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Am I getting enough SALT?


Urnesha

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I'm in an exercise class that meets 4 days a week and does pretty intense sessions and some part of my body invariably cramps at some point but last night it was the worse ever. my NECK was cramping! I didn't even know that was possible. My trainer suggested that I might not be getting enough salt. How do I know if I am? I have never been a huge salt person but I do use salt in every meal - on eggs, in the food that I cook etc. I don't ever crave salt though and I'm not attracted to salty food. I don't want to add more salt if salt is not the problem (my family has a history of hypertension) but how do I know if I'm getting enough?? 

p.s. I'm drinking usually about 3 liters of water a day and I'm about 260 lbs. I pee all the time so I don't think I'm dehydrated but maybe salt isn't the problem but water is? Ahhh!!! *headdesk*

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If you're salting all of your food and drinking enough water so as not to be dehydrated you could be lacking in either potassium, magnesium, and/or calcium.

For potassium try banana & avocado, for magnesium you can add in a supplement if you're not already doing so, and for the calcium you want lots of dark leafy greens (spinach & kale), fish with bones in (salmon. sardines etc).

What does your sweat taste/smell like?

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1 hour ago, jmcbn said:

If you're salting all of your food and drinking enough water so as not to be dehydrated you could be lacking in either potassium, magnesium, and/or calcium.

For potassium try banana & avocado, for magnesium you can add in a supplement if you're not already doing so, and for the calcium you want lots of dark leafy greens (spinach & kale), fish with bones in (salmon. sardines etc).

What does your sweat taste/smell like?

To me my sweat is salty. No particular smell that I can identify but while exercising if it runs into my mouth (I sweat A LOT) I find it to be salty. Hmm.. maybe dehydration is my problem. 

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10 minutes ago, Urnesha said:

Hmm.. maybe dehydration is my problem. 

If you were dehydrated it would smell more sour like ammonia. The saltiness could be from too much salt. You want it ideally to be fairly neutral. I'd focus on making sure you're getting adequate potassium, magnesium & calcium to see if that helps with the cramps.

The sweating a lot is a good thing by the way - it shows that your body's mechanism for cooling the body is functioning effectively!

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3 hours ago, jmcbn said:

If you were dehydrated it would smell more sour like ammonia. The saltiness could be from too much salt. You want it ideally to be fairly neutral. I'd focus on making sure you're getting adequate potassium, magnesium & calcium to see if that helps with the cramps.

The sweating a lot is a good thing by the way - it shows that your body's mechanism for cooling the body is functioning effectively!

Hmm I'm definitely getting enough potassium (lots of plantain in my diet these days) but I haven't been paying attention to calcium or magnesium. Will have to check what foods they are prevalent in and stock up! Thanks!

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1 hour ago, Urnesha said:

magnesium

Magnesium is the big one.

Much of the western world is magnesium deficinient as modern farming techniques deplete the magnesium from the soil. Most folk around here take magnesium supplements in some shape or form - magnesium citrate is more easily absorbed by the body than magnesium oxide so worth paying the extra, but you can also get skin sprays or take epsom salt baths.

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4 hours ago, jmcbn said:

Magnesium is the big one.

Much of the western world is magnesium deficinient as modern farming techniques deplete the magnesium from the soil. Most folk around here take magnesium supplements in some shape or form - magnesium citrate is more easily absorbed by the body than magnesium oxide so worth paying the extra, but you can also get skin sprays or take epsom salt baths.

Good to know! Will check for some supplements tomorrow! Thanks for the help. :) 

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