Today’s guest post comes from Mindy Black, a registered dietitian from Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Mindy has served as a Sports Nutritionist for the University of Florida Athletics program, and currently works independently with many professional and elite athletes.
A pound of sweat contains 400-700 mg Sodium and 80-100 mg Potassium. During 2 hours of practice, you may lose anywhere from 1,800-5,600mg Sodium, and 300-800 mg Potassium. The more you adapt to intense exercise, less of these nutrients will be excreted. Below is a list of Sodium and Potassium containing foods that would be beneficial after hard training sessions.
Sodium and Potassium are both minerals that aid in maintaining normal water balance in your body. If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated and need to drink water, and replenish these minerals. If you are cramping, you need to replenish these minerals. It is recommended that you use whole foods to get your needed allotment of sodium and potassium rather than use pure salt or potassium supplements.
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