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Easy Health Tip #10: Drink when you’re thirsty.

by Wade Meredith on July 24th, 2006

Old and busted:

When you’re working out, drink before you’re thirsty, because by the time you get thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.

New hotness:

Drink when you’re thirsty.

This may sound like common sense, but sometimes we have to be reminded to K.I.S.S., or keep it simple, stupid. The problem with drinking before you’re thirsty is that 97% of the time, you’re not thirsty. This leads some athletes to just guzzle as much as they possibly can during a workout, but this isn’t always a good thing. Especially if you’re not sweating away enough of those liquids you’re imbibing.

Where is all this going? Well, you’re trying to avoid hyponatraemia. This is a condition of over-hydration which leads to diluted sodium levels in your bloodstream. Its effects can be nausea, disorientation and muscle weakness. In the worst cases it can lead to coma or even death. I’m not trying to scare you. These are extreme conditions to be sure, but the point is this:

We Homo sapiens get thirsty for a reason. It’s our body signaling us that we should reach for a beverage. So listen to your body and have a drink when you’re thirsty. Simple enough, eh?

Technorati Tags: health, tips, hydration, dehydration

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POSTED IN: Easy Health Tips, Misc., Prevention, Your Body