Replacing Electrolytes after sweating page

[Raiken3712]

So I was reading a blog post by Mark talking about how much water we need and he mentioned needing to replace electrolytes for heavy workouts...but I didn't notice where he or comments on the blog said how much or how?

Should I put a teaspoon of salt in water if I sweat a bunch? Or what? There are also other electrolytes besides sodium...so I'm not sure at all. Also how much do you have to sweat before you need replacement?

[davem]

I do hot yoga, I lose about 2 pounds per 90 minute session, and that's after drinking 1.5l of water while doing it. I eat good food, and don't worry about it. You don't need it. Those electrolyte "concerns" and drinks are the product of savvy marketing.

[Suki]

Salt water is fine. I like pickle juice. Vinegar works too.

Honestly - if you're not experiencing cramping, you probably don't need to worry about it.

[Enamel]

I was wondering about this as well because I'm on meds that increase your need for potassium. My doctor told me smartwater would be a good choice because it doesn't have any sugar, but I looked for info on it and the electrolytes are practically negligible, haha.

People vary a ton, so I'd suggest experimenting. Try drinking coconut water after a workout and see if you notice any benefits. Carrot juice is also a good source of potassium, so you could put some salt in that. Here's a list of foods and their potassium content so you can come up with other combinations: High Potassium Foods
I had a few slices of cantaloupe with salt sprinkled on top and it was surprisingly good.

I've been wondering a lot about the need for sodium lately - I've never really craved salty foods, and the only non-naturally occurring sodium in my regular diet comes from mustard a few times a week (and that salted cantaloupe the other day), so I figure my consumption is pretty low, especially compared to the standard. I'm not paranoid about it, but I wonder if adding some high-quality salt would be beneficial. Seems kind of unnecessary since I don't actively desire it, but eh, worth a shot. I just very, very rarely hear of sodium deficiencies on this board so I'm wondering when you'd start to encounter problems. (Then again, a great deal of the members are obsessed with bacon...)

[Karma]

During intense exercise outdoors in hot and/or humid conditions I have suplemented with a product called Meta-Salts for about the last 10 years. Another good product is called Lava Salts. Everyone is different, but if you want to simply bump the levels up a bit, a single pill can easily do that for you. During long and hot runs/bike rides I can take up to 4 per hour in humidity and 3 per hour in dry conditions.

If you like a little flavor, look at a product called Nuun, its a flavored electrolye tab you drop in water and it flavors it a bit. Be careful though, many of the drop in taqblets are full of artificial ingredients. The one I use is called Nuun Naturals. Sweetended with Stevia. The tangerine ginger is tasty. You can order them ponline or call a local triathlon/running shop in your area, they should have them.

Cheers,

Dave

[RitaRose]

I wouldn't put it all down to marketing. It depends on the individual.

I sweat for at least 5 or 6 hours straight, 6 days a week. To make up for that, I have to drink at least a gallon of water, sometimes a gallon and a half, and that's all before I get home from work around 3pm. At that point, you're losing way more than just water.

I've been doing this job for 4 years now, and I always drank something like Gatorade during the summer. The rest of the year I didn't really need it. This year, no Gatorade for me, so I just went with water. Yeah, well THAT was a painful lesson. I drank a Powerade Zero, which made the pain go away, but I felt like crap. So now I make sure I have coconut water on hand and drink it when I know I've been sweating a lot, in conjunction with plain water. It doesn't take a lot.

[Raiken3712]

Thanks for all the replies

[davem]

Sounds like an extreme situation. I doubt 80% of the people drinking gatorade out there are in THAT situation.

When I lived in Reno I spent a summer digging graves. Pretty much same sweating situation, never needed it. Water, sometimes oj.

[DFH]

I use this stuff. Seems to work pretty good.

[RezH]

Coconut water.