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Athlete Drinking Power Drink

Electrolyte Supplements Don’t Actually Prevent Dehydration, Study Suggests

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According to a new study, the electrolytes that we all thought were keeping athletes hydrated and healthy during extensive periods of exercise shouldn’t actually be relied upon exclusively for that purpose. In general, beverages like Gatorade are meant to be ingested during high-endurance workouts, sports games, training etc. and its expected to help athletes keep their negative sodium levels low, and hydration levels high as a means of preventing serious illness brought on by overall strain to the body. 

A recent study published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine focused on a group of 266 professional marathon runners who were participating in RacingThePlanet, which is known as an extreme sporting event that requires participants to run 155 miles over the course of a week. The route for the marathon is known to go through rough terrain and various deserts. Researchers from Stanford University, who performed the study, were focusing on something known as hypernatremia; which is basically a fancy term for when the sodium levels in your body are too high, or low, resulting in dehydration. 

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The researchers were focusing specifically on exercise-associated hyponatremia, or EAH, which is caused by a massive increase or decrease in sodium levels in the bloodstream as a result of physical activity. While a decrease in sodium levels may seem like it would have the opposite effect of dehydration, there are certain sodium compounds that are necessary for keeping our hydration levels balanced and body systems functioning to the best of their ability. 

EAH is a big problem amongst athletes, as it doesn’t just cause traditional dehydration symptoms like dizziness, headache or exhaustion. EAH can lead to an altered mental state, seizures, fluid to build in the lungs, and in some cases, death. The research found that things like hot weather can obviously increase the chances of an EAH associated illness from occurring, but it also concluded that the use of sodium and electrolyte supplements, like Gatorade, does little to prevent any EAH symptoms, contrary to what we’ve all thought. 

“In the past, athletes were told to make sure they’re taking electrolyte supplements. It was generally thought that that would prevent things like muscle cramping, electrolyte imbalances and dizziness. But there is currently no evidence to show this is true. Most electrolyte strategies end up with a drink that has a lower sodium concentration than what is found in the body. This is why drinking too much electrolyte solutions can result in EAH,” said Dr. Grant Lipman, the lead author of the study.

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The study itself included 61 women and 205 men, and researchers monitored each individual as they ran the RacingThePlanet course. The races took place over the course of two years at alternating times, most of the athletes competed in weather hotter than 93 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The process was quite simple, yet specific: data was collected from the athletes at the beginning and the end of a 50-mile portion of the race. Beforehand, each athlete was weighed and had to report what type of electrolyte supplement they were taking and what their overall drinking/hydration strategy was. The researchers needed to know how often they would be taking their supplements and drinking.

Once they finished the 50 miles, before they could hydrate or rest, researchers weighed them again and asked how closely they followed their hydration regime that was discussed beforehand, the team also took blood samples from everyone to get some more cellular data regarding the sodium levels in each athlete’s blood. 

The results showed that 41 of the 266 participants had notable sodium imbalances in their blood, 30 were considered to be dehydrated, and 11 had EAH. The conclusion based on these results worked to prove that while electrolyte supplements may promote themselves as hydrating, there really is no direct link to show that they prevent any sort of illness.

“Electrolyte supplements are promoted as preventing nausea and cramping caused by low salt levels, but this is a false paradigm. They’ve never been shown to prevent illness or even improve performance, and if diluted with too much water, can be dangerous. The takeaway is to listen to your body, no matter what sport you are participating in, and particularly pay attention in the heat,” Lipman concluded.

Water Glass

Drinking Water Should Be The First Step In Your Morning Routine

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We all have our own specific morning routine. Typically we brush our teeth, eat some breakfast, wash our face, get dressed, and grab a cup of coffee for the long day ahead. However, as if we didn’t already know how good water was for us, studies show that having water first thing in the morning is one of the best things you can do for your body to get it through the day.

As we sleep, obviously we’re not drinking or eating, so if you think about it simply, you’re going hours upon hours without hydrating yourself. If it was daytime and you went an entire eight hours without having a sip of water, you’d likely feel the effects. Our bodies are dehydrating as we sleep because all of the water that we consumed throughout the day is being absorbed in our bodies where it needs to, and the rest of it…well you know what happens.

When it comes to how much water you should be drinking throughout the day, there’s the standard 64-ounce rule, however, it’s really based off your specific body; you should be drinking one ounce of water for every two pounds you weigh. However, drinking water right when you wake up in the morning is something that everyone can benefit from. Water in the morning not only hydrates your body right away, which will immediately give you more energy, but also helps aid digestion and your metabolism for the day. 

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“By hydrating more, a person will urinate more and have more bowel movements, which is the body’s natural way of getting rid of waste. It’s a way of cleaning out toxins in the system, you’re getting rid of bad bacteria in your system, and it allows good bacteria in your gut to grow. Proper hydration also aids our bodies. It keeps skin plump and joints lubricated. Additionally, drinking water can help with fatigue, often felt in the morning,” says Dr. Maria Peña, who specializes in obesity medicine.

