Most of us find ourselves drenched in sweat after a good run. Some runners though, start to feel their sweat hurt their eyes, burn an open wound and sometimes even find white streaks on their faces, arms, legs and body which are called “cake sweat”. Basically what this means is that you are sweating salt and it is showing on your skin. This tends to happen to those who consume more water than salt in their diets.
Should this be of any concern you may ask? Absolutely not. However, the best way to counter this syndrome is to be generous with the amount of salt you intake. Not too much until you feel sick and cause your health any harm but enough to make your food taste better and keep the salt crystals forming on your skin after exercising at bay. Instead of water, you can also turn to energy drinks before, during and after your runs to keep your salt levels healthy.
And if you are wondering if consuming more salt will lead to a higher calorie intake, you cannot be more wrong. Salt does not contain calories, even though an overdose can not only kill your tastebuds but also your health in the long run. You don’t have to literally consume salt in its grainy form too. As much as you can add that to your food and even drinks, you can also get your salt intake from tomato juice, pickles and even chicken bouillon.
It definitely does not make sense for runners to be consuming hot bowls of chicken soup while on a run so the next best alternative is isotonic drinks. These drinks contain enough salt to keep the body going while it releases the ones inside our body. After awhile, you will find that your sweat isn’t as salty and that you don’t feel the sting that comes from salt on the skin any longer.
Salt crystals on the skin as a result of sweating can also cause skin irritations in those who have sensitive skin. This is probably also a good reason for runners to pour water onto their skin after running to get rid of the excess salt and sweat and of course, feel fresh.
So go a little crazy on the salt and give your tastebuds a reward! Make sure you continue running to keep your salt levels in check though.
