With the hot season we come back to talk about hydration during the'training, but most people have completely wrong information about it.
Index
Here are the 5 false myths that you will hear repeating almost everywhere by many "experts", especially in the coming months.
Myth 1: Urine color is an accurate measure of hydration
False. The color of urine depends on many variables and can be influenced by ingested substances. Furthermore it would be a "delayed" measurement. Drinking in excess to dilute the color of the urine is not a healthy idea too light urine is not a sign of good hydration, but of excessive hydration, which can be as dangerous as insufficient.
False. The first feeling of thirst is not a sign of danger. The body is well equipped to let us know when we need liquids. The assertion that there are people who "suppress" the sense of thirst is also false. When the body is really in emergency, the feeling of thirst becomes intolerable.
3 myth: you need sports drinks to replace electrolytes
Sports drinks are first formulated to be palatable and if they contain a lot of sodium they would be disgusting. A sports drink usually does not even replace half the sodium lost with sweat.
Too little sodium compared to the water in the body can lead tohyponatremia, which in its mild form causes irritability and fatigue to more intense symptoms such as headache and nausea. Don't worry: hyponatremia can occur, but only in the case of really excessive exercise and extreme sweating. If you feel like you've been sweating too much, stop and do one , snack, but do not drink in excess: you could get the opposite effect, ie to dilute the sodium in your body too much. To absorb sodium well you need to ingest even carbohydrates.
Being well hydrated means you can lose fluids without risk. If you start exercising and you are well hydrated you can easily lose from 3 to 4 per cent of your body weight with no ill effects. If you start a workout and are very thirsty, you can probably lose around 2% of your body weight without suffering a performance loss. THE'excessive hydration instead it seems to negatively affect performance and some athletes accuse cramps e fatigue.
Myth 5: there is no limit to the water you can drink
As already said, there is a limit. If you drink too much water you risk your health. In general, excess water ends up in the toilet after a short time, but the additional work they are forced to do Reindeer , dilution of sodium they don't do well. In general it could be useful for some to drink a glass of water, not liters.