Salting your Water

[UKBROOKLYN]

OK I hate all those sports drinks, nunn tabs et al.. Usually go with a diluted juice..
Now lately I have been on a low carb diet and thats got all kinds of side effects.. But I read somewhere about the idea of just adding a little salt to ones water bottle to help keep the water in yr muscles. Only thing is they talk about Pink Himalayan and Celtic Sea Salt but no one says how much to ad.. Any idea.

[martinrjensen]

No matter what you do realize that salt, is salt. You can put any fancy name on it you want and the only difference is that sea salts are a lot more impure than the regular salt you buy. Any salt will do exactly the same thing.OK I hate all those sports drinks, nunn tabs et al.. Usually go with a diluted juice..
Now lately I have been on a low carb diet and thats got all kinds of side effects.. But I read somewhere about the idea of just adding a little salt to ones water bottle to help keep the water in yr muscles. Only thing is they talk about Pink Himalayan and Celtic Sea Salt but no one says how much to ad.. Any idea.

[UKBROOKLYN]

is how much salt to use

[martinrjensen]

sorrry, can't answer that question for ya.is how much salt to use

[rab]

Pretty timely question, I have been playing around with this a little more lately in the heat of the summer.
I have noticed that my sweat gets much less salty pretty quickly, especially after multiple days of heavier workloads.
Personally, I have just been experimenting with adding a pinch of regular sea salt to bottles, kind of wing it and base on taste. A pinch makes a pretty apparent impact. Based on all of this I would say add maybe a pinch or two, whatever you can stomach. more if you notice your sweat is less salty.

For a little more science on sweat loss and necessary minerals, I think this article is pretty good. Not sure how old it is, just came across it earlier today in some files I was cleaning up. Check it out:

http://www.arniebakercycling.com/pubs/Free/NS%20Sweat.pdf

hope this helps a bit!

[54ny77]

3/4 of bottle water, 1/4 bottle (or a few splashes) of gatorade.

get yer salts, a little xtra flavor, etc.

:hello:

[UKBROOKLYN]

"OK I hate all those sports drinks, nunn tabs et al."

[54ny77]

Well damn those coke bottle glasses of mine...I must've missed those key words....

In the words of Gilda Radner: NEVERMIND!

http://bcre8uv.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834530d3e69e2011571222cda970c-800wi

"OK I hate all those sports drinks, nunn tabs et al."

[Bruce K]

Our coach recommended Morton's Light Salt at 1/4 teaspoon per water bottle for a long ride we did recently as a supplement to 50% mix of sports drink. It contains many additional minerals.

It is a little hard to find but is in a small blue container with the "fake" salt. Same location in the stores as real salt but off to one end or a different shelf.

BK

[Ti Designs]

Pretzel M&Ms will get you the salt you need to ride, plus a full serving of the red food group, the blue food group, the yellow food group...

[maxdog]

No matter what you do realize that salt, is salt. You can put any fancy name on it you want and the only difference is that sea salts are a lot more impure than the regular salt you buy. Any salt will do exactly the same thing.

I guess I understand your point (sodium chloride), but it's kind of a strange, self contradictory statement (Iodine, minerals, et al.)

[Fixed]

Ironman racers know this stuff some took salt tabs
, small bag of potato chips used to work for me in the heat of
summer
Cheers

[UKBROOKLYN]

I remember years ago my brother used to carry salt tabs with him SE Airia to help. Where does one buy these ?? I tried Rite Aid and the local GNC but I guess it's too simple a solution.

Yep I am thinking of adding a little pack of KP salted peanuts to my back pocket. I also hate all those energy bar thingies like Cliff bars..
Thanks for the 1/4 tsp advice.. I will try it.. My performance sure has fallen off since I started this super low carb diet. On the inter webs they say that it takes a couple of weeks to re train the body to eat the excess fat instead of all the Pasta and Beer that it's been enjoying. And thats when you can get super sleepy. Also the Kidneys apparently need a little extra help in the form of salt and more water.

[Ralph]

http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine061211.html


Dr Mirkin discusses salt for atheletes. You can subscribe....it's free. Think I got him from someone on here. He says salt in food (for exercising in hot weather) better than salt in water.

