High Sodium Health Consequences

By Hammer Nutrition (www.hammernutrition.com)

Not only are high sodium diets bad for your health, but those who consume high amounts of sodium in their diet are guaranteed greater sodium loss rates and require greater sodium intakes during exercise. Sodium, as you probably know, drives thirst, and thirst drives drinking until excess results… definitely not a performance-enhancing scenario. Over the course of several years, we’ve repeatedly observed the following characteristics in endurance athletes who reported symptoms of severe sodium imbalance during or immediately following races/workouts:

• Dietary sodium intake above 6000mg/day.
• Fluid consumption in excess of 30oz/hr (approx 890 ml/hr).
• Food consumption in excess of 300cal/hr.
• Failure to acclimatize to hyperthermic (hot weather) conditions, including at
least one workout of 60% or greater of the event distance.

You can diminish performance inhibiting problems of excess sodium consumption by:

• Reducing your dietary intake of sodium to an upper limit of 2300 mg/day. This
not only aids performance, it’s a substantially healthier dietary procedure. Dr. Bill Misner writes, “Limiting sodium is recommended since research supports that chronic consumption of more than 2300 milligrams per day may contribute to congestive heart failure (CHF), hypertension, muscle stiffness, edema, irritability, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), liver disorders, ulcers, and cataracts.”

• Limit your fluid intake during exercise to 20-25 oz/hr (590-740 ml/hr). Refer to the article “Hydration - What you need to know” for more information on this topic.

• Consume an appropriate amount of calories during exercise. For most athletes this is an intake of 240-280/hour. Refer to the article “Proper Caloric Intake During
Endurance Exercise” for more information on this topic.

• Train two to three weeks in the same heat or humidity as the event

Bottom line: Salty foods and/or salt tablets will not cut it when it comes to electrolyte replenishment. Instead, adopt a low-sodium approach that emphasizes a balance of essential minerals that cooperatively enhance the body’s natural hormone and enzyme actions. You want a product that will provide comprehensive electrolyte support without compromising internal regulation.

For more information on proper fueling, you can go to www.hammernutrition.com and search for the The Endurance Athlete's GUIDE to SUCCESS.