Hydration tactics for endurance athletes
By Bryan Moritz - Registered Dietitian
As endurance athletes, we are all too familiar with those hot summer days where we seemingly sweat non-stop and constantly take swigs from our bottles. You see so many different products on the store shelves and in the magazines — but what is the best thing to be drinking?
First let’s take a look at what the products contain. Obviously all of them contain water, and most of these products contain carbohydrates for energy, electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and calcium and some contain various vitamins.
Now, let’s look at what our bodies really need. During exercise, our bodies are trying to cool down by sweating — which means we’re losing water and electrolytes. At the same time, our bodies are burning fat and carbohydrates for energy. B-vitamins help the body with the fuel burning process.
Let’s look at the traditional rehydration products on the shelves. It would seem that they contain everything we need — or do they? Research completed at Iowa State University about 10 years ago tested the rehydration effects of water, carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks (basic sport drinks that you buy at the store), chicken broth and chicken noodle soup. They found that the carbohydrate-electrolyte drink was not any better at rehydrating athletes than plain old water. However, the chicken broth and chicken noodle soup were good ways to rehydrate — the reason: the concentration of the electrolytes.
Plain and simple, common sports drinks that you find at the store just do not have enough “stuff” to adequately rehydrate our bodies — but who wants to go around guzzling chicken broth on a hot July afternoon?
So I developed this simple recipe:
1 cup calcium fortified orange juice
3 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
The orange juice has adequate calcium, potassium and a plentiful supply of B-vitamins. Adding a quarter teaspoon of salt gives us the right amount of sodium, and added sugar gives extra carbohydrates for energy and helps improve the flavor. Not only does this recipe contain better sources of the nutrients that our bodies need during exercise, but it can save us money, too — it’s a win-win situation!
