Sweat Sodium Testing

Since 2014, we have partnered with Precision Fuel & Hydration as one of the only sweat testing centers in the country. The data collected from this assessment allows us to offer an evidence-based, customized hydration plan according to your unique physiology.

The concepts of proper hydration are often misunderstood or underestimated in the hierarchy of daily health and fitness maintenance. Keeping hydrated is dependent on several variables, where in addition to environment and level of fitness, your unique physiology plays a significant role (1).

By physiology, consider factors such as your genetically predetermined sweat rate and the amount of sodium lost in your sweat (2). Across individuals, these variables can range considerably (3, 4). While sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration can change slightly depending on the environment and daily stimulus, they generally remain constant. This means we can measure these variables to fine-tune your hydration requirements depending on your level of activity and training.

By measuring your sweat sodium depletion, a variable that will not change significantly, you can make evidence-based decisions in your daily approach to hydration. While this information alone is not the silver bullet, you will be able to work within close parameters based on factors such as: training time and intensity, humidity and heat of the environment, and your sweat rate.

References

1. Blank et al. Total body Na+-depletion without hyponatraemia can trigger overtraining-like symptoms with sleeping disorders and increasing blood pressure: Explorative case and literature study. Medical Hypotheses. (2012) 79: 799-804

2. Brown et al. Low Abundance Of Sweat Duct Cl- Channel CTFR In Both Healthy And Cystic Fibrosis Athletes With Exceptionally Salty Sweat During Exercise. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. (2011) 300: R605-R615

3. Eichner, E.R. Genetic and Other Determinants of Sweat Sodium. Curr. Sports Med. Rep. (2008) Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. S36-S40

4. Godek et al. Sweat Rates, Sweat Sodium Concentrations, And Sodium Losses In 3 Groups Of Professional Football Players. (2010) Journal of Athletic Training. 45(4): 364-371