Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. You can’t acclimate to dehydration. There is no training effect. Working in a warm room, especially with a fan running can create more water loss than you realize. Alcohol consumption affects your sweat mechanism for 72 hours, a negative effect, that is. Most of us are under watered. The proverbial 8 glasses of water a day is about 1/2 enough. I met someone yesterday who averages about 4 glasses of water, and not much else, per day. Does coffee and tea count? It depends on the caffeine content. For an 8 oz. coffee plan on 6.6 oz. water, or for 300mg caffeine daily a 15% fluid loss. Some drinks sport a large caffeine whack, with side effects. Energy chews, teas, waters are also suspect.. Plus it makes you urinate more. There may be a training aspect for that part of it. Dementia symptoms, 25% of which may be related to dehydration. Many medications can have a diuretic effect, and, paradoxically don’t work as well if we are under hydrated. Read your package insert, as many meds require extra water. Heed that. Blood pressure goes up if your heart is pushing sludge. Drink, just do it and do it and do it, mostly water. If you have been sweating a lot drink while you are working or exercising for more than an hour. The Zone of Impending Exhaustion can be reached quickly and your done. There is a method of when and how much to take. Ask me. For efficient fluid replacement use a well researched carbohydrate electrolyte beverage. The best researched and efficacious, safe product for that is Shaklee’s Performance. This is well known to Olympians and beyond. I always carry it on a hike or backpacking, and have it when doing yard work too. When working races I have used it to aid runners who were in trouble and saved many from a double IV and trip to hospital. Also, youngsters, pre puberty don’t sweat efficiently and need to watched closely, especially if in a game or running. If they are on meds watch even more closely, same for adults. Performance of any kind, even thinking at a desk, will be compromised by fluid deficit. Heat injury can sneak up on you and it can be very dangerous. Be prepared. I wrote my Master’s thesis on a hydration study using a carb/lyte beverage with the U.S. Biathlon Team. We learned some things, including what happens when you overload fluids. I have the mentioned Performance for you and can answer your questions, whether climbing Mt. Everest, running a marathon or Iron Man, or mowing the lawn, or hiking the AT. Call me so you will be prepared, 413.527.7524.