Hydration

[tmckeen]

I have a few questions for the doctor

 

Once your body is hydrated you only need to replenish what is lost.

 

In your professional opinion, what is the best way to determine when you have achieved proper hydration levels in your body ??

 

Also in a perfect world you would maintain proper hydration levels all the time, but I doubt the average person does, so how long in advance of a activity/event should you ramp up your hydration to allow your body/cells enough time to properly saturate themselves ??

 

and finally how quickly can your body absorb the water you intake, and are there any major factors that change that rate of absorption and can drinking too much water actually be harmful ?

[ktk_ace]

Very very informative read imho.

 

I'm having hydration and electrode issues myself recently too, will give the website a look!

 

@T-McKeen ,

 

I personally used the trial and error method , having like 5 varieties of electrode sports drinks and trying out every bottle after sweating out works for me so far.

Only one works really well for me thou, taste and performance/recovery wise~

 

@DrStephenPrice

 

Is it a good idea to "LOAD" your drink (Super Hydration Formula) right before excercise/sweating ? (eg 1/4 normal after workout dosage with 350ML of water)

 

very interested in your product too!!

[DrStephenPrice]

Indian Fighter,

 

It is great to take the calcium in the morning but calcium is one of the most difficult minerals for the body to absorb. So, most of those mgs pass through without being absorbed. It is far better to use a lower dose and consume it 3 to 4 times through the day.

[DrStephenPrice]

Cobie,

 

Great to hear you are doing better on the mix. Each person will have slightly different requirements for the balance of electrolytes and water. Headaches can be caused by both a lack of water or a lack of electrolytes.

 

And also, here is the link www.DrPricesVitamins.com

 

The main products that can be looked at are the Daily Power Vites (basic vitamin mineral formula), Energy and Metab (for improved energy and focus), Super Hydration (electrolytes), and Cal-Mag (6 different calciums able to dissolve in water and easier to absorb).

[DrStephenPrice]

T-McKeen,

 

If you have enough electrolytes and enough liquid, like water, full hydration should take place in about 6 hours.

 

The factors of absorption: If you have too many non-absorbed minerals, such as magnesium and calcium, the body will hold water in the intestine and you can actually get diarrhea (so you don't absorb that water). Otherwise, in most cases, the water can be absorbed as fast as you can sweat. However, drinking too much at one time can cause a reaction of nausea and weakness. So spreading it out and drinking often should prevent any problems.

 

If you have food in your stomach, the water will pass around and under it to be absorbed. The stomach is designed to allow hydration even with food in your stomach.

 

The human body is always striving for a dynamic balance (homeostasis). So if you have too much of something it moves to eliminate it and if you don't have enough it will conserve and or crave it (hunger, thirst, etc.). The body will tend to average out its hydration the best it can with the available material.

 

Drinking too much water can be harmful. If the body can not eliminate it fast enough it will imbalance the fluid flow in the body. And in extreme cases can cause death.

 

Best,

 

Dr. Price

[DrStephenPrice]

ktk_ace,

 

Yes, loading salt and potassium prior is a good idea. However, it is very important that you do not take the hydration formula without at least 16oz of water per scoop (500mg of salt, 300mg of potassium). Too much salt without enough water can cause reactions such as nausea, vomiting and mental fatigue.

 

It is best to replace all the water you sweat with the proper balance of salt and potassium even after the ride. The water that is lost through urination should not be replaced with salt/my hydration formula. It can be replaced with fresh water or a weak sports drink.

 

Best,

Dr. Price

[Cobie Fair]

A short personal endorsement on the calcium supplement: I use it daily, and basically haven't been able to work hard enough to get sore. I'm not training that hard, but there have been days I did push it (compared to previous ones) and not sore at all. Pretty cool (unless you like being sore).

[DrStephenPrice]

By the way, Brad VanHorn, that's awesome! Let me know how it works for you.

 

Best,

 

Dr. Price

[indianFighter]

I can report back here after 3 hard days at the CSS camp at the Chennai track that Dr. Price's advice worked like a charm.

 

On day 1 I was consuming just sweetened lime water thinking it would be enough but I started cramping pretty much half way through the day. The next day I decided to pay closer attention to salt intake and got tons of electral powder sachets from a local chemist (drug store). Day 2 onwards I started having half to one full litre of water with electral powder (as per measurements mentioned on the sachet) in between each session, a few bananas here and there; no more cramping at all throughtout the day and the next too.

