Using Salt to Optimize Mental and Physical Performance

The formula for hydration, the so-called Galpin equation, is your body weight in pounds divided by 30 equals the ounces of fluid you should drink every 15 minutes ... The Galpin equation is mainly designed for exercise, but I think it is actually a very good rule of thumb for any time that you need to engage mental capacity, not just physical performance.

I asked [James DiNicolantonio] outright; I said, 'How much salt do you recommend people take on average?' ... The recommendation he made was anywhere from 8-12 grams of salt a day, which corresponds to 3.2-4.8 grams of sodium.

The simplest way to interpret these data are that, at fairly low levels of sodium, meaning about 2 grams per day, you run fewer health risks, but the number of risk continues to decline as you move toward 4 and 5 grams per day. And then, as you increase your salt intake further, then the risk dramatically increases.

Now, there are many examples where, if sodium levels get too low in the bloodstream, either because people are ingesting too little salt or they are ingesting too much water and therefore excreting too much salt, that it can cause stress and anxiety. There's some really nice data that point to the fact that low dietary sodium can actually exacerbate anxiety in animal models.

There are some simple rules of thumb around this ... For every ounce of coffee or tea that you drink, I should say caffeinated coffee or tea that you drink, that you consume one and a half times as much water.

Many people find... when people increase their salt intake in a backdrop of relatively unprocessed foods, that sugar cravings can indeed be vastly reduced.

Oftentimes, when kids learn I'm a scientist, they'll ask a question about something related to science... But one thing that I'll tell kids, I'll say 'Do you know that your urine, your pee, is actually filtered blood?'

With respect to salt intake and the fact that salt intake is homeostatically regulated, it is the case that if you're craving salt, you probably need it.

There is a school of thought that everybody is consuming too much salt. And I do want to highlight the fact that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of quality papers that point to the fact that a 'high-salt diet' can be bad for various organs and tissues in the body, including the brain.

For most people, a moderate increase in salt intake is not going to be detrimental provided that you consume enough fluids, in particular water. Meaning, if you happen to overeat salt a bit, you will get thirsty, you will ingest more water, and you will excrete the excess sodium.

I think it's fair to say that whether or not you're vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, omnivore that we should all try to limit our ingestion of processed foods.

You have a homeostatically-driven salt appetite ... You crave salty things, beverages and foods, when your salt stores are low; and you tend to avoid salty beverages and foods when your salt stores are high.

There is some evidence that you can reduce muscle soreness from exercise by ingestion of magnesium malate.