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According to Donald Wiggins, PhD., professor of biochemistry at the University of Texas Medical School, athletes should "avoid diuretics and salt tablets." Although salt loss through exercise is the mineral we worry about the most, it's probably the one we should think about the least. Loss of other so-called electrolyte minerals is greater and graver; salt's companion, electrolyte potassium, for example. "Eat more high-potassium, foods such as bananas and dried fruit to make up for potassium that may be lowered by body loss," advises Wiggins. Too much salt, in fact, can drive down potassium levels just as efficiently as the exercise that depletes all your electrolytes - especially if your diet isn't rich in potassium-rich foods such as leafy greens. And if it's on the junky side, it isn't. Potassium is crucial to all the body's muscular functioning, especially the body's largest muscle, the heart. So is magnesium - the third of the electrolytes - whose major jab is to keep body fluids in balance and maintain acid-alkaline balance. Magnesium is richly found in a diet emphasizing whole foods like wheat germ and fresh fruit, and absent in a high-phosphorus fast-food, diet which disrupts the balance between the major minerals. "Magnesium losses through sweating could possibly account for considerable loss of total body magnesium," says Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the father of Aerobics. "It is of interest to note that after a marathon run some participants complained of nausea and muscle cramps. These symptoms may in part be due to the magnesium changes noted." Extra salt in any form, whether it comes from salt pills (which cause several deaths a year) or high-sodium processed cheese, can take the edge off your performance and your health. Three "for instances..." *Just a little salt can add extra pounds of retained water in your body. And additional water weight causes your heart to work harder because your tissues are flooded in the spaces between the capillaries. *Salt-caused edema (swelling) reduces capillary blood/oxygen transfer to the cells between the capillaries and creates extra pressure against the vessel walls. *The edema deprives tissues of oxygen, creating circulatory problems; a reduction of visual, auditory, and tactile sensations; and joint and muscular stiffness. The U.S. Senate Select Committee an Nutrition has recommended that the daily intake of sodium should not exceed 1,200 milligrams. Since common table salt is 40-percent sodium, any amount, over three grams, or threefifths of one teaspoon,· exceeds the limit. Nevertheless, we pour if on. Arthur M. Hayes, formerly director of the hypertension clinic at Hershey Medical Centre at Penn State, says that Americans consume 10,000 to 12,000 milligrams of sodium a day against a daily requirement of less than 1,000, which is present naturally in most diets. The medical community is almost unanimous in its belief that there is a link between hypertension and the consumption of sodium, though other factors, including genetic predisposition, play a role. Removing the salt shaker from the training table isn't sufficient. Sodium chloride is the main constituent of salt, but sodium itself is also found in countless additives. In fact, more than 50 percent of the salt we consume each day is hidden, added to food before it reaches the dinner table. While most of us know that potato chips are highly salty - 20 chips contain almost 450 milligrams of sodium - few of us realize how much salt there is in seemingly unsalty processed foods: a serving of fresh peas has three milligrams, but canned peas have 300 to 400; a ten ounce Morton's beef pot pie has 1,600; a six-ounce can of DelMonte tomato paste has 25, but a similar can of Hunt's has over 700; one 1.4 ounce Aunt Jemima's waffle has almost 750 milligrams. In fact, even small amounts of any processed food can lead to sodium overload. Did you know that one cup of creamed cottage cheese contains 625 milligrams of sodium, as compared with one cup of partly skimmed yogurt with only 19 mg. of sodium? That one cup of chilli with beans contains 1,060 milligrams of sodium, 600 mg. less without the beans? Or that all these labeling terms indicate large amounts of salt: monododium glutamate, disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, sodium berizoate, sodium hydroxide, sodium - proprionate, sodium sulfide, sodium saccharin, and sodium bicarbonate? How can you avoid this demon crystal? "Do not buy any product from the supermarket that lists salt among the first three ingredients," warns The Centre For Science in the Public Interest. Why? Because you can easily shoot your entire daily allowance by having just one processed food. Far example, a cup of Campbell's Black Bean Soup provides 2.75 mg. of sodium, while a lunch like two slices of rye bread, one slice of swiss cheese, 3 oz. of corned beef, a serving of sauerkraut, a large dill pickle on the side, and an 8 oz. glass of beer gives you a grand health-undermining, hypertension-boosting total of 4,500 milligrams of sodium. Not that salt is without function in the human body. Far from it. As the author of Sea Salt For Your Health observes, "Hydrochloric acid, derived from chlorine, is an essential part of the stomach's digestive fluid. Without salt within us, we would starve due to non-absorption of our food intake. While the chlorine fulfills the