Salt Tablets?

Ok... so I have heard here and there that some folks use Salt tablets of some sorts on their hikes.

I am curious to learn what the true purpose of said tablets are? How many of you use them? If you do NOT use them, what ways do you suppliment the sodium?

I use gatorade for my Sodium intake.

Just wondering for point of information.

Gatorade would do the same thing as salt tablets, pretty much. When you consume large volumes of water, you can become hyponatremic and thus need to regain homeostasis. Sodium alone is usually not enough as to gain homeostasis you'd need to replace all the lost electrolytes. So, something like gatorade or an electrolyte tablet would be better. Salt as in NaCl alone is usually not enough.

sli74

Sherpa John said:

Ok... so I have heard here and there that some folks use Salt tablets of some sorts on their hikes.

I am curious to learn what the true purpose of said tablets are? How many of you use them? If you do NOT use them, what ways do you suppliment the sodium?

Click to expand...

Salt tablets are the "old" way. (And some of them contained more than salt.) The problem with them is that they come in large chunks and you have to drink an appropriate amount of water with them.

An electrolyte drink is better because the electrolytes (and perhaps some carbs) come continuously (and in an appropriate proportion with) with one's water.

Besides, the manufacturers can charge more for an electolyte drink than they can for an equivalent salt tablet...

Doug

The Army used to hand out salt tabs but even they don't do that any more. Salt tablets should be avoided. As far as Gatorade goes you don't need to use that full strength. It can be used diluted as an electrolyte replacement.

Keith

Probably asked before, but worth asking again...

So, Dr Sli Is it possible to overdo ones (insert relevant technical terms here) intake drinking only Gatorade on a hike?

Thanks.

Bob

Dr Sli, et. al, have you folks heard about E-caps. I've only ever really seen them (and Hammer gel, for that matter) at adventure races, but they've given me some free samples and it's this little tablet that is like electroylte in powder form you just swallow. Not very fun but it's lightweight, certainly more so than liquid gatorade or any other sports drinks.

I had some in a 12 hour adventure race that I did awhile ago, but by the end of the day, it got crushed in my daypack and never tried it.

Salt is good, not sure if I would want to be using salt tablets though. Pickle juice is kind of old school for cyclists too, I prefer cytomax and the apple flavor which tastes much like apple juice.

Jay

Doesn't the typical American diet have too much salt/sodium already - without the need to add to it?

Rivet said:

Doesn't the typical American diet have too much salt/sodium already - without the need to add to it?

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You don't take them when sitting around watching TV, or lawn bowling.

Salts are lost when you sweat, and must be replaced. When you sweat a lot, unless you are eating the typical American diet while sweating, you will need to replace the salts.

I have a tendency to cramp about 4 hours after a long hard hike. I was told on this forumn to try salt tablets. I did reserch and purchased some "succeed" tablets. Used by marathon runners to replenish themselves.
I take one at the summit and it seems to work. I also take a potasium tablet the night before. Am I hurting myself? I also take gatoride and "cytomax". the cytomax is good, but taste like crap.

If I remember correctly from my college nutrition class ... When you sweat you loose salt and potassium (aka electrolites.) Normally you replenish these minerals through food intake. When you sweat alot, you may need to supplement your intake of electrolytes. Most electrolyte replacement products like Gatoraid have both sodium and potassium.

Now, here's the "from memory" part: In your body there is a sodium/potasium balance across the cell wall. When you have more of one than the other (potasium or sodium), then the absorbtion of water (rehydration) is negatively effected.

If you consider the typical american diet, it is high is salt. So a hiker would be replacing salt more than potasium with food intake. So, it seems to me that supplementing salt (sodium) would not be advised. This is supported (to some degree) by 1) salt tablets not being used as frequently, and 2) the availability of high potasium foods (bananas) at organized events.

Therefore, on infrequent deathmarch hikes in hot weather, I choose to supplement potassium in small amounts. These are the 90F+ days where I'm going through 6+ liters of water. I also carry a few tablets in my first aid kit and take one with alot of water when I get hot weather cramps. They are over the counter in 80mg tablets.

This is not medical advise, just what I do.
I also hear that excessive potasium is really bad for you.

JHS

At the USCG Training Center we use an electrolyte solution that replaces both sodium and potassium. Salt tablets are taboo. The solution tastes god awful but it does the job. Too much or too little of either sodium or potassium can be dangerous. As others have said, you need to replace both.

