Do You Need to Replenish?
Posted on April 26, 2013 by Katie Nichols, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.
News flash, by the time you're thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Here are some common symptoms of dehydration and what to do about it.
It couldn’t happen to me. I’m not a professional cyclist or ultra-marathon runner, I don’t play soccer like I used to in 100 degree weather and I don’t even workout 4-5 hours a day. I don’t need to be drinking electrolyte drinks – I drink plenty of water.
WRONG.
Common symptoms of dehydration are fatigue, dizziness and nausea – but those happen when we are stressed, stayed up too late, aren’t eating enough, get up too fast, ate something funky, etc. Have you ever heard someone say that if you’re thirsty, it’s too late – you are already dehydrated? Well, let’s make a plan to not get to that point.
Many of you know that I’ve been doing CorePower Yoga Teacher Training for some weeks now. I absolutely love it! It requires 200 hours of yoga, being it learning about the history, the poses, safety, anatomy, assisting, sanskrit and more. Part of the 200 hours includes going to hot yoga 3-5x/week or more. The room is about 90 degrees and you are sweating to the oldies in there! It is more common that you think for yogi’s to get dehydrated and not know it. Turns out, I am one of those yogis. I thought I had thyroid issues or vitamin D deficiency again so I went to my doctor for blood work. Turns out, I was severely dehydrated. She immediately brought me a Gatorade and watched me drink some before I left. Not an AWESOME choice (given the artificial coloring and sugar content), but she meant well.
Now that you know it’s possible for even yogis, I urge you to consider your hydration. If you are sweating a lot, you are not just losing hydrogen and oxygen, you are losing sodium and potassium too. And, depletion of those minerals means the plain water you do drink will not be absorbed as well.
So, what IS an awesome choice for re-hydrating and when should you do it?
Workouts less than an hour may not require electrolytes in large quantities – it’s a good rule of thumb for everyone to consume salty foods post workout (like peanut butter, pretzels, pickles, and tomato juice— maybe not all together) since the body loses sodium in higher amounts than it loses other electrolytes. Leafy greens, tomatoes, celery, bananas, yogurt, nuts, and beans can help restore the rest of the electrolyte team as well.
Larger bodies may also require more re-hydration that smaller, so it’s safe to say Joe may require more than Jane.
In terms of drinks – my favorite suggestions I got from my tribe of healthy peeps when I got de-hydrated were:
- If the dehydration is severe and you are getting cooky, please drink Gatorade, Propel or Vitamin Water on your way to the hospital to get an IV. Sounds a little extreme, but not all that uncommon for say, mid-July marathons for example or those that get lost camping.
- For the daily exerciser’s hydration, half your body weight in water, and maybe a glass of Emergen-C with a scoop of Chia Seeds (making sure to get the one that includes electrolytes). Chia seeds soak up the water and hydrate your cells while also doing loads of work for the digestive system. You may also want to try Coconut Water which is AMAZING for re-hydration. – Avoid high sugar drinks like Gatorade for daily consumption. Whole Foods has their own brand of electrolyte water that is often on sale.
Not made of money and dislike plastic bottles? DIY Electrolyte Drink!
Dr. Oz & Bob Harper have their recipe:
1 liter of water
1/2 tsp of baking soda
2 tbsp of agave nectar
1/2 tbsp of sea salt
WebMD has a take:
1 quart (950 mL) water
½ teaspoon (2.5 g) baking soda
½ teaspoon (2.5 g) table salt
¼ teaspoon (1.25 g) salt substitute (potassium-based), such as Lite Salt or Morton Salt Substitute
2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
My favorite, Chia Fresca from OhSheGlows.com and very similar to the Iskiate drink in the running book (highly recommended) called, “Born to Run,” by Christopher McDougall:
2 cups water or coconut water
1.5 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice, or to taste
Sweetener, to taste (I like 1/2 tbsp maple syrup)
