Although the warmer weather seems to have deserted us lately its still important to stay hydrated particularly whilst exercising. There are plenty of marathons, half marathons, triathlons and cycling events coming up and I know a lot of my clients are in training, and despite the cooler temperatures it is still important to be aware of the dangers of dehydration.
Dehydration happens when your body loses more fluid than you take in. When the normal water content of your body is reduced, it upsets the balance of minerals (salts and sugar) in your body, which affects the way it functions. Everyone is at risk from dehydration and despite making you feel thirsty, light headed and sometimes nauseous it is also one of the causes of muscle cramps, especially in athletes.
In the early stages of dehydration you start to feel thirsty, this is your brains early warning system. Don’t fight that thought, take on fluids as soon as you can. It is recommended by the Food Standards Agency that you drink six to eight glasses of anything other than alcohol each day to stay hydrated. If you ignore your brains early warning, the next step is often headaches, lethargy and the inability to concentrate. Most people reach for the paracetamol, or stimulants like caffeine, but this just masks the problem. Try the “turgor test” pinch the skin on the back of your hand and if it doesn’t ping back immediately it’s a sign of moderate dehydration. Now is the time to reach for the isotonic drinks! Remember that you don’t just lose fluids when you sweat, you lose electrolytes, such as salt, too. You can make your own isotonic drink by adding a pinch of salt to a glass of fruit squash, or drinking flat cola and eating salty crisps is recommended by doctors as a quick fix to moderate dehydration.
So don’t forget to take water with you on your training runs, stock up on gels, isotonic drinks or at least some salt, and if you feel thirsty, don’t ignore your brain, drink something!
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