When you re-hydrate your body first thing in the morning, you’re more likely to build up the habit of remaining hydrated throughout the day. To touch on a few of Peña’s points, water itself helps regulate your metabolism. It won’t make you gain weight, but can help your body self-regulate in the morning so that you’re less likely to overeat, and instead eat the perfect amount of food your body needs.

For this reason, drinking water in the morning has also been shown to aid your body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Water promotes the creation of new muscle and blood cells, which are essential for digestion, and our bodies systems in general. 

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If you’re prone to headaches throughout the day, or in the morning especially, a cold glass of water upon waking up should subdue any headache symptoms almost immediately, and in general will help you have less of them. Hydration is the key to fixing most of the daily ailments that slow us down throughout the day. 

Many individuals don’t believe that cold water can actually wake you up like a cup of coffee but it can! If the first step in your morning routine becomes drinking a cold glass of ice water, the temperature alone will motivate you to get up and get ready, but the water itself will begin hydrating you, your organs, and trillions of cells immediately. This means that your body is already up, hydrated, and ready to function.

However, if you’re one of the many working Americans who needs to start their day with a good old fashion cup of coffee, then do so! Instead of making a sacrifice, make an addition, and add a water bottle to your morning beverage menu. Drinking water alongside coffee will definitely send you to the bathroom a few more times, but as Peña stated, that’s a good thing! The water will also combat any dehydrating effects that the coffee has. 

Regardless of what your routine in the morning is, add a bottle of water to it. Put some in the fridge the night before so you can simply wake up and sip on it as you get ready, you won’t even have to wait for the minty taste from brushing your teeth to subside to drink it like you would with coffee!

Milk Bottle

What Drinks Hydrate You The Most? The Answer Will Definitely Surprise You…

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Water is known to be the source of life. Whenever we’re feeling under the weather, the number one tip that’s repeated to us is to keep our bodies hydrated. Well, according to a study completed by St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, water isn’t even the most hydrating beverage compared to other drinks hydration responses in the human body.  

The research showed that beverages that contain a little bit of sugar, fat, or protein do a better job than water at keeping us hydrated for longer periods of time. It’s all about the bodies natural response to certain drinks compared to others. The volume of the drink, for example, is a major factor. Obviously with water, and drinks in general, the more you drink, the faster it empties from your stomach and into your bladder, and the faster our bloodstream absorbs the hydration.    

Nutritional composition is the main factor that determines how hydrating a beverage is. For example, the study found that milk contains little amounts of sugar, protein and fat, these three components make milk even more hydrating than plain water because it causes it to stay in your system for a longer period of time, prolonging the length of time your body is being hydrated. The protein, sugar, and fat found in milk has a more complex molecular composition, which causes our bodies to process and digest it for a longer period of time. Water is simply hydrogen and oxygen, hence why it goes through our body so easily. It’s simple composition quickly tells our body what to absorb into our bloodstream and what to send out. The official research from St. Andrews University came to the official conclusion below, which is provided by CNN. 

“The research team at St. Andrews University tested 13 common beverages to see how they impact hydration. Here’s what they found, ranked from most hydrating over a four-hour period to least.

  1. Skim milk
  2. Oral re-hydration solutions (like Pedialyte or Liquid I.V.)
  3. Full fat milk
  4. Orange juice
  5. Cola
  6. Diet Cola
  7. Cold tea
  8. Tea
  9. Sports drink
  10. Still water
  11. Sparkling water
  12. Lager
  13. Coffee”

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“This study tells us much of what we already knew: Electrolytes — like sodium and potassium — contribute to better hydration, while calories in beverages result in slower gastric emptying and therefore slower release of urination,” said Melissa Majumdar, a registered dietitian and personal trainer, also to CNN. 

However, don’t let these results fool you, just because certain beverages are more “hydrating” for a fixed amount of time compared to water, that doesn’t mean that they’re better for you. For example, some of the beverages listed above water, such as Cola, sports drinks, and orange juice, contain concentrated sugars that actually take longer for the body to process. Once these sugars enter into our intestines, the water that was absorbed from the same beverage the sugars came from, is used to dilute and break down the sugar molecules to be absorbed. So your body is essentially dehydrating through hydration. 

It’s important to point out that the list above does not mean that things like juice and soda are better for your body to absorb when you need hydration. The hydration process is a lot more intense and prolonged with the beverages listed above water, but it’s a give and take. The fact is these beverages can help ASSIST with hydration and keeping your body consistently hydrated through the day, but water is always going to be your best bet.

It’s the same thing with the coffee and alcoholic beverages on the list. Alcohol and caffeine both are diuretics, which means it will cause you to pass more urine more often. So both of these drinks work the same way that a juice would. In moderation, they can help your body sufficiently and slowly absorb the water components in them, but in excess, you’ll be expelling liquids so often from your body that you’re actually going to lose hydration through the dilution process your body will go through from digesting so many complex beverage molecules.

To conclude – water is your best friend and will always keep your body properly hydrated and functioning. However, if you’re tired of having to drink eight glasses a day, thus leading to an endless cycle of going to the bathroom every 45 minutes, there are definitely hydrating alternatives that you should feel free to treat yourself to, without feeling so guilty about the extra sugar.