In order to live, be healthy, and perform at your athletic peak, your body needs adequate electrolytes and a proper pH balance. There are a lot of products out there with the goal of getting you all the electrolytes you need for sport. There are less products for balancing your pH but a lot of that has to do with your diet. A product that accomplishes both of these needs that we had the pleasure of trying and testing is Boulder Salt. Unless you complete a controlled research study, it is difficult to discern the differences from one product to the next but Boulder Salt not only has the real potential of giving you athletic improvements as well as everyday benefits but also comes with no down sides. At worst, you don’t notice a difference.
First – There are a Number of Ways to Obtain Electrolytes
An electrolyte is a substance that produces an electrically conducting solution when dissolved in a polar solvent, such as water. (Citation Link) Electrolytes are what allows your cells to pass voltage over cell membranes to transmit impulses. In short, this is what makes your muscles fire. There are 8 major electrolytes in your body:
- sodium (Na+)
- potassium (K+)
- chloride (Cl–)
- calcium (Ca2+)
- magnesium (Mg2+)
- bicarbonate (HCO3–)
- phosphate (PO42-)
- sulfate (SO42-)
You can obtain all of these from normal food items but the issue lies in us not getting the right foods at the right times on a daily basis, particularly when exercising. This is why we have sports drinks for cycling. Depending upon the sports drink, you may be getting the majority of these or you may not be and additionally, you are probably getting some other things as well to color it and make it taste better.
What is Boulder Salt?
Boulder Salt was developed to improve the taste of tap water. The taste of tap water is determined by the minerals within it so if you take pure water and add an exact ratio of minerals, you can get tap water that tastes as it should. This is particularly rare with the majority of the population on city-treated water. With getting this ideal tasting water came the additional benefit of it containing the majority of the electrolytes that the body needs. Additionally, with this comes the benefit of alkalizing the body, or bringing it to its proper pH balance.
An Alkalized Body
A lot of foods in the modern-day diet cause an acidic effect within the body which has a negative overall impact on health. In fish, if the water they live in is either to acidic or alkaline, they die. Our bodies are no different except for the fact that we can control what are body pH is through the foods and additives we consume. A few of the health benefits of an alkalized body are as follows (Citation Link)
- Skin more elastic, youthful
- Deeper more restful sleep
- Abundant physical energy
- Suffer from fewer colds, headaches, flu viruses
- Good digestion
- Less arthritis
- Reduction of candida (yeast) overgrowth
- Won’t support osteoporosis
- Increased mental acuity, mental alertness
- Legal natural high
Field Testing Boulder Salt
When testing any product, particularly for athletic performance, it will be difficult to discern a difference if you already have your system dialed. On the other hand, if you frequently suffer from cramps, don’t have enough endurance, or don’t drink enough normally, trying something such as Boulder Salt is going to give you a clear view of if something works or not. I used Boulder Salt on rides for two weeks from seven hour jaunts in the mountains of Colorado to short, but very intense one and a half hour efforts, all in temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s. On the longer rides, I had the portable packets in my pocket and added them to my bottles whenever I stopped for water. Normally on rides I will drink a standard sports drink mix but Boulder Salt is only electrolytes so I should have seen a slight decline in performance from fewer carbohydrates. I did not on shorter nor longer rides so this was seemingly advantageous.
Taste Of Boulder Salt
Although Boulder Salt was made particularly for improved tap water taste, to me, it did taste a little bit different. Almost a smoother taste like normal salt. Not bad, just different. The taste of water and if it is good or not is largely dependent upon what you are used to. Normal, good tasting water will be what you have on a day-to-day basis whereas anything outside that realm will taste a bit different. If you find you are not a fan of the salt itself in just water, you can easily add it to other drinks such as iced tea which is great on a ride particularly with lemon.
Additional Uses for Boulder Salt
Because Boulder Salt is a substitute for traditional table salt, it can be easily used for it with cooking and on salted-foods. It adds a subtle yet noticeably tastier touch to dishes. At first you will be like “was that taste just from the food or was it the Boulder Salt?” You will put it on half your food to see and you will then likely begin to use it instead of regular salt on your foods. It also contains half the sodium or traditional salt so can be used if you are watching your salt intake for health reasons.
