SALT AND SPORTS

“Dear Frederic,

“Thank you for your inspiring newsletters. I have a question about salt: For very active people is it important to replenish the body with salt after partaking in sport? I have low blood pressure and have noticed that I crave salt and get dizzy when I don't eat enough. But lately I've been adding more and more sea salt to my foods. How much salt is healthy?”

ANSWER: About salt: it's important to get enough sodium in the diet, but it's not necessary or recommendable to use table salt or sea salt or Celtic salt. Active people need between 500 and 1000 mg. of sodium per day, maybe up to 1500 mg. Greens contain the necessary sodium we need. 1 stalk of celery contains about 50 mg. of sodium. A bunch of spinach contains almost 300 mg. So it's not hard to get enough sodium - the key is to eat enough greens, probably about 1 pound or more a day, on average. I suggest increasing the amount of greens, making green smoothies and blending celery with your fruit smoothies, instead of using sea salt or Himalayan salt. Please be aware that it's easy to take in too much sodium when using salt. More than 1000 to 1500 mg. of sodium per day is unhealthy. Just a teaspoon of Celtic salt contains over 1500 mg of sodium - and we already get at least 500 mg. from fruits and vegetables alone.