A LOT, OR A BIT, OF A PICKLE?

Ever since English footballer Kieran Trippier necked a shot of pickle juice after getting cramps during a game, the internet’s been a blaze around a potential new electrolyte drink to rejuvenate yourself during intense exercise.

It’s the latest in a line of electrolyte-focused hydration options that, in recent years, has sidestepped out of niche and into the mainstream.
The Americans already have a direct connection between sports drinks and exercise in a way that the UK doesn’t.

Gatorade over there is viewed as something obvious to consume during exercise, whereas on our shores it tends to be water we draw for when we’re exerting ourselves.

As long-distance running has similarly made its way to the mainstream, energy sachets and electrolyte replenishment have become a more seriously considered option.
So… what are electrolytes, when/why do we need them, and what’s with the palava around pickles?

Electrolyte Education

There are a bunch, but the main ones to focus on when working out are sodium, chloride and potassium. You’ll likely also know magnesium and calcium– but these are barely excreted in sweat. So, when it comes to performance, it’s the first three you need to consider.

Electrolytes are super important because they maintain proper cell function, nerve impulses, fluid balance and, most importantly, muscle contraction. Yes, including your heart.

Electrolytes dissolve in water so any kind of removal of liquid from your system is going to diminish your reserves – that includes peeing, pooping, sweating and breathing. The latter (and hopefully not the former) two are intensified during workouts, so the longer you train the more likely you are to need to replenish your electrolytes to maintain performance.

Duration Hydration

As a baseline, if you’re training for longer than 45 minutes then you should consider consuming electrolytes while you workout. As they’re water-soluble, whatever you don’t use will pass through the body, so ODing on electrolytes, whilst possible, is unlikely.

In terms of the amounts of electrolytes you should consume, it’s very environment and performance dependent. As a rule of thumb, the more you sweat the more electrolytes you need. According to sports dietitian Renee Mcgregor, “350mg sodium per 500ml bottle is a good place to start.”

If you’re really keen to figure out your electrolyte levels, we’d recommend arranging a sweat test that shows how much salt you lose in your sweat while you train. The amount can be wildly different for each person.

A lack of sodium, chloride and potassium will lead to dehydration and muscle cramps, so these are the two you need to focus on for the sake of your performance.

Sodium, or sodium chloride for anyone paying attention in science, has been vilified in mainstream culture for decades, but the scientific grounding behind these claims is sketchy at best.

Be A Little Salty

The contents of the shaker on your dinner table pole-vaulted into worrydom in the 1970s following research by American Doctor Lewis Dahl that linked salt consumption with hypertension (amongst other ailments). The so-called “unequivocal” evidence came about by feeding rats 500g of salt per day.

The recommendation for an average person is about 6g per day, for reference.

By 1977, “based largely on Dahl’s work,” the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition recommended Americans cut their salt intake by up to 85%.

In contrast to the vilification of salt: a 2003 review of 57 short-term trials concluded “there is little evidence for long-term benefit from reducing salt intake,” a 2006 American Journal of Medicine study looked at 78 million people and found an "inverse association of sodium to cardiovascular mortality.” Basically… more salt led to less heart disease.

Not saying it’s explicitly brilliant to overeat salt, but it’s not as clear cut as saying “sodium bad!” as many people believe.

The Green Stuff

So finally we move onto pickle juice. Essentially it’s a natural vehicle for electrolytes that’s high in sodium but also contains potassium alongside many antioxidants as well as vitamins C and E which are known to boost the immune system.

It’s known as somewhat of a silver bullet when it comes to cramps. Admittedly a clearly biased source, but one vendor states the juice can provide “complete cramp relief in 82 seconds.” This is backed up by Professor Mayur Ranchordas of Sheffield Hallam Uni, who states “this is where it gets its magic tag from, [they] combine to trigger a reflex in the mouth which sends a signal to the muscles to stop cramping.”

Though it doesn’t look like Gatorade is going to catch wind over this side of the pond as the electrolyte drink of choice any time soon, maybe pickle juice will…

If you’re prone to cramping, or fancy a natural alternative to the luminous bottled options, a little brine might not be a bad shout.