Why you don't need more salt in your diet.

You don’t need more salt in your diet. I had to say it. 

That may sound weird coming from someone who earns their living off talking about electrolytes but hear me out. The vast majority of humans do not have a salt problem, we have a fluid problem. 

Here is what I mean by that. 

The average Western adult consumes around 4000mg of sodium (salt) in their diet each day. The recommended limit for salt per day for optimal health is 1600mg, and the upper limit to prevent cardiovascular disease is 2300mg. 

In the United States, almost half of the adult population have some form of cardiovascular disease and in Europe it accounts for 45% of all deaths!!! 

But I am an athlete and I sweat a lot I need to replace the salt I lose in sweat. Maybe, but let’s do the maths here. 

Sodium is essential in the body so we keep a lot of it in storage. How much? 92,000mg, give or take. 

Let’s say you lose the average amount of sweat per hour, which is 1000ml per hour, and you lose 750mg of sodium each hour. Let’s assume you workout two hours a day. In those workouts you have lost 2L of fluid through sweat and 1500mg of sodium. 

Now let’s consider that adults lose 2.5L of water throughout the day through bodily functions. This puts our total fluid losses at 4.5L and sodium losses at 1500mg. Let’s say you weigh 75kg and you eat a standard diet (containing 4000mg of sodium). 

This means you have lost 6% of your body weight. Considering we can experience up to 20% (mental and physical) performance decreases at just 2% body weight loss, that is a massive loss. But you have well and truly replaced the salt you lost, 1500mg, in your daily diet of 4000mg.

See what I am getting at? The vast majority of people do not have a salt problem, they have a fluid problem, that is why we bang on so much on the importance of maintaining your hydration? 

But isn’t Trainade Hydration made of salt? Yes, but only a small amount. Trainade Hydration is what we call a hypotonic solution meaning it contains relatively low levels of sodium and that is because the role of sodium (along with the glucose) is to rapidly move the fluid you drink with it into your body to replace hydrate your body. 

That is why it works so well, it helps you rapidly hydrate your body, offsetting this state of dehydration that so many adults live their lives in!

I am not saying ditch the salt completely, but I can guarantee you are getting more than enough in your diet to support your daily needs (and more). 

Focus on hydrating properly and feel the difference today.