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Importance of Water in Diet

WATER AND FLUID

Water is the most essential ingredient to a healthy life. It is the most important, yet over-looked, nutrient by athletes. Water has many important functions in the body including:

Transportation of nutrients / elimination of waste products.
Lubricating joints and tissues.
Temperature regulation through sweating.
Facilitating digestion.

Adolescents and adults should replace any body weight lost during exercise with equal amounts of fluids. A good sign that you have fully rehydrated is to check to see if your urine is clear. Cool water is the best choice.

Importance of Water During Exercise

Proper hydration is especially important during exercise. Adequate fluid intake for athletes is essential to comfort, performance and safety. The longer and more intensely you exercise, the more important it is to drink the right kind of fluids.

General Guidelines for Fluid Needs During Exercise

While specific fluid recommendations aren't possible due to individual variability, most athletes can use the following guidelines as a starting point, and modify their fluid needs accordingly.

Hydration Before Exercise

Drink about 15-20 fl oz, 2-3 hours before exercise
Drink 8-10 fl oz 10-15 min before exercise

Hydration During Exercise

Drink 8-10 fl oz every 10-15 min during exercise
If exercising longer than 90 minutes, drink 8-10 fl oz of a sports drink (with no more than 8 percent carbohydrate) every 15 - 30 minutes.

Hydration After Exercise

Weigh yourself before and after exercise and replace fluid losses.
Drink 20-24 fl oz water for every 1 lb lost.
Consume a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein within the 2 hours after exercise to replenish glycogen stores.

What about Sports Drinks?

Sports drinks can be helpful to athletes who are exercising at a high intensity for 60 minutes or more. Fluids supplying 60 to 100 calories per 8 ounces helps to supply the needed calories required for continuous performance.

Reading the labels of many sports drinks you will come across the terms hypotonic, isotonic or hypertonic. Each of these have their benefits and you should understand the difference between these.

Hypotonic

Hypo means less. A hypotonic drink is more dilute than your body fluids (i.e. there are fewer particles such as sugars and electrolytes), which means that the drink can be absorbed faster than plain water itself.

Isotonic

Isotonic means that the fluid is at the same concentration (i.e. the same number of particles per volume) as your body fluids - it is therefore absorbed as fast as or faster than water. Such fluids provide an ideal compromise between rehydration and refueling.

Hypertonic

Hyper means greater than. Hypertonic drinks (for example cola, lemonade or fruit juice) are more concentrated than body fluids, and will be absorbed more slowly than plain water. Hypertonic drinks slow down the rate at which the stomach empties and therefore reduce the speed of fluid replacement. These are better post-exercise drinks that offer a higher dose of energy with the fluid.

For more information or suggestions please contact Nikki Olszewski.