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- Jun 5, 2002
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Water Intake
I was recently talking with someone about daily water intake. I try and taake in 4-5 quarts ED. I really try and get this much "more" when on than off. This does not include protein drinks, tea or coffee.
Here's my logic to taking this much. You kidneys are heavily taxed with the high amounts of protein ingested. I believe that keeping them flushed with water helps keep them healthy and functioning well. While on gear, I believe it's more important to assure higher amounts of water for kidney health.
Now this person was telling me about a "condition" you can get by drinking too much water - hyponatremia. This is from **broken link removed** - there are a TON of articles if you search using the term "drink too much water."
What happens is that as the athlete consumes large amounts of water over the course of the event, blood plasma (the liquid part of blood) increases. As this takes place, the salt content of the blood is diluted. At the same time, the athlete is losing salt by sweating. Consequently, the amount of salt available to the body tissues decreases over time to a point where the loss interferes with brain, heart, and muscle function.
The official name for this condition is hyponatremia. The symptoms generally mirror those of dehydration (apathy, confusion, nausea, and fatigue), although some individuals show no symptoms at all. If untreated, hyponatremia can lead to coma and even death.
Enough, but not too much. The fluid requirement for the majority of endurance athletes, under most conditions, is about 8 to 16 ounces per hour. There is considerable variation here, of course, due to individual sweating rates, body size and weight, heat and humidity, and running speed, and other factors. Still, much more than this amount of fluid is, in most instances, probably physiologically excessive as well as uncomfortable, as liquid sloshes around in the gut during the activity.
One way to test if you are drinking too much water is to compare your body weight before and after a long run. Normally, people lose weight during the course of a distance event. But over-hydrated individuals typically either gain weight or maintain their starting weight. It is interesting to note, too, that this problem tends to be more of a concern with slower runners, because they are exercising at a lower intensity, and therefore have a lower fluid requirement. Also, the slower runner has more opportunity to consume fluid.
I don't know about any of you, but I have BIG problems with cramps! I get these cramps when I'm on and off gear. The only common denominator is tha amount of water I'm taking. Any thoughts?
xcel
I was recently talking with someone about daily water intake. I try and taake in 4-5 quarts ED. I really try and get this much "more" when on than off. This does not include protein drinks, tea or coffee.
Here's my logic to taking this much. You kidneys are heavily taxed with the high amounts of protein ingested. I believe that keeping them flushed with water helps keep them healthy and functioning well. While on gear, I believe it's more important to assure higher amounts of water for kidney health.
Now this person was telling me about a "condition" you can get by drinking too much water - hyponatremia. This is from **broken link removed** - there are a TON of articles if you search using the term "drink too much water."
What happens is that as the athlete consumes large amounts of water over the course of the event, blood plasma (the liquid part of blood) increases. As this takes place, the salt content of the blood is diluted. At the same time, the athlete is losing salt by sweating. Consequently, the amount of salt available to the body tissues decreases over time to a point where the loss interferes with brain, heart, and muscle function.
The official name for this condition is hyponatremia. The symptoms generally mirror those of dehydration (apathy, confusion, nausea, and fatigue), although some individuals show no symptoms at all. If untreated, hyponatremia can lead to coma and even death.
Enough, but not too much. The fluid requirement for the majority of endurance athletes, under most conditions, is about 8 to 16 ounces per hour. There is considerable variation here, of course, due to individual sweating rates, body size and weight, heat and humidity, and running speed, and other factors. Still, much more than this amount of fluid is, in most instances, probably physiologically excessive as well as uncomfortable, as liquid sloshes around in the gut during the activity.
One way to test if you are drinking too much water is to compare your body weight before and after a long run. Normally, people lose weight during the course of a distance event. But over-hydrated individuals typically either gain weight or maintain their starting weight. It is interesting to note, too, that this problem tends to be more of a concern with slower runners, because they are exercising at a lower intensity, and therefore have a lower fluid requirement. Also, the slower runner has more opportunity to consume fluid.
I don't know about any of you, but I have BIG problems with cramps! I get these cramps when I'm on and off gear. The only common denominator is tha amount of water I'm taking. Any thoughts?
xcel
