Sodium and athletes

Salt, or sodium, is a required nutrient in the diet. It helps regulate fluid balance and promotes proper muscle function. Unfortunately, most North Americans have developed an appetite for at least three times the sodium they need. The actual sodium need varies slightly from person to person, but a range of 1,800 to 2,400 milligrams, or one teaspoon of salt, is considered to be a healthy daily dose.

Like fluid requirements, daily sodium needs can also vary greatly among athletes. Some athletes have a greater sodium need because they lose more sodium in sweat. The sodium needs amount that is recommended during exercise is dependent on the amount of sweat produced.

For example, let say that you sweat about 1.5 liters per hour, and your sodium losses per liter may be about 750 milligrams. This means that in one hour, you lose 1125 milligrams of sodium. If you train for three hours, your total sodium sweat losses are 3,375 milligrams of sodium. Clearly, on days when you put in even more hours of training, you will increase your total sodium sweat losses further. -Leah Perrier