Salt and Cyclists

We all remember our childhoods, when our parents used to tell us not to add so much salt to the food we ate because it wasn't healthy. The Americans did some studies and discovered that an ordinary citizen consumes about four or five grams of salt every day, which is a lot for a sedentary person, leading to a worrying blood pressure. In order to save lives, American Heart Association recommended the persons who don't do much physical activity to consume only half of this quantity, therefore, about two grams of salt a day. This is normally a good piece of advice, but not if you are a cyclist.

If you ride your bike on a hot day, you can sweat out about a gram of salt from your body, so you have to fill this gap if you ride for a longer period of time. The lack of salts in your body not only slows you down, but it can also lead to decreased levels of sodium in your body, especially if you don't drink water either.

Sodium is an essential electrolyte which transmits information to your nerves and your muscular contractions, thus helping you with your pedaling and preventing your being exhausted and cramps. Water also helps you hydrate yourself and absorb the glucose so that the carbohydrates you consume are properly burnt.

You should eat salt just as much as carbohydrates. If your circuits are longer than sixty minutes, you should eat about three hundred or five hundred milligrams per hour. Energy drinks usually contain large amounts of sodium and so do energy bars. Once you have finished a competition or a riding session, drink another energy drink in order to revitalize your body.

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