, two questions, if I may:
1. Why do you add gluten/what kinds of recipes are you adding it to?
2. Does my situation sound like one that would benefit from added gluten? (if you know?) I know my dough is lacking gluten so it makes sense, but not sure if there are other things to consider....

This is all why I love baking, it's science (my generally enjoyable job) plus cooking (enjoyable). And the results are way tastier than anything in the lab :)

(oh, and sorry for the thread drift.... I put salt in my bread though :)

[OakLeaf]

If you start with good high-gluten bread flour (hard red winter wheat, preferably Canadian) you shouldn't need to add gluten unless you're combining with a lot of gluten-free grains.

And, salt is added to bread dough to control the pace of yeast reproduction. So it's true you'll use more in hot weather ... but enough salt to replace electrolytes, would kill all the yeast on contact.

Wish I could tolerate either wheat or yeast enough to make baking worthwhile ... not that my neck, shoulders or back could deal with kneading right at the moment anyway.

[Owlie]

But then I also eat bread on a regular basis, which makes me different from just about everyone else on this forum.

*snort*

I, too, enjoy all that Gramineae has to offer.
Mmm, gluten.

[carlotta]

If you start with good high-gluten bread flour (hard red winter wheat, preferably Canadian) you shouldn't need to add gluten unless you're combining with a lot of gluten-free grains.

This is where I run into trouble... wheat-only bread I'm good, but once I start adding buckwheat flour/oat flour/almond flour and even wheat bran/germ I start losing structure. I know I don't have enough gluten when that happens, just didn't realize you could buy it to supplement with non-wheat flours.

Murienn-- thanks for the pita recipe, my Mom used to make pitas when we were kids and I love them! I make naan and tortillas sometimes to get my flatbread fix, but I'll have to add pita to the rotation

[OakLeaf]

D'oh. Wound up hyponatremic again last week, then dehydrated, then undernourished because of the nausea at a time in my training when I REALLY didn't need that. You'd think I'd have learned by now.

I realized that the FIRST early sign, that I tend to ignore because it can have other causes, is excessive urination, especially with urgency and especially when I know my fluid intake hasn't changed. Just the body trying to concentrate sodium in the blood by throwing off water. I'm going to try to pay closer attention to that one from now on.

I just constantly get seduced by the media drumbeat about how Salt Is Evil, and wind up not listening to my own body's needs. Even though sodium is a critical element that we CAN'T get enough of from plant and animal foods, and for 95% of human history, civilization depended on reliable sources of salt, either by mining, natural eruptions or evaporating seawater. (It still does ... it's just that collection and distribution networks have become so efficient that access to salt is easy for almost everyone in the modern world.)

Dangitall.