Taking in too little fluid can be disastrous for your running and for your health as well. Drink the right amount of the right beverages, and you will feel great and run fast. It would be good to check how water works to keep your body running smoothly. You should also know when, how much, and what kind of fluid to drink.
Most of your body is made of water
Fat tissue contains the least water of all body tissues; you might be surprised to learn that fat contains even less water than bones do. Another reason for your waterlogged state is your expanded blood volume, which occurs as you become physically fit and serves to improve oxygen and nutrient delivery to working muscles. The extra blood also helps to remove the waste materials produced by your muscles during exercise.
Sweating fluids out
As you are running, your muscles constantly generate heat, and lots of it. A typical 5-mile run burns about 500 calories, and 70 percent of this heat must exit the body to keep the muscle tissue from overheating. The body stays cool by producing sweat. This is the evaporation which rids your body of unwanted heat, roughly 600 calories of heat for every quart of sweat that evaporates.
That is why during an hour of running you can easily lose more than 2 quarts of sweat, but how much you sweat depends upon several factors. Warm weather and high humidity both increase sweat production. The faster you run, the more heat you generate and consequently, the more you sweat.
Your sweat rate is also influenced by your fitness level. The sweat glands in a fit body enlarge and increase in number, so you sweat more. This handy adaptive mechanism helps to create a more efficient cooling system while you run. Therefore, sweating keeps you cool, but losing all that fluid lessens the efficiency of the internal operations of the body. Most runners fall short on fluid replacement and only manage to replace half their sweat losses.
If you do not take in fluid as you sweat, your blood actually thickens, which makes your heart pump harder and slows oxygen and nutrient delivery to exercising muscles. As a result, your body suffers from water deficiency. As you dehydrate and your pace slows, you may become dizzy, weak, or even nauseated. Eventually, if you lose too much fluid, you may experience cramping, chills, or hallucinations. Some of these symptoms may even occur at the office or at home, as your unmet fluid need does not always conveniently show up on your run, but also later.
Importance of drinking fluids
The old rule that you need eight glasses of water of fluid daily is just that – old. It is also not exactly based in good science, as no study has ever determined a baseline fluid intake level that works for all people, of all fitness levels, and all ages. Your fluid needs depend on many factors, so there is no universally applicable amount.
The ideal fluid intake depends on your body size, fitness level, training schedule, and dietary factors such as caffeine and alcohol consumption, both of which increase fluid loss. Therefore, you must know how much fluid you need as an individual. Your best bet is to monitor your urine color and the frequency of urination, knowing that pale yellow urine is a good sign that plenty of fluid is onboard for waste excretion.
Do not judge your urine color within a few hours after taking vitamin supplements, since the unused vitamins, particularly the B vitamin riboflavin, turn your urine a bright yellow. Frequent urination could be another good sign that you are getting enough fluid. Spread out your fluid intake over the day to keep body water levels steady and to ward off the threat of dehydration. Moreover, remember to drink past the feeling of thirst, since that sensation shuts off quickly once you begin drinking. In fact, it actually turns off before you have replenished your lost fluids.
Remember, though, that if you're feeling thirsty, your body is already beginning to dehydrate. Don't let it get to that stage.
Water is the best option for fluid intake
The beverage aisle in any grocery store overflows with drinks. You could choose some bottled water, whether spring, mineral, or sparkling water. You could find bottled teas, juices, and many other concoctions, or opt for an energy drink or sports drink, and there is always plain tap water. So what is the best choice?
Tap water is fine; it is cheap, and local municipal water supplies must follow strict safety regulations. So if the water out of your faucet tastes okay, drink it. Many consumers choose bottled water, which generally tastes better than tap water. This is because bottlers use ozone as a disinfectant instead of chlorine. Though the general perception is that bottled water is better for you than tap water, safety regulations are actually higher for municipal water than for bottled.
Some bottled water may offer minerals such as calcium and magnesium. However, if you live in an area that has hard water, your local water probably has more minerals than bottled water does. If you are not sure whether you have hard water or not, just check your water faucets for mineral deposits.
Bottled teas and juices are tasty, thirst-quenching options, but watch for caffeine. This substance can increase body water loss by increasing urine production. Moreover, you may be taking in unwanted calories, as many of these beverages have a high content of sugar or corn syrup.
Fluid intake during physical exercise
During exercise, your body needs fluid, and fast. Moreover, during longer runs, a supply of carbohydrates becomes crucial for maintaining energy levels. As you run, both fat and carbohydrates burn for energy, but glycogen, which is the form that carbohydrate takes when stored in the muscles, runs low after about 90 minutes of running. When this happens, you will weaken and your pace may turn sluggish.
The solution for this is quite simple; just drink a sports beverage. It is necessary to supply a steady stream of energizing carbohydrates to maximize fluid absorption. Sodas and juices do not work as well as fluid-replacement solutions during exercise. The reason being that their relatively high carbohydrate concentrations of 10 to 14 percent slow fluid absorption in the intestinal tract. Most sports drinks contain half the carbohydrate content of these other beverages. Small amounts of electrolytes as sodium, added to many sports drinks also boost fluid absorption and improve your health. Since your fluid losses amount to over a quart an hour, drink about ½ to 1 cup of sports drinks every 15 minutes during exercise. In other words, aim for around 100 calories of carbohydrates every 30 minutes. This is ideal for keeping you energized.
Even on runs lasting less than an hour, drinking more helps to prevent overheating. This is especially true during tough, warm-weather workouts. If you haven’t already, you should try having a sports drink during your next training session.
Sports drinks have become a billion-dollar-a-year industry with several new products on the market over the last few years. They are filling the shelves in supermarkets and convenience stores, even popping out of soda machines. You could test different brands during training, particularly on long runs, and see what works best for you. Some of these drinks are carbonated, which is fine if that is your preference. Whatever you choose, a sports beverage can be a valuable part of your refueling and re-hydrating regimen for maintaining health.
Monitor your fluid intake
If your doctor requires you to restrict your fluids, record the amount of liquids you drink every day. You may need to restrict your fluids to 8 quart cups, which is equal to 2 liters, or 66 ounces, every 24 hours.
Recording your fluid intake will help ensure that you are not taking in more or less fluids than expected and advised. It is a good idea to write down this information in your calendar. To record your fluid intake, you will need to read the number of cc or ml in common servings.
It is also important that you understand you could get fluid from food as well, not just from drinking. These foods include pudding, gelatin, all soups (thin or thick), popsicles, and ice cream, in addition to most vegetables and fruits, which also offer ample fluids. You should keep a record of daily fluid intake until you feel at ease with your fluid amount. You should monitor your fluid intake until you can figure it out without measuring liquids. One way to keep track of your fluid intake is that you fill a 2-quart pitcher or 2-liter soda bottle to the top with water and place it in an accessible place in the kitchen. Every time you drink or eat something that is fluid, you should remove the same amount of water from the pitcher or bottle. When the pitcher is empty, you have had your limit of fluids for the day.
Some doctor think that being thirsty does not mean your body needs more fluid. You need to be careful not to replace the fluids that diuretics have helped your body get rid of. However, you should monitor when your body feels thirst and when you need to have more fluid, since it is important for health. You should also know that nibbling on frozen grapes or strawberries, sucking on ice chips, a sucker, or a washcloth soaked in ice-cold water decreases the feeling of thirst. Cover your lips with petroleum jelly, flavored lip balm or lip moisturizer, suck on hard candy, chew gum, and avoid milk or ice cream products, if your goal is to lower your fluid intake. It would be smart to record your urine output, as recommended by your doctor. Recording your urine output will help ensure that you are not taking in more or less fluid than expected or planned.