My regular hiking diet consists of a combination of salts, sugars, fats, and protein. I eat cliff bars among other things to help replenish both sodium and potassium.

John Swanson and Pete Hickey and others have already answered this question pretty well. But, without getting into too many details, pretty much as John said, the balance of positive and negative charges surrounding the cells in your body tissues is important for overall health and well being of your body. When you have excessive sweating (loss of both water and electrolytes, mainly sodium and potassium) combined with large volumes of water intake, which we as well hydrated hikers tend to do . . . we become imbalanced or hyponatremic. You need to replace the sodium and potassium in your body, usually taken care of by diet but in the case of fast loss during high heat exertion you have to supplement with electrolytes.

As far as too many electrolytes, yes in some cases you can have HYPERnatremia but these are usually related to diabetic induced kidney issues or renal failure. Your body, specifically your kidneys provide a mechanism of action that "pumps" out the excess waste including sodium and potassium, in the process it also pumps out water, so it is important to remained balanced though getting hyponatremic is much more likely in the situations we find ourselves in and HYPERnatremia is rare in the normal healthy individual. I am not a medical doctor, but a PhD with knowledge of physiology so please take what I say with a "grain of salt" pun intended and don't base your health decisions on my explaination of physiology as I am not trained to treat patients (i.e. don't sue me for any advice you think I am giving)

If you are normally well balanced then I assume that the companies that make electrolyte solutions, such as Gatorade have them balanced with the fluid for maintaining homeostasis and so consumption of all gatorade would probably not be harmful though it may not be unecessary. I switch between Gatorade and water because I prefer the taste of water

Did that answer the questions? BTW, John your memory is very good.

sli74

One final thing . . . excessive potassium is BAD so I personally would rather drink something like Gatorade than try to consume the "right" amount of potassium with pure potassium supplements (don't even know if they sell those) . . .

sli74

I believe Gatorade has a new drink out, like an "Endurance Blend" or something, that has extra sodium, potassium, and whatever else, if you're worried about losing too much salt or cramping.

Thanks Dr S !

I come from a non-litigious society so no worries on that score

Bob

I sweat a LOT, and I have found that, for me, what works best (in the gym and while hiking in warm weather) is what used to be called just "Gookinaid" but is now undergoing a rebranding and is called "Gookinaid Hydralyte" electrolyte replacement drink (with the "Gookinaid" in much smaller type). It is claimed to be a properly balanced combination of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium) along with glucose. I buy it in powdered form and mix it according to the directions - which results in an "isotonic" solution that (it is claimed) passes through the lining of the stomach easily and quickly.

Since using this stuff on a regular basis, I have never had a muscle cramp, have less severe aftereffects from strenuous workouts and have not noticed any side effects at all. I'm not sure why, but this product feels "easier" to drink than either Gatorade or plain water and it doesn't give that slight burning feeling in the gut that I sometimes have gotten with Gatorade. I never feel bloated, even when drinking large amounts quickly, and the thirst relief is instantaneous.

No, I don't own a piece of the company, but I highly recommend the product. Y'all can find out more at www.gookinaid.com.

A frequently reocurring topic...

Electrolyte drinks consist primarily of water, sodium (table salt, NaCl), posassium (KCl), sugar (varies), color, flavor, lots of hype, and a price tag to match.

The electrolytes replace losses in sweat and the sugars are to increase the water absorbtion rate and provide a small amount of fuel.

I posted a recipe for a homemade electrolyte drink plus additional info in http://www.vftt.org/forums/showpost.php?p=54650&postcount=21. The entire thread is worth a read: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4914.
(If you have trouble with the URLs, search on "long distance nutrition", post #21. Searching on "electrolytes" will bring up several threads on the topic.)

Doug

DougPaul - thanks for the link to your January post. I buy the stuff from Gookin because I like the taste of the fruit punch version and I'm basically lazy.

Sherpa John said:

How many of you use them? If you do NOT use them, what ways do you suppliment the sodium?

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When hiking, I just drink plain water and have never had any problems that I can say was caused by not drinking something special. After hiking, I sometimes replace the lost sodium by licking it off the rim of a glass (at a Mexican restaurant) and washing it down with a cool light-green liquid.