[oldpotatoe]

http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine061211.html


Dr Mirkin discusses salt for atheletes. You can subscribe....it's free. Think I got him from someone on here. He says salt in food (for exercising in hot weather) better than salt in water.

Works for Horner!!!

http://www.snickers.com/default.htm

[buldogge]

What about unflavored Endurolytes Fizz?

-Mark in St. Louis

[chwupper]

Thanks for the link to the Mirkin page.

I imagine it would be tough to choke down salted water when you want something "refreshing" during exercise. People use it as an emetic for a good reason.

[Chance]

is how much salt to use

Have you thought about trying a similar amount that they put in Gatorade or Powerade? They use different amounts but it's a safe bet they've researched it extensively. You can use that as an upper limit. Maybe start lower and work up if it agrees with you.

Personally get more than enough salt in regular diet. Eating out has become a problem for me because of the amount of salt in food. Personally avoid extra salt at all costs.

[neaux]

This time of year I add a pinch of lite salt to water bottles and I salt my food with lite salt. It's easier than taking a ton of potassium pills but the taste is not great.

I picked up a powder called Coco Hydro yesterday but haven't tried it yet so I don't know if it tastes artificial.

[Gummee]

If I'm going out for a 'longer' ride, I'll bring a couple of packs of Ritz PB crackers. Gets some salt, some protein, and some carbs in one easy to carry package. (and some 'fake' Newtons)

Floating around the web somewhere (RBR?) is a recipe for homemade 'energy drink.' Basically: Kool-aide mis, sugar, and some salt. Adjust the proportions to taste.

AFA salting my water? Haven't tried it.

M

[UKBROOKLYN]

See thing is I only eat Veggies and Fish.. so I don't get that big salt dump from bacon or beef.. And with the new diet I need to supplement.. Gonna try a pinch of sea salt in the water tomorrow and see how the legs feel..

[fiamme red]

Putting carbohydrates back into your diet will improve your cycling performance a lot more than sprinkling a little salt in your water bottle.

[UKBROOKLYN]

If i put the carbs back in then it won't be a diet any more will it...
I said in the OP that i was on a low carb diet.

[Chance]

See thing is I only eat Veggies and Fish.. so I don't get that big salt dump from bacon or beef.. And with the new diet I need to supplement.. Gonna try a pinch of sea salt in the water tomorrow and see how the legs feel..

Guess you are probably right as long as a person avoided most foods pre-packaged in cans, bags, boxes, and so on.

Just checked and found a single small 97-percent fat-free beef Kosher hot dog has as much sodium as two bottles of Gatorade, or five servings worth. A single whole wheat bun another bottle’s worth of sodium. And how many guys wouldn’t eat two small dogs in one sitting? Combined two dogs and buns would approximate six bottles of Gatorade. That’s about an entire day’s worth of recommended sodium for a full-size adult.

Eating too little salt is definitely not a great concern of mine. Not that hot dogs are on my regular diet.

[UKBROOKLYN]

nm

[Chance]

nm

How exactly is anyone to know that you don't get your "Veggies and Fish" out of cans? Or frozen? Besides, was my post contradicting you in any way?

Next time you insult someone at least do it with enough conviction to leave it up.

[SoCalSteve]

Pretzel M&Ms will get you the salt you need to ride, plus a full serving of the red food group, the blue food group, the yellow food group...

No green M&M's, man!!!

[UKBROOKLYN]

Wait a minute how was I insulting you.. nm meant no message..
what does it mean to you

[67-59]

Ultra-low carbs and endurance exercise don't mix well. There's a reason why marathon runners carbo load before a race. I think starving your muscles has a lot more to to with decreased performance than a lack of salt.

FWIW -- you might want to try salty water for one ride and then carbo loading before another ride...and see which helps more....

[UKBROOKLYN]

See heres the thing I know all about the carbo loading thing.. But last year I rode about 5.5K miles.. up and down hills on a 29 lb 1950 steel 4 speed.

Guess how much weight I lost... ZERO.

So I am trying to cut down on Carbs and get the body feeding on the fat. And thats where the fatigue is coming in. because my body has not adjusted its feeding program me yet.

