electrolytes
Jul. 3rd, 2008 10:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonlady7I was having a discussion with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kattowll (I always forget how many consonants are in this incarnation of that handle, so forgive in advance if I've spelled it wrong) about dehydration/rehydration / exercise in humid/sweaty conditions, and I mentioned that she should be careful to consume enough electrolytes. If you're really sweating buckets, especially given the low-sodium diets some dieters in particular tend to adopt, you've really got to be careful to get enough electrolytes into your system.
And she asked what those were. It's not something that gets covered in general discourse; it's become kind of a catchphrase, that people repeat without understanding. And I realized that I myself have only the most general understanding of them. So I'm going to write down what I know, and then look it up.
Having become serious about a very-aerobic sport for the first time in my life, I've only recently come to understand just how vital proper hydration is. I learned very quickly not to drink anything sugary or caffeinated while exercising-- coffee, iced tea, coke, whatever, all immediately gave me horrible stomach cramps. So I realized I had to drink water. I started off thinking that froufrou sports-drink crap was a bunch of hype, and plain water would do it for me. And it did, pretty well.
But then we got into the end of the season, and it was hot, and humid, and poorly-ventilated. And somebody offered me a swig of their Powerade or something. And I felt... immediately better.
Part of it, I know, is that during prolonged exertion, like a roller derby bout, you can be helped by refueling-- taking in a few calories to ive your muscles something easy to burn. Plain orange slices work just as well for me as those packaged energy gummies. And dilute Gatorade helps almost as well. (I never drink it full strength because it's too sugary and hurts my stomach. Most people don't exercise hard enough for it to really be necessary, I don't think. But if I've got a double practice, or if it's really hot out, or if I'm already dehydrated, it's really helpful to have some sports drink along with water.)
But part of it is replacing the salts and sugars that are dissolved in the water you're losing as sweat.
That's what electrolytes are. I'm not 100% clear on what they actually do. I know it's something to do with conducting electricity-- pure water isn't a very good conductor, it's the minerals in water that conduct the electricity, and the human body is run on electrical current. That's how your heart beats, it's how your muscles contract. People who die of dehydration often have problems with their heartbeat (as well as, in severe cases, blood volume); people who die of over-hydration usually die from heartbeat problems as well, from the exact same cause-- the electrolytes are in too dilute a solution to function properly. (This is why the symptoms of acute overhydration and acute dehydration are indistinguishable unless you're specifically looking for the difference.)
This is also, incidentally, why they don't recommend drinking Gatorade or Pedialyte or the electrolyte-replenishing drinks as just plain old drinks when you're not sweating or vomiting at all-- you don't want too much of it in your system either, though an adult is not likely to accidentally poison themselves.
Having looked it up, it looks like I was pretty well on the money. (Just Google "electrolytes" and you're on your way.)
So my point is, if you're exercising, and it's hot and humid out, drink a ton of plain water, and if you're doing it a lot and still don't feel good, drink dilute Gatorade too.
Don't drink Diet Coke. The caffeine in it will only dehydrate you more: caffeine is a diuretic. As is too much sugar.
For a really excellent overview of the medical and scientific stuff behind heat stress and dehydration, from a strongly practical viewpoint, I can't recommend Making Light's Jim MacDonald on Heat Stress enough. He's a paramedic and periodically does essays like this, which I tend to bookmark.
kattowll (I always forget how many consonants are in this incarnation of that handle, so forgive in advance if I've spelled it wrong) about dehydration/rehydration / exercise in humid/sweaty conditions, and I mentioned that she should be careful to consume enough electrolytes. If you're really sweating buckets, especially given the low-sodium diets some dieters in particular tend to adopt, you've really got to be careful to get enough electrolytes into your system.And she asked what those were. It's not something that gets covered in general discourse; it's become kind of a catchphrase, that people repeat without understanding. And I realized that I myself have only the most general understanding of them. So I'm going to write down what I know, and then look it up.
Having become serious about a very-aerobic sport for the first time in my life, I've only recently come to understand just how vital proper hydration is. I learned very quickly not to drink anything sugary or caffeinated while exercising-- coffee, iced tea, coke, whatever, all immediately gave me horrible stomach cramps. So I realized I had to drink water. I started off thinking that froufrou sports-drink crap was a bunch of hype, and plain water would do it for me. And it did, pretty well.
