Electrolytes
How much salt do you need?
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Eat Your Greens! by Bradley Saul Leafy vegetables such as lettuce, kale, spinach, and chard are full of vitamins and minerals. Most people consider a salad a side dish. Why put the healthiest, most nutritious part of meal to the side? Celebrate it! I have a large salad every night that consists of at least one head of lettuce, assorted vegetables, and a delicious dressing of blended fruits. I can have a salad dinner ready to go in less than ten minutes without compromising the nutritional quality of the typical “fast” food. Sometimes I just eat a head of romaine lettuce plain. It's so sweet! |
Electrolytes are mineral salts that your body uses to maintain homeostasis. Sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, magnesium, bicarbonate, and phosphate are all critical electrolytes that the body needs to maintain osmotic gradients between intracellular and extracellular fluids. The balance between them affects hydration and blood pH and is essential for nerve and muscle function.
Most sports drinks contain a high concentration of common table salt (NaCl). One 32oz bottle of Gatorade contains 440 mg of sodium. One of the rationales for consuming more sodium during exercise is that the body excretes more sodium when sweating heavily. You've probably seen athletes caked in salt after a hot day of exercising. Is this a sign that the athletes need more salt or that the body is taking the opportunity to rid itself of excess salt? These athletes are covered in salt because they have too much salt in their diet. The excess salt is excreted as a waste product in their sweat. Thus, the caked salt is a sign that salt consumption should be decreased, not increased.
The body actually needs only a small amount of sodium (250-500mg daily) to function optimally. This amount is easily met by eating whole, unprocessed foods and rapidly exceeded by eating processed, salty foods. The average American consumes an estimated 10g of salt daily. One quarter of a teaspoon of salt has 600 mg of sodium.
Meeting one's electrolyte needs is quite simple when eating a whole food, plant-based diet. Fruits and vegetables contain all the electrolytes that the body needs in easily digestible and utilized forms.
