Myth: Salt tablets

A salt tablet is a solid piece of brine, and a solid piece of brine can cause nausea and vomiting.

Salt tablets are better than no salt at all

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It is true that when you perspire copiously, you will get muscle cramps unless you replace the salt. But a salt tablet is a solid piece of brine, and a solid piece of brine resting on the mucous membrane of the stomach can cause nausea and vomiting.

If you know you are going to perspire during a workout or contest, you can take a little extra salt with your food beforehand. During the contest you can take some salt after your activity. But don’t overdo it.

Be sure you are only restoring salt that you have lost by sweating. The body can’t store salt. If you overdo it, you may actually induce the cramps and muscular weakness you were trying to avoid.

The fluids from the cells in your body will be drawn into the bloodstream and the digestive tract in order to dilute the salt so that it can be more easily excreted from the body.

(Source: Webhealthcenter.com)