Salt Tablets vs. Comprehensive Electrolytes: Which Is Right for You?

When it comes to good hydration, most people just think about water. Athletes may think a simple sports drink does the trick. But in reality, hydration is a multi-step process that takes place before, during, and after any workout. It’s about giving your body the essential minerals (electrolytes) it needs to thrive — then keeping those levels stable as you lose fluid through sweat. 

Salt tablets are a common way athletes boost their sodium levels during exercise, but they don’t provide other electrolytes like chloride, potassium, and magnesium. You may need to up your hydration game with a comprehensive formula if you want to enjoy better performance, less dehydration, and reduced cramping. 

In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of electrolytes and how they can enhance performance during sports. 

Why You Need Electrolytes to Hydrate Properly

Your body needs water to survive, but it needs electrolytes to thrive. Think of water like the vehicle carrying all the essential minerals and nutrients to your muscles and organs. Water itself is crucial, but without proper nutrition, people face serious health risks.

Athletes need electrolytes to stabilize their energy levels, enable smooth muscle contraction, and maintain fluid levels in cells [1]. 

When you sweat, you lose both water and electrolytes — this can cause an imbalance that leads to dizziness, fatigue, reduced performance, and muscle cramps. The longer you continue to exercise without replenishing electrolytes, the worse you’ll feel, even if you’re drinking plenty of water. 

Salt Tablets for Athletes: Are They Good for You? 

For decades, athletes have trusted salt tablets to provide a heavy dose of sodium when they’re exercising. This is great on one hand since sodium plays a large role in muscle contraction and relaxation [2]. But there is a downside to taking salt tablets: they’re exactly that. Plain salt. 

So instead of getting a well-balanced dose of electrolytes like potassium, magnesium, chloride, and calcium, you only replace sodium. This can actually lead to further imbalances within the body and elevate your blood pressure to dangerous levels. 

How Sodium Affects Athletic Performance 

Let’s not forget sodium is a key player in athletic performance. It’s the MVP of hydration, ensuring proper blood flow, organ function, and blood pressure, among many other processes [3]. 

If your sodium levels fall too low due to dehydration, you could experience a dangerous condition called hyponatremia; it causes confusion, fatigue, dizziness, and can lead to life-threatening risks by affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively, among other issues.

The goal of any athlete should be to maintain a healthy balance of all the electrolytes they need, which makes salt tablets a less beneficial option compared to comprehensive electrolyte formulas. 

Why Electrolyte Supplements Can Help You Stay Safer and Perform Better 

Electrolyte blends contain high doses of essential minerals like potassium and magnesium in addition to good old sodium. This ultimately provides a more stable, balanced mix of electrolytes to promote healthy muscle function, energy production, and blood circulation. 

So what exactly makes an electrolyte formula “comprehensive”? We consider it to be one that combines the strong electrolytes (strong acids, strong bases, and salts) into a blend that ensures maximum absorption and benefits when dissolved in water. 

Our formula for Fuel X includes a combination of all the key electrolytes an athlete needs to stay well-hydrated. This means we went far beyond standard salt tablets and sports drinks to create a pure formula that you can easily customize by controlling how much you add to water. 

Why Electrolytes Are Vital to Good Hydration 

Electrolytes all play a role in muscle function, how well your organs receive oxygen and remove waste, and how your body breaks down food and turns it into energy. Without enough electrolytes, you face a higher risk of negative health consequences. This can become dangerous when you are losing fluids rapidly through exercise and not able to restore them at a stable rate. 

It’s best to hydrate before, during, and after exercise. This ensures you start off with a reserve of electrolytes to power you through your workout, then replenish them throughout your exercise as you lose fluids through sweat. 

Consuming electrolytes after a workout also aids muscle relaxation and recovery, which can reduce inflammation, discomfort, and cramps.

Overall, you need electrolytes to survive, not just during workouts. And incorporating them into your hydration will ensure that you maintain stable levels of all the minerals in your system to avoid side effects of dehydration. 

Pros and Cons of Salt Tablets 

Pros:

• Easy way to replenish sodium levels 

• Portable, affordable, and convenient for athletes 

• Can help prevent hyponatremia during extended periods of exercise

Cons:

• Lack other essential electrolytes, like potassium and calcium 

• Can cause bloating and gastrointestinal problems if you don’t consume them with enough water

• Do not provide complete hydration during extensive physical activity 

Pros and Cons of Comprehensive Electrolytes

Pros:

• Offer a balanced blend of electrolytes 

• Support healthy muscle function and recovery 

• Available in various forms for easy hydration 

Cons:

• Not all blends have the same balance of electrolytes 

• Some formulas contain artificial flavorings and added sugars 

• Cost more than salt tablets 

Choosing the Right Hydration Method for Your Needs 

Everyone’s hydration needs are unique. Your perspiration level, physical activity, age, weight, and biological makeup all affect how you’ll need to rehydrate when you exercise. If you find that you sweat heavily and are often running low on sodium, then a quick salt tablet may do the trick.

But if you want a more complete hydration solution that supports your overall performance, muscle health, and wellbeing, then an electrolyte blend is a better option. 

At Fixx Nutrition, we’re passionate about helping athletes of all levels get the best hydration solutions on the market. That’s why we’ve created a sports range that’s full of all the good stuff – and none of the additives or artificial ingredients you’ll find in other commercial products. 

If you’re interested, check out Fuel X to learn more about our all-in-one hydration solution and find the right product for your lifestyle and activity level. 

Sources

1. InsideTracker. (2024). Hydration, sodium, potassium, and exercise: What you need to know. Retrieved from https://www.insidetracker.com/a/articles/hydration-sodium-potassium-and-exercise 

2. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2024). Salt and sodium. Retrieved from https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/salt-and-sodium/

3. Laitano, O., Kalsi, K. K., & Périard, J. D. (2022). Mechanisms and strategies for preventing and managing exercise-associated muscle cramps. Sports Medicine - Open, 8(1), 33. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8955583/