[Fixed]

Ultra-low carbs and endurance exercise don't mix well. There's a reason why marathon runners carbo load before a race. I think starving your muscles has a lot more to to with decreased performance than a lack of salt.

FWIW -- you might want to try salty water for one ride and then carbo loading before another ride...and see which helps more....

This +1

[fiamme red]

So I am trying to cut down on Carbs and get the body feeding on the fat. And thats where the fatigue is coming in. because my body has not adjusted its feeding program me yet.Sorry, but it's not going to happen.

Your body needs carbs if you're doing long rides with any intensity. That's all.

You can cut down on carbs on the days that you don't ride.

[neaux]

This may be useful to you.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/cyclical-ketogenic-diets-and-endurance-performance-qa.html

See heres the thing I know all about the carbo loading thing.. But last year I rode about 5.5K miles.. up and down hills on a 29 lb 1950 steel 4 speed.

Guess how much weight I lost... ZERO.

So I am trying to cut down on Carbs and get the body feeding on the fat. And thats where the fatigue is coming in. because my body has not adjusted its feeding program me yet.

[UKBROOKLYN]

The point is to not do carbs.... am I spelling it wrong.

[Chance]

Wait a minute how was I insulting you.. nm meant no message..
what does it mean to you

Read your post fully before you deleted and changed it. Are you going to lie about it now?

Have better things to do than discuss this with you. Eat salt if you want. Don't eat salt if you don't. Could not care less what you do from this point forward about salt, carbs, veggies, fish, or anything else. You may have the right to be rude but others have the right to ignore you.

[neaux]

You may also want to pick up a copy of the Paleo Diet for Athletes.

[dustyrider]

I don't think anyone's trying to be trite with you. They understand your question, but I think they are like me a carb dependent machine of sorts.
It's one thing to cut all carbs, and another thing to cut bad carbs.
Are you working with a doctor on this diet? or?

Here's my thinking, note I'm a skinny guy who can consume huge amounts of anything, and it burns off even if I don't ride my bike like an addict:

If you couple the elimination of all carbs with keeping up a physically demanding life style, you're going to experience fatigue, and you may loose weight but at what cost to your body. The best way to loose weight is to develop a diet that allows you to keep a healthy lifestyle. Both diet and exercise have to exists together, and they have to become a habit/lifestyle, or you'll just end up gaining all the weight back, or worse hurting your body in someway.

Like others have said you'd see a better performance increase from your body by putting "good" carbs back into your diet, instead of adding some salt to your water. Which would help you bump up your yearly miles, which helps go along way in promoting weight loss, and creating that healthy lifestyle.
What we should be saying is that if you eliminate "bad" carbs from your diet, but keep the "good" carbs you should start to experience the weight loss you're looking for, which is what you're missing.

By the way I haven't tried this yet but it's on the to do list:
Make your own gatorade. (http://wellnessmama.com/2575/natural-sports-drink-alternatives-recipe/)

There's loads of information on the internet about changing your diet, and staying active. To specifically achieve what you're thinking of you should be using the internet as a resource, since we are all very different in terms of this particular discussion. You should also seek the advice of a PHd if your lucky enough to be insured. I think the framing of your original question had us all stumped, but I think I'm getting what you're after, but what works for me isn't necessarily going to work for you. Although I think it's pretty safe to say we're both not going to experience any performance increases if we both don't eat any carbs and drink an occasional salty beverage. My personal favorite is San Pellegrino.

Recently I watched two really good films on Hulu!
They're free you just got watch a few silly commercials.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122

http://www.hulu.com/watch/279734


I'm not a doctor or dietician, I just life a very active lifestyle and I have to feed the machine just like everyone else, so why not feed it in a better way.

[67-59]

The point is to not do carbs.... am I spelling it wrong.

You are not spelling it wrong.

We are simply telling you that low carbs and endurance exercise don't go together. Period. You are starving your muscles of exactly what they need to keep you going. Low carb diets are great for couch potatoes, but not for endurance athletes. If you want to lose weight and engage in endurance exercise, don't cut out the carbs, cut out the fats.

Are we spelling that wrong?

