When do we lose our electrolytes?
The most common way to lose our electrolytes is as simple as standing in the sun all day, or doing a vigorous exercise. Any time we sweat we are losing electrolytes. To replace these electrolytes we must take food, drinks or supplements.
So many people out there know of sodium and chloride being among the most important electrolytes, however don’t think that by putting salt all over your food will be the only way to properly replenish your electrolytes.
We must take a look at other elements such as Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Phosphate which are present in most common sports drinks and supplements. These sports drinks are widely available and can work to replenish your electrolytes. Supplements out there also contain these elements to replenish your electrolytes and are often more organic and natural and can also assist your body in many other different ways.
When working out especially, it’s important to stay hydrated. Water is the obvious choice here, but there are also a lot of sports drinks and supplements available.
Sports drinks have become very popular lately and with the rise of athletic endorsements and commercials it has defiantly had a huge impact on the way we hydrate ourselves. The great thing about sports drinks is that most of the elements to replenish your electrolytes are present, and they taste great. The downfall is that there is also sugar present in these drinks and some exercisers might think that they are doing their body good by drinking these drinks when really they are taking a step back in their fitness journey.
While water is very important for your health, there are some problems that some people may face when trying to stay hydrated.
There are often times where we are over-hydrating ourselves. Drinking too much water or otherwise known as water intoxication can be a serious problem. Problems such as digestive problems, behavioral changes, brain damage and seizures can be caused from drinking in excess of water. The one rule is you don’t have to drink all of the water you need per day all at once, separate it, this is very important for when your working-out.
For people who are heavily into exercise or about to participate in a major sporting event should drink plenty of fluids in the 24-hour period before the event. Before a work-out try and aim for 14 to 20 ounces of fluids about 2 hours before an exercise to stay hydrated to extract any excess water.
During your exercise take notice of how much you sweat because you will need to replace this with water.
Exercise causes body fluid losses from moisture in exhaled air as well as from sweating. Unless fluid losses are replaced by drinks, sweating can cause progressive depletion of circulating blood volume leading to dehydration and a thickening of the blood.
In conclusion make sure you notice how much you sweat as this could be a critical factor in the replenishment process. Always drink water during your exercise or if you are an elite athlete replenishment your electrolytes with drinks such as sports drinks or organic supplements. The main thing is not to over-hydrate.
