Very interesting article on hydration

[tampam4]

I'm in a similar boat. If I'm not peeing at all really, I try to drink up. If I'm not clear, I try to drink up. I usually end up diluting my Gatorade a good amount, because I find that it doesn't really quench my thirst, gives me wicked drymouth and gives me that "heavy feeling" in my stomach. I try to stick to water during the workout, and then a few glasses of milk when I get home.

Thats a shit ton of water to be drinking, and on the flip side of staying hydrated you can drink too much, and lose minerals too quickly.



Soda is not a replacement for water either, and its a diuretic, too. It will also rot your teeth, and make you fat. I rarely drink soda.....a lot of water, tea, and beer....



If you are sweating a lot alternate between gatorade (or equivalent) and water. Need to keep your electrolytes up. Kinda gay but I also drink Vitamin Water since it has a lot of good stuff in it for you, and isn't as heavy on the sugar as Gatorade is.



I don't really keep track of how much I drink but I just try to keep my piss from getting yellow/orange.

[DacoRoman]

I went through the thread quickly but I didn't see anyone mention hyponatremia (abormally low blood sodium) a serious potential complication of endurance sports.

The mechanism seems to be an over consumption of water and or sports drinks (all of which are hypo-osmolar, yes even the sports drinks like Gatorade) in an attempt to avoid an overemphasized risk of dehydration.

The risk factors for hyponatremia are:
- endurance exercise lasting 3 hrs or greater (e.g. Cycling, marathon, etc).
- drinking before thirst
- drinking excessive amounts of fluid ("drinking as much as I can"

Now if the hyponatremia is bad enough seizures and even death may occur from brain swelling, but the signs and symptoms to look out before true drama starts include:
nausea/vomiting
confusion/dizziness
headache
puffiness
weight gain since beginning event
symptoms worsening with hydration

I covered the Hotter 'n Hell (50 and 100 mile bike race in very hot Texas summer weather) event as a volunteer physician for the last two years and our advice was for people to simply drink when thirsty and not "load up" on fluids just for the sake of it. We also gave out cold pickles at checkpoints as they are an effective way to replace sodium while also being refreshing.

If we suspected mild hyponatremia symptoms we
had a very specific IV fluid protocol we used, but for severe symptoms or if seizures occurred we arranged for immediate evacuation.

Anyway, hyponatremia is an important serious potential complication of endurance sports in the context of over aggressive hydration, and not often known about, especially outside the sports medicine field.

[bsf]

My approach to hydration is very unscientific and simple. I bring water with me almost everywhere and drink constantly. I bring extra during work outs or sports participation and up my intake accordingly. I do not pre-hydrate. I think I am always, properly hydrated. Always having water on hand makes that easy.

This is the first I have ever heard of hyponatremia. Apparently I am not over-hydrating because I do have those symptoms.

I read Kyle Defoor’s blog. I am not a soldier or LE so I do not believe his article applies to me.

[CENTCOM_Survivor]

Here is another article on hydration with a somewhat different take:
http://www.kyledefoor.com/2010/04/ov...ependancy.html



PJ

Ahh man you beat me to it!

[MeanRider]

And here’s a further warning about another unanticipated side effect for those of you who not only like to drink beer but also, shall we say, sow some wild hops. When you reach maximum hydration and have all that fluid sponging your tissue, don’t be surprised to find that your fingers are a bit plumper and, as a result, your wedding ring won’t come off.

But you didn’t hear that from me. Another round (of ice-water), please.


Now That there is funny.