Is this a bad thing ?

i was reading the thread about the GORP and it made me a think of a question to ask about something I do in the morning on a hot day when I know I am going on a long and strenuous hike.

What I do is, I drink a medium-sized glass (8-12 oz) of water with about 1/4 tsp. of salt added.....thinking this will go far in staving off sodium depletion.

So far I haven't has anything bad happen to me from doing this, but I was wondering if anyone knows if this is actually good for you or not ?

Probably won't hurt you, probably doesn't help much. Unless you consciously avoid sodium, you generally get more than enough in your diet. Years ago they used to use salt tablets for people who were perspiring - turns out it is usually overkill.
Try gatorade instead. It'll taste (marginally) better than your salt water and give you some carbs in the process.

Yuck!!!!! I remember being given salt tabs while I was in the army. Little yellow pills. I agree with Oldsmore. We get quite enough in a typical North American diet. It might also be troublesome for those with underlying disease states - Hypertension, Diabetes or that display typical cardiovascular risk factors.

Though I am not a doctor, an I am sure Dave Metsky will be along shortly with his disclaimer that you shouldn't seek medical advice on a board (Which I wholeheartedly agree with, except that the anecdotal information that arises from discussions might be of importance to folks in thinking of what to ask thier PCP's)

Rick said:

Though I am not a doctor, an I am sure Dave Metsky will be along shortly with his disclaimer that you shouldn't seek medical advice on a board (Which I wholeheartedly agree with, except that the anecdotal information that arises from discussions might be of importance to folks in thinking of what to ask thier PCP's)

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That's just Dave covering his b*tt.

Like these folks said, it's probably not necessary. Your lunch and trail snacks probably have more than enough sodium to replace what you lose through sweat. Although for super long, super sweaty hikes, and electrolyte replacement like Gatoraid probably isn't a bad idea.

Hey Lizzy
I think you might be onto something but I would suggest an electrolyte powder such as EmergenC (comes in convenient single use packets!!) for a balance of sodium/potassium. Tastes a heck of alot better than salt water, too! Also adding a calcium supplement to combat muscle cramping.

I agree w/ Lizzy!

I think it works. Some other options include lots of salty chips the night before an endurance event - but then you gotta eat that junk?!

Or Succeed tabs work really well for loooooong efforts on the trail. I can't recall the website - try E-Caps or Hammergel. These products are designed to boast/enhance performance and I think at a minimum they speed recovery.

Inge

If you are not the type who gets cramps or dumps 4-6 pounds of water per hour then none of this pertains to you. Of course salt works. For those who do not really sweat this type of thing is not needed and they cannot understand that somefolks bodies actually are different. They can get enough salt by adding a liitle extra to food and drinking sports drinks. However if you are one who sweats (we know who we are) it is vital to take supplements in order to keep electrolyte levels at normal levels. I personally prefer products like Succeed caps that also have potassium in proper ratio to salt. On my marathon team it is common practice to just eat a normal salt packet and follow with water. Others use shot blocs or gummy bears rolled in salt. I find that without these aids I get massive cramping and am limited to running 18-22 miles. By taking them as directed I can get another 8-12 miles without debilitating cramps. The idea that a normal american diet offers enough of the right nutrition for an athlete is kinda, well, silly if you are a sweater. If you are working out often and hard enough to leave dried salt on your clothes you need to have a strategy to replace it as you lose it. Eating extra salt the day before or at the first meal after will not be effective for your muscles during the workout. (I certainly do this but it is not enough for my body) It will help you for the first hour and it will help after an hour or two after your next meal, but not during the 4,5,6,7,8,9,10 hours you are running, climbing ect. I hope this helps Lizzy. I actually only know of 1 female type that uses this sametype strategy. As I said you really must be a heavy and salty sweat producer to have to worry about using supplements, but if you are ,there really is no substitute. Wishing you many cramp free miles. Tim

You can always bring/drink pickle juice too!

If you do try E-caps, be careful with packing them, if you crush them they can kind of explode into fine powder..

Jay

This topic has attracted a lot of attention in the past, here. Try a search on "electrolyte" for lots of good threads from the VFTT archives. This one attracted some good posts from some well informed people.

Lizzy said:

What I do is, I drink a medium-sized glass (8-12 oz) of water with about 1/4 tsp. of salt added.....thinking this will go far in staving off sodium depletion.

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This is a fairly high concentration of salt--many electrolyte drinks use about 1/8 -- 1/4 tsp of salt per liter (32oz) of water.

Too high a concentration will dehydrate you. (Don't know the max safe concentration off hand, but seawater is too strong. If you drink only seawater, you will die of dehydration.)

So far I haven't has anything bad happen to me from doing this, but I was wondering if anyone knows if this is actually good for you or not ?

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Individual needs can vary significantly.

Check out Davehiker's link and suggested search. Lots of info in past threads.

Doug