[electromagnetic]

It's important to remember hydration is more than just water. Sweating means you lose salts and no amount of water you drink will help, you'll just urinate it out to keep your electrolytes balanced.

So it's quite probable his decreased urination was from being able to retain more water due to the salt intake replacing what had been lost.

[nl]

Have a read of the original article. It questions that whole premise that losing salts is a problem. IMHO, the evidence in that area is limited and often contradictory.

The evidence in this whole field is pretty scant really. For example, most people think electrolytes help with exercise induced cramps, and yet the only thing with any evidence to support its use is actually pickle juice (!)[1][2]. There is very little evidence to show electrolytes help with cramping in trained athletes.

[1] http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/phys-ed-can-pickle-...

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19997012

[3] http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/hydration... (read "What causes cramp")

[electromagnetic]

I'm highly dubious of the article, mainly because it's copywritten to sell a book.

Whilst you're right, the evidence is thin to suggest a lack of sodium is the cause of EAMCs, the recommended treatment is often fluids high in electrolytes.

> Notably, affected athletes often present with normal or somewhat elevated serum electrolyte levels, even if they are "salty sweaters," because of hypotonic sweat loss and a fall in intravascular volume. However, recovery and maintenance of water and sodium balance with oral or intravenous salt solutions is the proven effective strategy for resolving and averting exercise-associated muscle cramps that are prompted by extensive sweating and a sodium deficit. [1]

So whilst there might be a multitude of causes of EAMCs, there seems to be a singular treatment for it. The main hypothesised causes are dehydration, electrolyte depletion or altered neuromuscular control - which is likely caused by electrolyte imbalances.

The article authors claim "Science: There is no scientific evidence that shows sodium (or other electrolyte) deficits in those with muscle cramping." is patently false. There is evidence that sodium deficits increase EAMCs, but so does dehydration (meaning increased serum sodium concentrations), and the main risk indicator is over-exertion.

Yes there's contradictory evidence. However, if you did a generalized study trying to find out why hydraulic pistons seize you would find that there's contradictory evidence because too much and too little hydraulic fluid can seize it, and overworking it can too. Trying to claim there's only one cause is naive.

[1] http://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2008/07001/Muscle...

[nl]

It's true it is written to sell a book, but Noakes is a pretty well known sports scientist (perhaps the best known sports scientist in the world?), and a new book by him is likely to gain interest organically.

As well as the increasingly popular "central governor" theory in sports science, he also "invented" the Paleo diet[1]. While I think the Paleo diet's benefits are overstated, there is little doubt that it set a trend towards diets that are more focused on choosing foods that have a high satiability index.

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Noakes#The_.22Noakes_diet.2...

[VLM]

"the Paleo diet"

The sports medicine perspective along the same lines with respect to all humans other than rich modern westerners would be interesting. Or primates in general.

There would seem to be an obvious life / reproduction advantage in not a body not suiciding by sweating out all the salt, which makes the doctor's argument intuitively appealing.

Infinite water bottles and infinite sugar and infinite salt might or might not help performance, but they're surely not natural, interesting for all non-creationists to consider that all our ancestors evolved specifically not to consume those commercial products... Even if it does help short term (maybe) the long term effects of poking the bear and informal screwing around with tightly coupled systems by consuming enormous doses of unnatural stuff in stressful situations does need to be looked into.

[outericky]

I'm a believer in pickle juice. Used it at several 8hr+ cycling races. Cramping be damned. Also use take a swig or two after strenuous workouts to prevent cramping later that day.

[nl]

Yeah, I used pickle juice on the Adelaide Dirty Dozen (4000m+ climbing in 140km). It worked for me, and I have a tendency to cramping. But I also took salt when I felt twinges as well as the pickle juice, so I can't say for sure.