Ep 83: How to Use Salt and Electrolytes to Improve Your Performance with Dr. Mike T. Nelson

Rebel Performance Radio

Did you know you could improve your performance by using salt and electrolytes? Joining me on the show today is Dr. Mike T. Nelson, a research-fueled nutrition and fitness educator. With his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology, BA in Natural Science, and MS in Biomechanics, Dr. Mike spent a large portion of his life learning how the human body works, in particular, how to properly condition your body to burn fat and become the strongest and healthiest you can be.

We start the episode off with Dr. Mike sharing the why’s behind salt and what the effects of having salt in your diet can do for your recovery, while also understanding the different levels of sodium in your body. We then do a deep dive into the importance of maintaining fluid volume in order to sustain cardiac output. We talk all things cardiac drift, the effects of fluid and electrolytes on HRV, higher levels of salt intake and what to look out for, and more. Listen in to hear Dr. Mike break down what salt and electrolytes are, how they work, if they improve performance, and whether or not you should take them.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• [02:30] An intro to Dr. Mike T. Nelson
• [04:25] Background on solvents and solutes
• [06:50] The why’s behind salt
• [08:30] The effects of sodium on recovery
• [09:45] Understanding the different levels of sodium
• [11:07] Variability between good days and bad days
• [12:40] Causes and severity of hyponatremia
• [15:00] The importance of maintaining fluid volume
• [16:10] Cardiac drift
• [17:01] What’s happening at the cellular level
• [18:09] Large exposure to acute differences
• [19:30] The effects of fluid and electrolytes on HRV
• [23:48] Higher levels of salt intake and what to look out for
• [26:05] Guidelines for general, generic dosages
• [30:00] Where to find Dr. Mike T. Nelson

Links:

• Explore Dr. Mike’s website here: https://miketnelson.com/tag/flex-diet/
• Follow Dr. Mike on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/drmiketnelson/
• Explore our free Performance Nutrition Manual here: https://bit.ly/34x0jKk

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