The Performance-Focused Athlete: Mastering the Science of Clean Fueling.
Feb 11, 2026
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3 min read
In my recent video, I called processed meats "salt bombs" loaded with nitrates. This sparked a great question: If we need salt for electrolytes and nitrates for performance, why are they a problem in processed meat?
The answer is simple, but the chemistry is everything.
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Max Duncan5 months ago
I am a brand new subscriber - thank you Patrick!
Thinking about the plant based distinction...what about salty potato chips and nuts?
Patrick Dempsey5 months ago
Hi Max, I love salty potato chips and nuts - I am also plant “forward”. From the research I’ve done, and references I have, we really don’t need that much salt. If it is correctly balanced in our hydration, then we are getting about 1500+ mg of or salt from that. This does not leave much for the rest of our foods. 2300mg is the recommended amount of salt in our daily diet unless we are exercising heavily in high heat. So, it’s recommended to avoid “salted” nuts. Potato chips are highly processed so it also carries empty calories in addition to pushing us over our limits on salt. As I said, however, I love salted chips and nuts… but we need to avoid these highly salted foods if we can. Thanks for the question.