How Increasing Salt Intake Can Help Alleviate POTS Symptoms

POTS Management Through Sodium

POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) is a condition characterized by an abnormal increase in heart rate when transitioning from sitting or lying down to standing up. Due primarily to low blood volume (hypovolemia), this condition affects the autonomic nervous system and manifests with various symptoms such as lightheadedness, fainting, rapid heartbeat, and chest pain. While there is no clear consensus on what causes POTS, there are some effective ways to manage the symptoms.

In addition to regular exercise and physical activity, increasing salt and fluid intake can help increase blood volume, which, in turn, helps alleviate some of the symptoms of POTS. Before turning to medications or expensive treatment, your solution might be as simple as ensuring you are properly hydrated. According to a recent article from the Cleveland Clinic, getting up to 10,000mg of sodium can be in order. For reference, 10,000mg of sodium is equivalent to 25,000mg of salt – that’s about 4 teaspoons. Bottom line: if you have POTS, you need to get way more salt in your diet daily.

Drinking electrolyte-rich water is a healthy way to bump up your salt intake while helping you stay hydrated. A pinch or two of sea salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon in a glass of water is a great electrolyte concoction you can easily make at home.

Taking commercially available electrolyte drink mixes may be a more convenient way to increase salt and fluid intake without significantly altering your diet. With over 1,000 electrolyte products available on Amazon, choosing the right ones can get confusing unless you know what to look for.

Let’s take a look at what you want to see on the label.

• First and foremost, you want to note how much sodium you get per serving. Anything over 500mg is a good start, but ideally, you’ll want much more than that. For reference, Gatorade only has 270mg of sodium in its 20oz bottle.
• Making electrolyte-rich drinks taste good is no easy feat. At the very least, look for drinks that are naturally flavored, but you must also consider all the ingredients you want to avoid, like artificial sweeteners, food dyes (for color), high fructose corn syrup, sugar, stevia, and other additives that have little or no health value.

High-potency electrolyte products, like the ones from Insaltd, can be a good choice. Insaltd comes with 900mg of sodium and is complemented with other essential electrolytes: 300mg of potassium and 100mg of magnesium. They are naturally flavored and sweetened with a certified natural, zero-calorie sweetener called Glyvia.

Insaltd can play a vital role in helping POTS sufferers incorporate more salt into their diet to help increase blood volume and manage their symptoms.

Comparing Popular Electrolyte Drink Choices