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To: Nathan Zachary

One summer when I was 13 my brother and I rode 1000 miles on bicycles through the Ozarks in three weeks, averaging about 50 miles per day, with bicycles loaded with full camping gear. We usually drank 2 to 4 gallons of water a day. By the end of each day we’d be covered by a quite easily visible layer of salt crystals. To the point where rubbing the hand across an arm would produce something resembling a snow shower.

We discovered pretty quickly that we needed extra salt or we’d get cramps. We tried salt tablets washed down with warm water and found out even faster that induces vomiting efficiently.

We wound up putting unreal amounts of salt on our food, as in 1/8” of salt on a hamburger. Worked great. Oddly enough, didn’t taste overly salty. I figure that was the body letting us know what it needed.

So don’t tell me those who sweat a lot don’t need more salt.

I realize these were extreme conditions.


35 posted on 04/09/2009 10:16:18 PM PDT by Sherman Logan (Everyone has a right to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.)
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To: Sherman Logan
That is very extreme though. Not like a normal person going for a bike ride one day after sitting in a basement playing video games for a month.

And the reason you sweat out all that salt is because you had far too much stored up to begin with.
I'll bet after that was gone, you didn't have salty sweat anymore, it was much sweeter tasting, like cucumber sort of.

I know, I used to do a lot of running, 14 miles a day. On weekends I rode 70 miles to the cabin on my bike.

38 posted on 04/09/2009 10:33:27 PM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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