 

I realise all this while I just wasn't having enough water and even lesser salt. Thanks for your help Dr. Price and thanks Cobie for setting this up.

[DrStephenPrice]

Well done IndianFighter! Happy to hear that it worked.

 

Best,

Dr. Price

[Cobie Fair]

Hey IndianFighter, glad to hear that too!

[tthelin]

It looks the major theme here is that most of us are losing too much salt and it is affecting our riding.

 

It seems like the obvious and easy anwer is to increase our salt intake to replentish what is lost while riding, but my doctor keeps telling me to try and decrease salt intake or risk higher blood pressure.

 

What's up with that?

[Cobie Fair]

I've heard that lots, but there is conflicting data on it...I recently heard there was a study that said there was little/no effect from salt and BP.

[DrStephenPrice]

tthelin,

 

Salt does not cause high blood pressure. However, a salt deficiency causes low blood pressure, fatigue and headaches. So, if someone has high blood pressure and you take them off salt they will manifest salt deficiency symptoms which then lowers their blood pressure. If salt caused high blood pressure then anyone who took salt would have high blood pressure.

 

Best,

Dr. Price

[Cobie Fair]

Dr Price,

 

Another aspect of hydration I wanted to ask about: if the urine is dark or milky, does that also mean one is dehydrated? I know some vitamins effect the urine color (like B's), but heard recently that dark urine could be dehydration tool can you elaborate/clarify?

 

CF

[ScrmnDuc]

I have wanted to respond to this thread for a while now so it may be a long reply.

I am not a doctor but I have over 30 years experience between military and heavy industrial maintenance. My work area extends from near Arctic to Tropical environments. This includes working from sea level to altitudes over 8000 feet/ 2400 meters in temps from -35F to over 115F ambient work areas. Worker and supervisor. As a supervisor I have to watch my men and I also watch other workers in the area I work.

 

At least for those of us in North America riding season is amongst us.

The following links are from University of California. They are pretty straight forward dealing with heat illness. There are plenty of other sites that cover this.

http://ucanr.edu/New..._and_first_aid/

http://ucanr.edu/New...fects_the_body/

http://ucanr.edu/New...ut_heat_stress/

 

Wiki for the Wiki folks http://en.wikipedia....ki/Heat_illness

 

One thing that is not mentioned is the amount of proper fluid intake. Cobie, I would say that for you and all the on track coaches it would be a quart/liter per hour. Maybe not as much for the off track staff but on the right days it could also be that much. With students that can vary one one end of the spectrum to the other. They do need fluids though they may think they don't.

 

Urine. A subject within itself.

Urine color is a very easy way to tell if your hydrated or not. The color of the urine can be very a useful guide. If you don't pay attention to the color during non active times how will you know what you are looking at during active or very active times. You need a starting point, if you do not have at least an idea you may not recognize when you are on the down hill slide to dehydration.

Yes there are medications, vitamins, supplements etc... that will affect the color.

 

http://www.urinecolo...dehydration.php

 

The left side bar covers a lot of possible colors with descriptions.

One thing that bothers me about that site is not knowing where the information was derived from.

 

@ Pepsi Drinker

I also try to start this process atleast 24 hours early, so I feel my body is starting out ahead of the game as far as hydration.

 

Starting 24 hours early may not be soon enough. There are situations where you may need to slowly work up your water storage, this could take several days. Trying to build up a reserve in a short amount time can cause other health risk. You also mention that you are trying to loss weight so getting extra fluids stored should upset you scale readings for a few days.

 

How does one really know how much fluid they are sweating out? I have to stop and urinate about every 90 minutes when I am drinking so much, but my shirt is usually stuck to me on the hot days and I tend to sweat plenty.

 

When you stop and urinate, do you empty your bladder or are you just letting a little out?

If you are emptying your bladder you may be hydrated.

If you are just letting a little out you should start asking yourself more questions.

 

These are the questions I would start with. Replace you with I.

How do you feel?

How much have you drank lately?

Why so little ( water, "Gatorade: I'm using Gatorade as a cover all for proper re-hydration drinks", or both)?

