Do athletes still take salt tablets?

In short, no, most athletes do not take salt tablets. There still may be some athletes who continue the practice, however research has shown that there is no benefit from this practice and could even be detrimental to the athletes performance and health. Ingesting salt tablets can impact performance because they are hard to digest which may cause gastric distress and subsequent nausea and diarrhea leading to dehydration. Instead of salt tablets athletes are encouraged to use sports drinks, such as Gatorade, to help keep the proper balance of electrolytes and hydration.

(This answer provided for NATA by Nate R. Kelley, ATC.)