Hydration, Health and Fitness
When it comes to life in general, or exercise and other physical activity in general, staying hydrated, i.e. drinking water, is an important factor.
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For best health and physical performance, such as during exercise, maintaining hydration, i.e. body fluid level, is an important component to be considered.
As you become more active, your temperature rises. This, in turn, signals the body to release fluids available inside the body. This liquid is primarily released through the sweat glands, and some through the breath. As the sweat evaporates from the skin, it cools the body.
This automatic temperature control is vital to health, and even to survival. It is a natural and normal process, but, too much fluid loss can create a problem. As a rule of thumb, once a body begins to lose three quarts of fluid, or more, per hour, overall performance of the body decreases.
When fluid loss becomes too intense, a person can begin to experience dizziness, muscle cramps, and, in extreme cases, heat stroke. Even the earlier stages of fluid loss can produce a strain on the cardiovascular system, which, in the case of someone with a weakened heart or cardiovascular system can potentially be fatal.
Not only is liquid, mainly in the form of water, lost, but also electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, important for the body's function, may be lost as well. Therefore, it makes sense to replace this liquid, before, during, and after activity, and, in some cases, the electrolytes as well.
By the way, just an aside; in most cases, except for very intense activity, water is just as good as, if not better than, sports drinks. That was drummed into my head in the intensely hot days I spent in the field in the army, and, as I read about the subject in the civilian world, it seems to be fact.
More about sports drinks later.
The proper amount of hydration for health and fitness will vary due to many factors. For example, your present physical condition, the intensity of the activity, the ambient temperature, your weight and body compostion, are just a few of the factors involved.
However, there are a few guidelines which can serve as a starting point.
You can start by drining approximately 18 ounces of water a couple of hours before your workout. Have another eight to ten ounces about 15 minutes before beginning your activity.
Don't forget to warm up before you launch into your exercise program or activity.
Drink a little bit less than a full liter during each hour of activity. Post workout, cool down and then sip your way through about half a liter or so.
You should probably stick to water when hydrating, but, you should definitely avoid drinks with caffeine as they may have a diuretic effect, causing you to lose liquid. Alcohol and exercise do not mix either, especially before, or shortly after, a workout. They contain a lot of non-nutritional calories and can alter the body's ability to manage internal temperatures during and after the workout.
We mentioned sports drinks earlier. As I said, you quite possibly do NOT need to replace electrolytes unless you are doing some really intense workouts. Additionally, most sports drinks are high in sugar. Not only are these empty calories and provide little, if any, nutritional value, but, they can also upset the normal functional balance of systems such as the cardiovascular system. A few years ago, I wound up in the hospital, in part due to an excessively high level of sugar and carbohydrates combined with physical activity. The even was made worse by a heart problem I didn't know I had, but, do you know if YOU have a hidden heart problem?
Most of that also is the same for fruit juices, normally considered "healthy", and soft drinks, which are not. Even the carbon dioxide contained in diet soft drinks may also interfere with performance and recovery.
If you DO need to replace electrolytes, you will probably want one with magnesium, as well as sodium and potassium, as these are important minerals for heart function, as they assist in regulating electrical activity in the heart.
One last group of liquids you may want to consider for hydration are isotonic drinks. These are designed to pretty much match the body's on concentrations of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. This makes them more neutral to the body and less likely to act counter to normal function.
Isotonic drinks are designed to closely match the body's natural concentrations of needed minerals, vitamins and enzymes. That makes them easier to absorb and excellent replacement fluids.
When it comes to health and fitness, one of the best things you can do is one of the simplest...stay hydrated.
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Page Updated 8:28 PM Tuesday 11/25/2014