[UKBROOKLYN]

I guess the answer is as you say just loosing the bad carbs.. white stuff.. rice flower sugar etc.. But 7grain bread is ok.. I have been reading a bit about carbs that take calories to digest verses ones that just put o the pounds..
FWW I have lost a few pounds in the last couple of weeks.. I guess if I could just eat less..

BTW CHANCE I know you are going to read this.. yes I wrote something which seemed wrong so I deleted it immediately.. within seconds so that it did not get out there.. It didn't no one else read it except apparently you. I don't even remember what it was, sure was not insulting.. Get a grip.

Hows that..

[neaux]

Or you can do a keto run, lift your butt off, cut the endurance work, smell like ammonia, and loose fat.

Or you could just count your calories...

Also, you've probably lost weight, or at least a big chunk of it, the last few weeks due to water. When I cut carbs out I'll loose 5lbs in a couple days. As soon as I carb up it's back on the next morning.

I guess the answer is as you say just loosing the bad carbs.. white stuff.. rice flower sugar etc.. But 7grain bread is ok.. I have been reading a bit about carbs that take calories to digest verses ones that just put o the pounds..
FWW I have lost a few pounds in the last couple of weeks.. I guess if I could just eat less..

[RFC]

Back to salt and heat. In AZ we learn these things.

For the past couple of summers, I have regularly dosed my water bottles with 1/8th teaspoon of Lite Salt Mixtures containing sodium and potassium, which represent 90% of your electrolytes. I have found that my recovery is much quicker.

[boxerboxer]

FWIW, weight alone doesn't tell the fully story. If you're not also measuring waist, neck, thighs, etc, you don't know whether you're staying the same weight because there's no change or because you're replacing fat with muscle. According to Chris Carmichael there's not really a substitute for carbs as fuel for endurance sport, but you can minimize what negative effects there might be by eating whole grains and avoiding carbs other than just before/during/after rides.

[Ralph]

http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine100911.html


Dr Mirkin.....For recovery after exercise.

[Ralph]

http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine103011.html

DR Mirkin.....On salt for exercisers.

[UKBROOKLYN]

Of course I might just have eaten a whole lot more food last year and that way my weight stayed the same..
One thing I have learned its not the exercise or lack of it that is the weight problem its how much and what you eat.

I am not a bloater.. just want to drop about 10

[UKBROOKLYN]

Just read that link.. yeah baby back to chocolate milk as my recovery drink...(Plus a blended in banana of course..)

[Ralph]

One thing I have learned its not the exercise or lack of it that is the weight problem its how much and what you eat.


I think you're hitting on it.

[dave thompson]

All this drama for 10 pounds?! Unless you're a skinny little boy, 10 pounds isn't a real big deal. Proper, good nutritional food, fewer calories in than used and weight comes off.

Your 'self medication' my do you more harm than good.

[UKBROOKLYN]

But it aint for me.. I am 55 and everything is slowing down.. Eyes getting weaker, a simple cut takes longer to heal.. and yes a drop in 10lbs is a lot for me.

[dave thompson]

I hear ya about the age thing, I'm 70. But I'll reiterate what I said about a 10 pound weight loss not being terribly difficult. It may take longer for us but it's doable without crazy/fad/not good diets. Lotsa good info in this thread you should seriously consider.

I weigh about 10 pounds less after two months into our riding season than I do in the winter.

[UKBROOKLYN]

yep this is good info.. I actually ant to get back onto some good carbs, I miss bread so much.....

[neaux]

Have you had your thyroid and testosterone checked?

[martinrjensen]

A lot of people are under the impression that say, "Dead Sea salt" is better than regular table salt (I was once told by a gal at the grocery store that I shoudl buy Dead Sea salt because it was better for me).
It's really not. It does contain other minerals (or impurities if you will) that may or may not be good for you but there is no difference in the type of salt. That's the only point I was trying to make.I guess I understand your point (sodium chloride), but it's kind of a strange, self contradictory statement (Iodine, minerals, et al.)

[UKBROOKLYN]

Self employed self medicating

[Jack Brunk]

Why would anyone just add salt to their water? Other electrolytes are equally important for extended timed rides. Did I miss something?

[rwsaunders]

Doesn't Wendy's use Sea Salt on their fries? Kill two birds with one stone...:cool: