A Mineral That Enhances Performance Yet is Commonly Neglected
Salt, also known as Sodium Chloride, is an essential mineral for your body to function properly. Sodium and chloride are both forms of electrolytes that our bodies need to remain hydrated. When exercising the loss of fluid and sodium reduces our level of hydration and with prolonged periods and/or warm environments can lead to dehydration also known as hypohydration.
Prevention of Hyponatremia
Although people are aware of the loss of fluid and therefore rehydrate with water this doesn’t help towards the loss of electrolytes. Along with this, many athletes will consume high levels of fluids whilst exercising causing hyponatremia.
Hyponatremia occurs through a decrease in the level of sodium in the blood as well as abnormal water retention. Sodium helps regulate our body’s fluid balance but with excessive intake of water during exercise, sodium concentration become dilated resulting in your body holding water and swelling. This commonly occurs during endurance sports where the opportunity to drink whilst exercise is high, thus easier for athletes to exceed the maximal gastric emptying rate; the rate of which the intestine and large bowel absorb nutrients from the stomach.
Hyponatremia
In severe cases athletes can experience seizures, coma or even death. Along with endurance athletes there is also populations that are at a higher risk such as females, athletes with low body mass and “salty sweaters”.
Prevention of Muscle Cramping
Although the exact cause of muscle cramps is still unknown, muscle fatigue, dehydration and electrolyte loss have all been shown to have a strong correlation with the occurrence. It’s been found that 20-30% decrease in the exchangeable sodium pool has been associated with severe muscle cramping.
It is theorised that the onset of muscle cramps results from a shift of fluid in the space between the capillaries and the muscle cells (interstitial fluid compartment) to the space within the cells (intracellular compartment); a product of reduced plasma volume from excess sweating. As fluid shifts, the interstitial fluid compartment contracts, causing certain neuromuscular junctions to become hyperexcitable, exposure of the unmyelinated nerve endings and mechanical deformation leads to a nerve fibre firing.
Increase in Blood Volume
We have all heard that high amounts of sodium are bad for you, causing high blood pressure and leads to hypertension. The ingestion of sodium reduces the amount of fluid the kidneys remove form the body leading to an increase in blood volume. Yet this increase of blood volume is an ideal situation for athletes, bodybuilders and those who wish to enhance performance.
An elevated blood volume level helps deliver more oxygen and nutrients to working muscles along with aiding recovery through a more efficient removal of fatigue toxins. Athletes who have been following the media’s advice to lower sodium intake have been hindering themselves as a low sodium diet has been shown to reduce the rate of recuperation from training and suffer from muscular weakness prematurely to those having optimal sodium intake. Low sodium diets are more health-threating than those with an excessive sodium intake.
Which Salt to Use
To optimise the benefits of supplementing sodium, aim to use a natural salt such as sea salt or Himalayan rock salt. Compared to table salt which is heavily processed and has a ratio of 60% chloride and 40% sodium, natural salts offers a greater sodium ratio and doesn’t contain any caking agents.
For an extra ergogenic ai try an iodised sea salt. This is salt that has had a minute amount of iodine added to supplement the daily recommended intake of iodine, as roughly 2 billion people worldwide have an iodine deficiency. It is believed an iodine deficiency is the lead cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Iodine also helps the thyroid glands function properly, secreting thyroid hormones that control your body’s base metabolic rate.
How and When to Take
When it comes to consumption, instructions for sodium intake suggestions are varied. It is suggested that an athlete should be taking 8-10g of sodium a day, while other suggestions recommend 12g daily. Physical Therapist, Dr Kelly Starrett suggests a simple pinch of sea salt in your water bottle consumed throughout the day will keep you hydrated and working optimally. Others such as Stan Efferding and George Lockhart also suggest the little but often consumption tactic dilated in water throughout the day.
Final Words
It should be mentioned that some people will be salt sensitive so consumption needs will not be as high. When starting to regularly ingesting a higher level of sodium a brief period of water retention can occur along with increases in urinary activity. These effects soon subside once the body realises this is normal which usually takes a day or two. But as always seek professional advice that can inform you of your personal needs and nutritional requirements before starting any form of supplementation.
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