Salt/Sodium/Electrolyte Tablets: Your Perspective Please. (Page 2)

 bryancd makes a valid point in general about studies.

I'm knee deep in "studies" at the university level on the topic of sodium supplementation during endurance sports. Some studies debunk the need, some support it.

When I sent one study to another reasearcher and vice-versa for perspective each party effectively argued against the others' protocols and findings.

Hmmmph.

Another thing that puts any review in an unusual and difficult to moderate editorial position is the often conflicting agendas of "sales" and "objectivity".

My reviews are not objective. They are reviews, opinions, editorial and they are sales-motivated. That said, there is some degree of built-in integrity in our process that we do frequently review products that are poorly designed, don't function as we would have expected and/or we anticipate problems with once they reach the consumer level. I have a box full of those products under my desk as I type this. You never see those reviews since, quite frankly, they don't serve our interest or our customers' interest in the sales landscape. We do return our findings to the vendor. Often times they listen and adjust, sometimes they ignore us. So be it. You know what they say about opinions...

I used saltstick pills once for my Ironman.  I have no idea if they worked or not, it wasn't very hot out (70ish), but I used them religiously every 30 minutes after reading that you can't take too much, but you can definitely not have enough.  I had zero cramping, GI issues, nothing. I felt great for all 14+ hours.  Whether that was due to the salt pills, proper nutrition, proper drinking, i have no idea. But I plan to use them for my next long distance race.

You can't taste any salt when you take a salt tab. It's not like its a solid block of salt. It's within a plastic capsule that disolves.  

Definitely a tough subject because there are so many variables that are in the mix. Elite athletes race at a higher intensity and therefore accumulate more heat. Larger athletes throw off more heat as well. Race day conditions play a large role. Hot races set themselves up for it, cool races don't.  I would hazard to say that rarely would someone in Canada need to worry about this stuff.  And race length is a huge contributor. Rarely do issues crop up in races shorter than four hours. Personal sweat rates, etc also come into play. So does diet. Sodium can be drawn into the GI to help with digestion depending on what you eat. If that happens your muscles lose that much needed electrolyte. Then you got hormones that come into play. When you lose too much fluid hormones are released to stop the loss of fluid. If you stop losing fluid and continue to lose electrolytes, you're gonna have problems in a hurry. Bottom line is that its a great big "it depends".

Problem I see when this topic is brought up in forums the only arguments referenced tend to be either some marketing talking points from a company pushing pills or a couple of blogs that get read poo pooing stuff whether the data backs it or not. Truth is there's tons of info on electrolyte supplementation. There's whole industry created from it. People have been supplementing electrolytes essentially since recorded history.To Bryan's point though, is aggressive supplementation justified. Don't know. guess we'd have to define that.

And the kicker......there's not really any downside. You just pee out the excess. Maybe a tummy ache. So I look at it this way. Some need it. so they take it. Others think they need it. that's fine too. Not going to hurt them either. But those who do need it and don't take it...uh oh. could be a deadly mistake.

FTR, I have used Saltstick and have switched to Electrosalt by EnergyLab. But only in half ironman's and full ironmans, and the training for them.

Bam! ^^^another factor I totally forgot about. Prescriptions that effect you. And other existing health conditions that effect. and.....

Even with "studies" you are going to get a ton of conflicting information, for a variety of reasons, including intentional bias (marketing by companies), unintentional bias, and far too many variables to control (participant fitness, fluids consumed, sweat rate, weather, and overall physiological differences in all of us).  It would be basically impossible to conduct a well-controlled scientific study controlling all of the variables.

Further, many of the studies published in scientific literature are on elite athletes, which may or may not have any relevance for us amateurs (brayncd excluded). 

For me, I sweat A LOT.  And when I sweat it is crusty with salt and stings the eyes like heck.  Granted she weighs a lot less than me, but my wife and I can run the same route in the same weather, and I'll lose several more pounds of fluid than her.  I simply can't drink enough to stay hydrated if it's too hot.  What I have found is that adding some salt in can help stave off the general feeling of exhaustion in hot weather.  My issue has never really been cramping, just more that feeling of being completely wiped out.

My advice to anyone that asks is to experiment with various nutrition plans, including salt, and find what works for you.

I used those while climbing Kilimnajaro. It was recommended that we take Diamox (Acetazolamide)to help handle the quick gains in altitude. A side effect of Diamox is frequent urination, which can lead to dehydration. So, in addition to the Diamox, the recommended Electrolyte pills. 

I used a combination of the two, drank all of the water I was allotted daily, and peed about every 45 minutes. I never became dehydrated. I struggled a little with the altitude, but was able to summit and descend safely, and without issue.

About 10 months later, I was doing my first 70.3. I was with two friends who sweat a lot, and they told me to stick some in a ziplock bag and put them in my jersey pocket. Because I knew I could handle them without GI distress or any other issue, I took them on the bike and the run.

Did they help? Maybe. Did they hurt? No. Would I use them again racing? Maybe. Would I use them again on a high-altitude expedition? Yes. 

I have had what I feel are positive results from using electrolyte supplements, especially during longer, hotter workouts. I say "I feel" because I cannot be 100% sure that the results aren't placebo; however, I have noticed that when I take either the capsule (endurolytes and sports legs are what I've tried) or the drink powder (Electrolyte Stamina) when it is hot or I have a 2 hour+ workout, I tend not to get as "fuzzy-headed" or "blah" feeling as when I only use water. In other words, I feel sharper mentally which allows me to suffer more physically. 

Like I said, not sure if this is me thinking the supplements work or that they're actually doing something for me physiologically, but in the end, does it matter so long as I feel better? 

And cats are by far the best photo subject. Keep them coming. But I guess ducklings are pretty cute too.