But then we got into the end of the season, and it was hot, and humid, and poorly-ventilated. And somebody offered me a swig of their Powerade or something. And I felt... immediately better.
Part of it, I know, is that during prolonged exertion, like a roller derby bout, you can be helped by refueling-- taking in a few calories to ive your muscles something easy to burn. Plain orange slices work just as well for me as those packaged energy gummies. And dilute Gatorade helps almost as well. (I never drink it full strength because it's too sugary and hurts my stomach. Most people don't exercise hard enough for it to really be necessary, I don't think. But if I've got a double practice, or if it's really hot out, or if I'm already dehydrated, it's really helpful to have some sports drink along with water.)
But part of it is replacing the salts and sugars that are dissolved in the water you're losing as sweat.
That's what electrolytes are. I'm not 100% clear on what they actually do. I know it's something to do with conducting electricity-- pure water isn't a very good conductor, it's the minerals in water that conduct the electricity, and the human body is run on electrical current. That's how your heart beats, it's how your muscles contract. People who die of dehydration often have problems with their heartbeat (as well as, in severe cases, blood volume); people who die of over-hydration usually die from heartbeat problems as well, from the exact same cause-- the electrolytes are in too dilute a solution to function properly. (This is why the symptoms of acute overhydration and acute dehydration are indistinguishable unless you're specifically looking for the difference.)
This is also, incidentally, why they don't recommend drinking Gatorade or Pedialyte or the electrolyte-replenishing drinks as just plain old drinks when you're not sweating or vomiting at all-- you don't want too much of it in your system either, though an adult is not likely to accidentally poison themselves.
Having looked it up, it looks like I was pretty well on the money. (Just Google "electrolytes" and you're on your way.)
So my point is, if you're exercising, and it's hot and humid out, drink a ton of plain water, and if you're doing it a lot and still don't feel good, drink dilute Gatorade too.
Don't drink Diet Coke. The caffeine in it will only dehydrate you more: caffeine is a diuretic. As is too much sugar.
For a really excellent overview of the medical and scientific stuff behind heat stress and dehydration, from a strongly practical viewpoint, I can't recommend Making Light's Jim MacDonald on Heat Stress enough. He's a paramedic and periodically does essays like this, which I tend to bookmark.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 03:23 pm (UTC)I wouldn't be surprised if I felt as well as I did while I was running because of my beverage choice. I may get that drink again in the future!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 05:04 pm (UTC)I have to either dilute it well beyond what it recommends, or have two bottles-- a large one with plain water, and a small one with sports drink-- and alternate drinking from them (on 2-minute water breaks, I swig hugely from the water, swallow it, then take a mouthful of the sports drink and let it trickle down slowly as I head back out to the floor).
Friends have also reported similar results with dilute fruit juices of various kinds, and I saw an excellent recipe for homemade all-natural gatorade made from fruit juices on the Making Light comment thread. I copy-pasted it and may whip some up for Pennsic, but I have to see if it would freeze--
16 oz. cool/cold water
4 oz. white grape juice
4 oz. Concord grape juice
Empty 32-oz bottle
Combine all, chill.
My captain prefers pomegranate juice in varying dilutions-- straight, it causes cramps initially, but she had a bottle of it by accident during an intensive 2-hour workout, and initially was unhappy but by the end reported that it was working quite well.
It seems counterproductive, to me, to consume additional calories during a workout designed to burn calories, but I suppose if it's only a few and makes you strong enough to burn more, then it is undoubtedly worth it. I avoid the stuff if I'm not having an intense workout, though-- Open Skate or just a power-walk or whatever means I just drink water.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 05:13 pm (UTC)That's usually my take on things.However, having had a low blood sugar episode not even 12 hours before, I felt it a bad idea to drink plain water.
Also, I sweat like a motherfucker when I run. I don't think I've ever sweat so much working out before.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 07:19 pm (UTC)It's double-consonants on the end but none in the middle, by the way. You wouldn't think katowl would be such a popular name that I would have to keep adding to it...
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 07:32 pm (UTC)(Didn't it used to be kkattowll?)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 11:10 pm (UTC)