Hydration in sports, or how much and what to drink to train effectively? – part 1

Water is the basic component of our body , estimated at about 60-70%.

Without water there is no life and there is absolutely no need to convince anyone of this. For visualization purposes, I will provide the water content in some components of the human body below:

• Liver – 86%
• Kidneys – 83%
• Brain – 75%
• Muscle tissue – 75%
• Bones – 22%

It seems clear that you need to drink, of course – everyone knows that. However, few people realize how much they should (of course, the circulating 2 liters came from somewhere, but where?! More on that later), and literally a handful know what, apart from water, an active or intensely sweating person's drink should contain to protect the body. Yes, the entire body – not just the muscles, but above all the nervous system, with the brain at the forefront.

Let's start from the beginning - why do water losses need to be replaced? What happens to it?

The process of sweating is of course not the only way to lose fluids and electrolytes, but in the environment of active people it is certainly the most significant. So what are the main factors that the process of sweating depends on?

• Individual predispositions, which are nothing more than our genetic predispositions and the sensitivity of thermoreceptors
• Gender – men, partly due to a higher percentage of muscle tissue and partly due to differences in hormone levels, sweat more, and therefore lose more water and electrolytes
• The level of training and, as a result, the body's ability to thermoregulate - contrary to appearances, better trained people sweat more intensely. Their body copes better with giving off excess heat, and as a result - protects its structures from thermal damage more effectively
• Intensity and type of effort – the more intensively we train, the more energy we use, while at the same time producing more heat energy, which, in order to be effectively released into the environment, forces the body to intensify the sweating process
• Clothing – the type of materials used, membranes, thermal and water permeability, evaporation potential – these are the main elements that determine sweating depending on clothing
• External conditions, with particular emphasis on air temperature, humidity and wind speed

Additional routes of water “escape” include micturition, i.e. urination, water losses along with fecal masses, and evaporation from the respiratory tract.

As you can see above, there are plenty of ways for water to escape, so the question arises – how to hydrate before, during and after exercise?

The guidelines of the world's largest sports institutions regarding pre-exercise hydration are fairly consistent. The Australian Institute of Sport recommends 200-600ml of fluids shortly before activity, the American School of Sports Medicine recommends about 500ml 2 hours before exercise, and the National Association of Athletic Trainers (NATA) recommends 500-600ml 2-3 hours before exercise and an additional 200-300ml shortly before it begins. It can therefore be assumed that drinking about 500ml of fluids 2 hours before intense exercise, and then about 200ml half an hour before it begins, will be the optimal amount . In this case , medium-mineralized mineral water works perfectly.

When talking about the process of sweating and hydration during exercise, it is worth noting that here we are governed not by water molecules, but by electrolytes.

Designation of waters in terms of mineralization :

• Very low mineral content – ​​mineral salt content at <50mg/l
• Low mineral content - mineral salts content at <500mg/l
• Medium mineral content of mineral salts at the level of 500-1500 mg/l
• Highly mineralized mineral salt content at the level of >1500mg/l

Designation of water according to the degree of carbon dioxide saturation:

• Unsaturated waters – non-carbonated
• Low-saturated waters – concentration up to 1500 mg/l
• Medium saturated waters – 1500-4000mg/l
• Highly saturated waters - >4000mg/l

The table below shows the concentrations of the most important electrolytes in plasma, as well as their amount lost per liter of sweat (in mg/l):

These ions are responsible for the level of cell saturation with water. Without their proper concentration, no amount of water consumed will provide us with proper hydration inside the cells. The most important of them are sodium and chlorine, which are nothing more than the good old ingredients of table salt - in a liter of sweat we will find as much as 2-4g of it! Dehydration and deficiencies of sodium and chlorine are the most common causes of cramps during training!

You will learn about ways of hydration during and after exercise, ideas for home isotonic drinks and much more in the next part of the text.

In the meantime – don't forget to drink – at least water, and during activity also drinks containing electrolytes. Ready-made mixtures containing their full complex come to the rescue.

RECOMMENDED ACTIVLAB PRODUCTS:

• Electroactive
  
• ISO Active
• Isotonic

Literature

• The Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine: An IOC Medical Commission Publication, Volume 19
• Regulation of the Minister of Health of 29 April 2004 on natural mineral waters, natural spring waters and table waters (Journal of Laws No. 120, item 1256) On the basis of art. 9a of the Act of 11 May 2001 on the health conditions of food and nutrition (Journal of Laws No. 63, item 634, as amended)
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16558633
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17277604
• http://www.olympiatoppen.no/fagomraader/idrettsernaering/Fagstoff/artikler/media39077.media
• www.Ausport.gov.au
• https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-7-7
• Traczyk W., Trzebski A.: Human physiology with elements of applied and clinical physiology , PZWL, Warsaw, 2009

Paweł Szewczyk - Master of Dietetics specializing in sports nutrition. Dietician of Polish National Team and European Champions. Participant and speaker at trainings, conferences and seminars throughout the country. Lecturer at the State Medical Higher Vocational School in Opole and the Institute of Psychodietetics in Wrocław. On a daily basis, he deals with professional counseling in the field of nutrition and supplementation, publishes scientifically and popularly, and trains athletes and dieticians.

Author of the blog: szewczykpassion.wordpress.com

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