Do you want to know what the differences are between sports drinks and water? What is better to hydrate? In this article, we will tell you about it.
The hydration of a runner is a vital aspect of performance and health. Your body likes balance, so it needs the correct amounts of water, salts, and other nutrients.
Although it can work with specific ranges of imbalance, the truth is that it is tough to bear the extremes: dehydration and excess hydration.
Runner hydration: Important concepts
Water is the most abundant chemical in living, and all chemical reactions in your body occur intervention it.
Inside your body, water is present both inside and outside the cells and is in constant movement; sometimes, it enters cells and leaves them.
But salts are essential for:
- cell function,
- body fluid,
- and the regulation of blood pressure,
- blood volume,
- and pH
Changes in salts in the blood function as a “warning”. It produces a series of processes that seek to regulate the body’s osmotic balance.
When you run, you perspire, and with sweat, you lose salts (sodium and potassium).
If you consume large amounts of water while running (with low concentrations of salts), the opposite effect will occur. When you drink seawater: your cells will take up the water, fill and swell, and you will begin to run the risk of hyponatremia and death.
Isotonic drinks can help you maintain fluid balance. Since they provide the same concentrations present in your blood and cells. But you may need more concentrations (you need more salts), and hypertonic drinks may be necessary there.
As we promised, let’s start to analyze what the differences are between sports drinks and water. Is it better to have a sports drink than a glass of water while running?
Sports drinks vs water: the differences
Physical activity increases body temperature. Thus, our body responds with perspiration (to bring it closer to equilibrium 37º). The higher the ambient temperature and humidity, the greater the perspiration.
Each person has a defined number of sweat glands and the more glands we have, the greater the amount of perspiration we can generate.
When you perspire, you lose fluid and electrolytes. The chemical composition of perspiration varies from person to person.
But, let’s say that perspiration contains water and minerals.
On average, the mineral composition is:
- Sodium (0.9 grams / liter)
- Potassium (0.2 g / l)
- Calcium (0.015 g / l
- Magnesium (0.0013 g / l)
- Lactate
Thus, when you run, you need to replace the water and minerals that you lose. Is it enough to consume water?
The water usually consumed has the “mineral” character because, in addition to H2o, it also has minerals such as sodium and potassium. But mineral water usually has the character of a hypotonic solution. What does it mean to be hypotonic?
Let’s explain it: A hypotonic sports drink contains a concentration of sodium and carbohydrates lower than that of the human body. It generally contains less than 4 g of carbohydrates per 100 ml and has fewer salts.
The number of mineral salts that the water contains may not be enough to replace those lost. Also, to absorb water, our intestines need other substances, such as:
- glucose,
- sodium,
- and to a lesser extent, minerals such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
If we spend hours running and drinking only water, the water will not be absorbed. This makes adequate hydration difficult.
We will use a simple example: most people know that you should never drink salty seawater when shipwrecked at sea.
But few know the reasons: excess saltwater consumption generates the opposite effect that a person seeks. When drinking liquids since it produces an excess of salts in the blood and the subsequent discharge of water from your cells.
If you consume large amounts of water while running (with low concentrations of salts), the opposite effect will occur. When you drink seawater: your cells will take up the water, fill and swell, and you will begin to run the risk of hyponatremia and death.
In races or long workouts, constant perspiration will increase the chances of hyponatremia. since the sodium concentration is likely to fall to a low level. For this reason, mineral water is not enough in training sessions or long races, and extreme weather conditions.
Sports drinks are solutions composed of water, electrolytes (salts), and carbohydrates. Due to their composition tends to be more recommended for hydrating in races or training of long duration and intensity.
For most runners, the consumption of sports drinks in training sessions lasting less than 90 minutes is unnecessary. Since the glycogen reserves in our bodies are not usually depleted during this time.
At the same time, if you have good daily hydration, your workouts are less than 60 minutes long. And you are not running at high temperatures, dehydration should not be a problem for you either (here, water can be a good option).
Who wins?
Well, neither of the two are good tools, and each of them will have a place within a runner’s hydration. Finally, must to note that you do not need to go out to buy commercial sports drinks.
You can make yours at home, at a meager cost.
Marham is a specialty that shares many areas with other clinical disciplines and medical specialist; incorporating this shared knowledge and using it specifically to carry out the primary treatment. Its field of action is individual and family clinical care, promoting teamwork and coordination with hospitals, prevention, and health promotion activities, teaching and research, community activities, manual skills of minor surgery, and the first level in the society’s mental health care.