digestive function, the sodium remaining after the split combines with more of the carbonic acid in the blood that carries it to the pancreas where it awaits the release of the chlorine from its digestive function..." This recombining process also helps keep your colon in a healthy state of alkalinity. In other words, a certain amount of sodium inside you keeps the doctor away. At least the kind of doctor that deals with the health of your pancreas, stomach, liver, and colon. If such sodium is derived from "real" sea salt, you may in fact be getting a lot of extras. "Trace elements occur in unrefined sea salt in ever lesser concentrations than iron. Even though only spectroscopic analysis reveals their presence, their biological importance must be considered... Every element in infinitely small concentration (parts per million) is just as important in the physiological life of the sea or that of the human organism. The science of micro-physiology shows the crucial role that is held by certain chemicals of life at extraordinary small doses precisely because of their 'trace-only' quality... For years now, homeopathic medicine has used minute amounts of cell salts with good 'results, but no combination of minerals possess as complete and life-compatible a force as grey sea salt." (op.cit.) Ultimately, the trouble is that a little bit of salt goes a long way. After you meet your needs - something you can easily do following a well-balanced varied diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits, grains, and vegetables - you begin to lay the groundwork for damage to your heart and your vascular system. The, idea of the so-called magic of a minimum dose, when it's a dose of the right stuff, is old hat. Of course, in homeopathic medicine, homeopathic cell salts are still acid to reverse the symptoms of everything from the flu to premature senility. So it may be with true unrefined grey salt from the sea; but such a product is virtually unknown in this country. If anything, low levels of sodium, even for an athlete,' are often remedial in many ways. According to Dr. Robert Rosa of Harvard,a low level of sodium in sickle-cell anemia patients "reduces the frequency and severity of crises from that condition... It seems to be a way of redistributing the sickling molecules of red cells." If you don't avoid excess sodium, you may pay the price in on-count migraines. All salty' snack foods are known headache causes, says Dr. John B. Brainard, who has a private practice in St. Paul, Minnesota. In fact, you could probably put a halt to salt altogether and never notice a dip in: your energy or in the phys-ed side of your well-being, unless it was for the better. According to Dr. Louis Tobian, professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, "Just the sodium part of salt can register as a force for raising blood pressure even if it's in the form of sodium glutamate or other forms of sodium other than sodium chloride... All the cells in the body are buried by a weak salt solution,and there is a tiny amount of sodium inside each cell... But we can easily get by with 1000 milligrams of sodium chloride per day in the diet, which amounts to about 400 milligrams of sodium and 600 milligrams of chloride." Now, what is the evidence for this? According to Tobian, "there is a group of Indians called Yanamamo Indians at the Head Waters of the Amazon... they're extremely vigorous and healthy... They eat half as much salt as we do and just do beautifully. The people in the Kalahari Desert in Africa are so physically fit, they can run a deer into exhaustion. They eat the same amount of salt..." In fact, Tobian adds, "I hasten to mention that all chimpanzees are on this kind of diet, and any one of them could make any team in the National Football League." Are salt substitutes healthy alternatives? Not if they contain 50 percent or more of potassium chloride. "People with kidney or liver or heart trouble should check with their physician before using," their labels warn. After all, any salt worth its salt should contribute to, not subtract from the overall value of your diet. Potassium chloride-type substitutes don't. But you don't have to go without a grain of salt. Try these: Sport Salt 1 (less than 15% sodium) 1 tablespoon dried grated lemon or lime peel 3 tablespoons black peppercorns* 1 teaspoon finely grated and dried ginger root (or try 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg) 2 teaspoons powdered kelp or dulse 1 teaspoon fennel seed Grind all ingredients in a mill or crush by hand to a powder. Keep dry in a tightly-closed spice jar. Yield: about 1/4 cup. *Pepper is a super salt substitute. Without any of MSG's negative health characteristics, pepper acts as a flavor enhancer, too. Use it in everything from iceberg lettuce to icebox cookies. Sport Salt 2 (less than 10% sodium) 4 tablespoons instant minced (dried) onion 3 tablespoons powdered mustard 3 tablespoons powered turmeric 1 scant teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons lemon peel, dried and finely powdered 1-2 tablespoons vitamin C powder Optional: 4 tablespoons mixed dehydrated vegetable flakes Note: Use any of these to replace any of the above: - toasted cumin seed - toasted black peppercorn or Szechuan peppercorns - toasted radish seed or fenugreek seed (use those sold for sprouting) or powdered horseradish - and/or a pinch of cinnamon or mace to taste (Follow processing steps for Sport Salt 1 )