Saving hikers from over drinking on the Kokoda Track

[wayno]

need to take salt when you drink large volumes of water to avoid low sodium levels, take around a quarter of a teaspoon per litre of water according to experts

Last edited by wayno on Tue 02 Jan, 2024 3:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Xplora]

Back in the marathon running days I used to put some Himalayan rock salt in my bottle. Better than using the sports drinks or powders.

[Letstryagain]

Might be a public service to mention this is a common issue anywhere, not just on the kokoda....

[Warin]

Might be a public service to mention this is a common issue anywhere, not just on the kokoda....

Not so common in colder areas where sweating is less of an issue compared to hot humid climates.

[Tortoise]

It's not, but we had a case in Tassie a few years ago.

[Letstryagain]

It's not, but we had a case in Tassie a few years ago.

I don't think people on the mainland believe heat induced illnesses are possible in Tassie

[wayno]

i know of at least one person collapsing from low sodium in the NZ mountains...
technically its not that hot here but the radiant heat from the sun is still strong, a lot of foreigners complain about the strength of the NZ sun and how hard they find it...

[Baeng72]

Back in the marathon running days I used to put some Himalayan rock salt in my bottle. Better than using the sports drinks or powders.

Genuine question. What is the go with Himalayan rock salt?
Salt is NaCl. The provenance of it is irrelevant, unless it has impurities/other salts like KCl/MgCl that are doing the heavy lifting, I don't see the big deal.
But it's marketed everywhere as some kind of wonder stuff.
Analogous to Kale, which is a variety of Cabbage, getting the marketing hype treatment?

[wayno]

Commercial salt has all the other minerals refined out. Himalayan leaves all the seawater minerals I n. I make no claims about it. No iodine in it. It evaporates off

[Baeng72]

Commercial salt has all the other minerals refined out. Himalayan leaves all the seawater minerals I n. I make no claims about it. No iodine in it. It evaporates off

Cool. I just checked out Wikipedia, and it's 99% NaCl (table salt) with some impurities, like iron for the pinkness (I think) and magnesium etc.
The things I see in the local Westfield Dystopia about breathing lamps and that are just woo, but I can see it's one way to get trace minerals to help with cramping or whatever that table salt won't have.
Thanks.

[crollsurf]

I'd guess electrolyte tablets are better than salt. They taste better and are designed for replacing salts and minerals lost while sweating. I don't know how good Hydralyte is but it's easy to find in the shops and I don't mind the taste.

I've found once you have sweated out the salt, you sweat profusely and drinking water just sweats straight back out. I'm sure there are other reasons but you seem to need the salt to slow down the rate of sweating. Helps keep you hydrated

[Warin]

Back in the marathon running days I used to put some Himalayan rock salt in my bottle. Better than using the sports drinks or powders.

Genuine question. What is the go with Himalayan rock salt?

For me, I like the taste of it.

But for hydration I take the commercial 'hydration pills' from some supermarket.. not fixed on any brand. I put them in a cup of water ... not in a bottle nor bladder as that can cause mold growth.

[wayno]

you do sweat out a range of minerals, so taking a multi mineral replacement that includes sodium is a good idea.... low sodium is likely to be the first mineral that can cause serious health issues..