Make sure you keep your body hydrated, especially during the hot summer months
By Linda Bickerstaff, MD. Courtesy of All-Stater Sports
After hours of harrowing competition on the hottest day of the year, what do you have in common with your science partner's frizzy hair, last summer's marshmallow that fell off your stick and burst into flames, and the raisins in your breakfast cereal? You guessed it: You're dried out, toasted, shriveled up. More accurately, you're dehydrated.
The key word in discussing dehydration is water. To dehydrate literally means 'to remove water.' The condition known as dehydration occurs when more body fluid is lost than taken in. Sixty percent of your total body weight comes from water. Your body cannot function without it.
When are you in danger?
Fortunately, your body gives you plenty of warning before it turns into the Sahara desert. One of the first (and most obvious) symptoms of dehydration is thirst. By the time you start to' feel thirsty, however, you already have a water deficit of about two quarts. If this early warning sign is neglected, more serious symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, confusion, and fainting may occur.
Signs of advanced dehydration are dry, non-elastic skin (the prune look), increased heart rate, and increased breathing rate. In even more extreme cases, a decrease in blood pressure can occur. If all of these warning signs are ignored, dehydration can lead to heart failure and even death.
Water or sports drinks?
So how do you replace this lost liquid? What should you drink? You could always have water, but what about those colorful sports drinks? Are they a better solution than water (no pun intended)?
There is considerable controversy among coaches, trainers, and sports medicine personnel about what you should drink to replace your fluid losses. Under many conditions, the use of a sports drink offers no advantage over water in keeping fluid volumes and electrolyte (i.e. sodium) concentrations at normal levels.
During prolonged periods of exercise (greater than one hour), sports drinks can be better than water. The carbohydrates in these fluids enhance performance and the sodium helps replace the salt lost in sweat. Perhaps the greatest advantage of sports drinks is that they taste good.
When choosing a sports drink, though, it's important to realize that they are not all the same. Some can actually do more damage than good. Sports drinks containing high concentrations (10% or more) of glucose (a sugar) may lead to abdominal cramping. To find the percentage of glucose, check the drink's contents, which can be found on the label. When in doubt, always drink water.
How much should you drink?
The body needs to take in about one milliliter of water for every calorie of energy expended. Athletes can easily burn 4000-5000 calories or more a day. Therefore, it's important to drink a minimum of 4000-5000 milliliters of water each day. That's about 4 to 5 quarts, or over a gallon! If you're involved in vigorous athletic activity on a hot day, you should drink much more.
The key to avoiding dehydration is a planned course of enforced drinking. Even under the best circumstances, we only replace about two-thirds of the water lost during competition. For this reason, athletes must make a conscious effort to drink regularly. This habit should be developed as part of a successful training program.
Just like waiting until you're really psyched to clean the black hole under your bed, waiting until you' re thirsty to drink will not get the job done. So go enjoy a tall, cool glass of water fight now. Your body will use it eventually. Bottoms up!
Dr. Bickerstaff on when to consume fluids:
Drink two 8-ounce glasses of fluid approximately two hours before an event, Drink another glass fifteen minutes before the event. After that, drink 8-12 ounces of fluid every 20-30 minutes for adequate hydration with little risk of overloading your stomach. In field hockey, soccer, rugby, and other sports without frequent play stoppages, you must be even more diligent in your efforts at rehydration. In other words, drink whenever possible. Continue your rehydration regimen after the event until any lost weight has been corrected.
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