How much longer do you think you will last by drinking so little?

 

If I'm not sure I like the answers that I get. I start asking more questions to ensure that I'm not dealing with a more serious heat problem.

 

Being from the south eastern US heat and humidity is one thing we have plenty of. So seeing folks sweat is normally not an issue. Seeing people soaked with sweat and having salt stains on their shirt is generally the one of the first signs to start asking questions. One of the major problems we have is when we go work in drier area's such as Arizona, Utah, Nevada, etc during the warmer months. Most southern folks do not realize that they are sweating because the sweat evaporates as soon as it reaches the outer layers of skin. Therefore they think " I don't see sweat, so I must not be sweating and I don't need to drink!" How wrong that is and what kind of problems can that lead to?

Just because it may be cold outside doesn't mean that you do not need to drink as much either!

 

Altitude and hydration (acclimation)

If you are from an area that is close to sea level and go to Denver you know that you have to get acclimated to the altitude. We know that the air is thinner, its harder to breathe, you get winded easy, motorcycles aren't as fast, etc.... and it will take more than a few days to get adjusted.

You need to drink more water until you get acclimated. If you get frequent head aches drink more water.

When you travel you should always have an idea of the altitude that you are at. If you are at the beach then it should be obvious

 

Working around the Salt Lake area for me in the summer can provide a double whammy. Not only is it a dry climate but ground elevation is 4000+ ft. So I have to drill into my guys drink water, drink water, drink water.

How many of you were aware that Miller Motorsports Park is at 5000 ft?

 

I'm sure I had more to add. I just can't remember right now.

[Cobie Fair]

Hi All, a little update on this hydration subject. We got a bunch of Dr. Price's hydration mix and brought it on the road. Pretty much everyone was over the moon with it, completely happy. We had some really warm days at the end it came in very handy. Saturday at the Streets of Willow was the hottest we might have ever had, and all the coaches made it through, and riding 3x what the students were riding. 6 students had to stop--they didn't drink enough, and didn't take enough electrolytes. Can hardly stress this enough for the warm days! I'm going to get some more info up here and I think Dr. Price is going to give a discount to CSS students...I'll keep you posted on that.

[bradvanhorn]

Hi All, a little update on this hydration subject. We got a bunch of Dr. Price's hydration mix and brought it on the road. Pretty much everyone was over the moon with it, completely happy. We had some really warm days at the end it came in very handy. Saturday at the Streets of Willow was the hottest we might have ever had, and all the coaches made it through, and riding 3x what the students were riding. 6 students had to stop--they didn't drink enough, and didn't take enough electrolytes. Can hardly stress this enough for the warm days! I'm going to get some more info up here and I think Dr. Price is going to give a discount to CSS students...I'll keep you posted on that.

I used one serving, sometimes two servings, of Dr. Price hydration mix between each session during the NOLA 2-day. It wasn't brutally hot like 2012, but it was pretty hot nonetheless. Between drinking lots of water and plenty of water+hydration mix, one thing I had no trouble with was hydration. I was very happy and appreciative the school put out the hydration mix for student use because my personal stock had just run out. Time to order more...

[Cobie Fair]

He has a new formula, newer than what I had at the track (he doesn't have that in bulk, just the packets). Says it is better with some added minerals and a bit less sugar even.

[ktk_ace]

He has a new formula, newer than what I had at the track (he doesn't have that in bulk, just the packets). Says it is better with some added minerals and a bit less sugar even.

 

I'd say the doc should sell it on amazon; free shipping to my country and lots of other places too , more exposure= more sales

[Eskimo]

I discovered the supplements and mix almost by accident at CSS sitting on the table. I wasn't crazy about how the mix tasted, but the salt & potassium "pills" were great and kept me going strong even after my fellow classmate (who does FAR more cardio & weightlifting than I do) was getting worn out. I've since bought a bottle of potassium from the local place, but now that the link was posted here, will have to grab some other products as well.

 

Great reading in this thread, and much appreciated.

[Cobie Fair]

I'm not very fussy on taste, and it could be a hair less sweet for me, but I'm sold on the results!

[nismo300zr2]

Thank you CSS for providing the salt and potassium tablets! I've experienced fatigue and cramping before, but not when hydrating and supplementing with your wonder pills!