[pct-l] Hyponatremia

[Bill Burge]

"...your body tells you what it wants."

So true!  I forget when someone told me this, but I grew up in the  
desert near Palm Springs.

They said that you can tell if you need salt by how salt "tastes".  If  
you have a little salty and it tastes... well... "salty", then you're  
probably OK. But if you have something salty and and it tastes "oh my  
god that is sooooo good!" You are probably low on salt and should  
focus one "refilling".

I've used the same test on other items and always seem to be low on  
chocolate, beer, pizza, steak, etc.  Nothing's perfect...  ;-)

BillB



On Mar 10, 2010, at 8:53 AM, Paul Magnanti wrote:

> I wrote this a few years back:
>
>
> As always, the usual disclaimer: , I am not a
> professional medical person in any way, shape, or
> form. I have little medical training (EMT-A course
> many moons ago). My only knowledge comes from reading
> and personal experience. Consult a person who really
> knows what they are talkin about (like OB..who **IS**
> an MD! )
>
> Having said that...
>
> I would think this condition would not affect hikers
> as much as say runners, cyclists and other endurance
> type atheletes who exert a lot of energy in a
> (relatively) short period of time. Most hiker's have a
> diet that consists of eating food that is high in
> sodium for a good chunk of the day. Their body
> probably has a good mix of water and salt to retain
> said water w/o "flooding" the body. One of my favorite
> items to eat on hikes is chips. I crave them. Based on
> how many of my friends eagerly pass around my cache of
> chips, I'd say they do too.
>
> In my brief time in the long distance running world  I
> have noticed that I **CRAVE** salt. I am sweating up a
> storm. I want pretzels, chips and the oh-so-delcious
> chicken noodle soup. As with many activities, your
> body tells you what it wants. I suspect with all that
> sweating, I am getting rid off too much salt in my
> body. The soup esp. goes down like mana from heaven.
>
> Many people new to long distance running make the
> mistake of taking in too much water and not enough
> food. Have heard stories of people suffering from
> hyponatremia during events.
>
> In the hiking world, I suspsect hyponatremia may
> affect people doing extensive desert hiking (ala the
> PCT) who are drinking too much water and not eating
> enough (due to heat, it is common for many people to
> not feel like eating), and the fringe group of hikers
> who blur the line between running and hiking.  They
> are working up a huge sweat and may or may not be
> eating enough food to go with the water they are
> drinking.
>
> .......
>
> To make this even more PCT  related, guess eating
> those nice salty chips to go with all the water would
> help alot!  I really think it is easy for desert
> trekkers to not feel like eating and drink too much
> water.
>
> Grab some Pringles in town. Eat them...a lot. :)
>
>
>
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