Hydration 411

Water [n]: a transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid, a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, H2O. A need in life— especially when the weather is hot. Now that summer is in full swing and sport camps are gearing up, staying hydrated is extremely important. Proper hydration is crucial to keep your body moving, thinking, and performing to your highest potential.

Do you often find yourself reaching for water during practice or games; it’s probably because you are dehydrated. Read on to find tips and information about the importance of hydration as an athlete.  

*Graphic from U.S. Geological Survey

Water and the Body

The average human body is made up of 60% water. In fact, most of the body's organs are comprised on water.

• The brain and heart are approximately 73% water.
• 83% of the lungs are water.
• The skin is 64% water. 
• Muscles and kidneys are 79% water.
• Bones are even comprised of water, sitting at 31%.

No wonder our bodies cannot function properly when hydration is limited! Water is pivotal for performing at your capabilities.

Hydration

Hydration should not be forgotten when exercise, practice, or games end. Exercising in the heat without adequate fluid replacement is a sure way to cause dehydration and land you on the bench, watching your teammates practice or play.

               

“How much water is needed?”, you ask.

Well, that’s the million-dollar question. There is not a definite answer; in fact, total fluid needs and replacement protocols are quite specific to the individual. Sports dietitian, Nancy Clark, MS, RD, recommends that athletes:

·         Drink 2-3 mL of water per pound of body weight at least 4 hours before exercise, practice, or games.

·         Use your sweat rate to determine necessary water during exercise (see equation below).

·         Drink 50% more fluid than lost in sweat after exercise ends.

Graphic from the American College of Sports Medicine

Calculating your sweat rate is an important step to determine the amount of fluids you need every hour of exercise. Training with your individualized hydration protocol can not only delay fatigue, but also heighten energy and performance against your dehydrated competitors. For best results, work with a sports dietitian or certified athletic trainer familiar with personalized sweat rate calculations and hydration plans.

Hydration and Performance 

Water makes practice and games easier, and helps performance improve. When fluid is taken in the plasma, volume restores near the pre-exercise levels and assists to avoid adverse effects of dehydration on muscle strength, endurance, and coordination. In addition, pre-exercise hydration assists in improving thermoregulation, heat dissipation, and performance.    

Dehydration

Dehydration is shown when the amount of water (sweat) exiting the body exceeds the amount of water (or electrolytes) entering the body. The risk of dehydration greatly increases when practicing in hot, sunny, intense environments. Dehydration can be shown by a number of signs such as:

·         Thirst—first sign of dehydration

·         Headaches

·         Dry skin

·         Bright yellow urine (see urine color chart)

·         Difficulty concentrating

·         Increase in body temperature

·         Muscle cramps

·         Swollen fingers/toes

Dehydration and Performance

Dehydration can be detrimental to your performance, not only during practice and games but in the classroom/film room as well. Physical and mental performance is impaired when you’re dehydrated as little as 2% of your body weight. When dehydration reaches 5%, there is a 30% decline in performance. Endurance is also greatly impaired when severe dehydration sets in. The greatest danger is to the heart; plasma and blood volume fall, increasing blood thickness while lowering central venous pressure. This, in turn, causes difficulty when the body is trying to return blood to the heart. It is vital not only for exercise, but also for life.

Steps to take when dehydrated

1. Go to a cool or shaded area
2. Seek help from your sports medicine team
3. Drink clear fluids: water, electrolytes, pickle juice, etc.
4. Continue to drink these fluids until and after you are re-hydrated

Grab a water bottle and keep it by your side at all times! If drinking water is difficult for you, add flavors such a lemon, lime, or other fruit you enjoy. Athletes with high sweat rates should also consume fluids that replace electrolytes lost in sweat such as sodium and potassium. Challenge yourself and teammates to see who can meet their fluid needs each day. Drink up!

Why You Need A Sports Dietitian On Your Sports Medicine Team

Contributed by Lara Gray, MS, RD, CSSD,

Director of Education at Drug Free Sport, Inc.

Full disclosure: I am a sports dietitian (RD). But that is not the only reason I feel compelled to write a brief post on this topic. Through our work and educational outreach at Drug Free Sport, I have observed that the role of sports RDs on the sports medicine team is still largely misunderstood, under-budgeted, missing—or all of these at once. So, let me make a few points to elaborate on why you need a sports RD in your athletic program. If you are a sports RD reading this, use this information to strengthen your case on why you are essential to any athletic programs’ success, and the health and safety of the athletes they serve.

Most athletes have little to no nutrition knowledge.

o   Even a basic understanding of which foods provide carbs, proteins, or fats is primarily absent. A lack of basic nutrition principles immediately limits an athlete’s potential to make adequate fueling decisions for performance. This, in conjunction with issues pertaining to budget, often predisposes athletes to selecting high fat, high sugar options from cheap, grab’n’go conveniences (e.g., fast food, fried foods).

Lack of awareness of food-based solutions leads to increased reliance and trust in potentially harmful dietary supplements.

o   This generation of athletes will not shy away from using technology to source ways to “treat” sports performance issues (read: Google, Facebook, Twitter searches and online influence are at an all-time high). Enter dietary supplements. An athlete's lack of awareness pertaining to nutrition solutions for performance and recovery, and the results of their web search, often leads to dietary supplement products with questionable contents. They are often unregulated, contaminated with prohibited substances, contain heavy metals or toxic pesticides, or fall short of all of these and merely contain almond or soy flour—yet charge $30-$100 per bottle.

To deter supplement use in sport, athletes must receive practical and effective food solutions.

o   Current research estimates the prevalence of dietary supplement use in sport to be within a wide range of 40-75%; higher among those at more elite levels. The expertise of the sport RD can not only provide sound guidance on supplement safety and efficacy, but most importantly, also offer food-first solutions that provide safe, sustainable, and highly effective alternatives.

University of Texas Sports Dietitian, Amy Culp, RD, CSSD, LD, creates teachable moments where most effective—in front of the food.  UT Athletics is an example of a high functioning and collaborative sports medicine team that effectively incorporates sports nutrition for shared success. Photo courtesy of  UT Athletics. 

Sports RDs make nutrition decisions highly approachable, visible, and easy for athletes.

o   Sports RDs are educated and trained in food service operations. This makes them a primary asset when negotiating and determining pre-/post-game meals, stocking and maintaining refueling stations, navigating food options while teams are traveling, and working with catering and food service managers to create/enrich training table meals.

The sports RD can save both time and money.

o   Food costs money. Consider the time saved in human resources if you have someone working with teams, caterers, operations staff, and food service staff who can confidently set menus while competition is both home and away. Recognize cost savings from a professional experienced in ordering and stocking only the appropriate amounts and types of nutrition resources.

Sports RDs effectively support the collective success of any multidisciplinary sports medicine team.

o   The team physician’s efforts in athlete post-surgical care;

The athletic trainer’s efforts to support recovery, injury prevention, and immunity;

The sport psychologist’s efforts addressing athletes with disordered eating;

The coach’s efforts in achieving optimal body composition for performance;

—are all elevated and improved by the work of a sports RD.

Make sure to set their place at the table!

For additional guidance on adding a sports dietitian to your team, or to find a certified specialist in sports dietetics (CSSD) in your area, please email me at lgray@drugfreesport.com. Drug Free Sport advocates for all professional disciplines that support athlete health, performance, and safety. To learn more about the impact of sports dietitians on high performance teams, and experience a new sports industry conference that focuses on maximizing collaborative success of “the team behind the team”, visit www.sportexchangesummit.com.

What impact has a sport dietitian had on your team or athletic program? PLEASE USE THE COMMENTS TO SHARE!