Hydration - Everybody Is Talking About It! What Is It? How to Get It Done!

 

Hydration of Your Body Is Like A Car's Battery...

If you have started a car on a cold morning - it turns over slowly, struggles to start, and sometimes stops. Your body is like a car's battery. It contains water and electrolytes.

Electrolytes are the mineral salts that carry electrical signals through your muscles, heart, and nerves such as:

• Sodium – regulates fluid balance and nerves
• Potassium – keeps muscles contracting smoothly
• Magnesium – supports heart rhythm and prevents cramps
• Calcium – essential for strong muscle contractions
• Chloride – works with sodium to maintain fluid balance

Fast Charge and Hydration - After heavy sweating from a brisk walk, playing a game of basketball, or working outside in the summer sun - you lose both water and electrolytes and may become dehydrated. 

You may feel sluggish, dizzy, or develop cramps. Adding a balanced electrolyte drink can restore hydration and get your performance up quickly.

Gopher Hydration Chart - Shows how much water to drink - 

Daily, benefits of proper hydration - 

Signs of dehydration -

https://gophersport.com/teachnique-hydration-chart

Without electrolytes your body’s “electrical system” suffers and your performance and endurance drops. Water - with the right amount of electrolytes can restore your body and boost performance. This is known as hydration. 

Water + electrolytes = energy.

Comments: Water keeps body systems working properly by moving nutrients, eliminating waste, regulating body temperature, and transporting cooling fluids. 

Electrolytes keeps your muscles contracting, nerves firing, and cells balanced. 

How to Hydrate Your Body - Drink water with electrolytes before a strenuous activity or working outdoor in hot sun...

For athletes, American College of Sports Medicine recommends:

• Hydrate 2 to 3 hours before a workout with 16 - 32 oz of water; and 1 hour before a workout with 8 oz electrolyte drink. 
• Sip 6 to 8 oz of fluids every 15 - 20 minutes of exercise.
• If workout or practice is over 1 hour - a sports drink is encouraged to replenish carbohydrates.

After a heavy workout, refuel with an electrolyte drink or eat foods like bananas, oranges, leafy green vegetables, and lightly salted nuts.

For average exercisers, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reveal:

• simple drinking water is more than enough to keep you well-hydrated during a workout and throughout the day. 

Watch your urine color – Still the best way to determine if you are dehydrated (pale yellow = good charge, dark = low battery). 

When you are hydrated, your body maintains normal temperature, delivers oxygen efficiently, lubricates joints, and supports brain and muscle function.

Further study: Why is staying hydrated important for people with diabetes?  Should people with diabetes drink sports drinks? What about sugar-free sports drinks? https://diabetes.org/health-wellness/fitness/sports-drinks-impact-on-glucose-blood-sugar

References -

How Much Water Does an Athlete Need? By Reilly Beatty 

https://reillybeatty.com/how-much-water-does-an-athlete-need/

5 Tips to Stay Hydrated and Not Water Down Your Workout - https://advancedathletics.com/5-tips-to-stay-hydrated-and-not-water-down-your-workout/

10 Best Water Apps to Use for Free - 

https://ltmenergy.co.za/10-of-the-best-water-apps-to-use-for-free/

The Easy Way to Make Homemade Electrolyte Drinks and Sports Drinks by Mary's Nest - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFJzyGbLsMo

Some images provided by ChatGPT - For Informational Use Only!