HLTH 645
Learning Activity: What to Drink
Rachel Steinbarger
Liberty University
HLTH-645 Performance Nutrition for the Physically Active
Dr. Catharine Anna Henderson
July 31, 2021
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1. Discussion of effect of dehydration on performance and health.
The term dehydration refers to the loss of water within one’s body. “Dehydration occurs
when there is a decrease in total body water content due to fluid loss, diminished fluid
intake, or both.”1 The effects of dehydration on performance and health is mild or severe.
The way an athlete or individual can tell if dehydration is taking place is through their
sweat as it controls the individuals body temperature. “If water loss through sweat starts
occurring at a higher rate than fluid intake, then dehydration will start to take over and
affect both sweating and heat dissipation from working muscles.”2 There are times where
athletes or individuals do not know when they are dehydrated and may even push their
bodies past a healthy limit to achieve success. “Common signs of dehydration include dry
mouth and tongue, thirst, headache, lethargy, dry skin, muscle weakness, dark urine,
and/or dizziness.”1 Being dehydrated does have a huge effect on an athlete’s performance
and can cause issues with the total time an athlete is able to perform. “If your endurance
time is 121 minutes, dehydration can drop your endurance time down to 55 minutes.”4
This also leads to higher rated of warning signs for the individual. “Some effects of
dehydration include a reduction in blood volume, decreased skin blood flow, decreased
sweat rate, increased core temperature, and an increased rate of muscle glycogen use.”4
2. Hyponatremia
The definition of hyponatremia is “low blood sodium level.”3 This condition is when the
amount of water within the body offsets the sodium within the body.
3. Strategies and guidelines for hydration
The best strategies for hydration are making sure you hydrate before, during and after
activity. “A quick way to calculate how much water you need in a day is to take half your
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weight in pounds and convert it to ounces per day.”5 Making sure you hydrate before any
physical activity will only help your performance during the activity, there can be times
when it is too late to hydrate. “To keep up with your hydration throughout your activity,
make sure to be drinking enough fluid to combat the water lost through sweat while also
avoiding excessive body fluid loss and over-consumption of fluids.”2 Drinking before and
during activity is very important to help an athlete stay hydrated, but it is just as
important to consume the lost fluid during exercise post activity. “Replacing these fluids
after your workout or game will restore hydration, improve recovery, reduce hypo-
hydration symptoms, and decrease post-exercise fatigue.”2 Using more than just water
and incorporating sports drinks that have the electrolytes and proper sugars needed for
hydration is important and beneficial throughout the physical activity.
4. Optimal composition of beverages, especially during exercise
“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends young athletes to drink 1-1.5 liters or
34-50 ounces of water per hour during activity.”5 This means that athletes or individuals
should drink up to “3 disposable water bottles.”5 If athletes are working out for longer
than 90 minutes, they should not only focus on their water intake, but they should also
incorporate their intake of sports drinks that include electrolytes to help the body stay
hydrated.
5. Optimal composition of sports drinks on the market including a comparison of these
for hydration
“The basic science of the formation of sports drinks is related to that of oral rehydration
solutions designed for the treatment of diarrhea and in that regard water, carbohydrate
and sodium are the key ingredients.”6 The comparison of sports drinks for hydration are
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electrolyte-infused water, pedialyte, gatorade, homemade electrolyte-rich drink,
watermelon and coconut water.7 Of course water is the first drink to help with
dehydration, but the list above is what works best for hydration and each of these are on
the market.
6. Comparison of common beverages on hydration such as water, fruit juices, soda,
sports drinks and energy drinks
As stated in the question above, water is the best source of hydration then sports drinks
follow due to the electrolytes, sodium and carbohydrates infused. Both of these sources
are great with hydration before, during and after exercise. Fruit juices are great if they are
100 percent fruit juice, but they also are full of sugars which at times can lead to
dehydration. Soda and energy drinks are both full of caffeine which are diuretics and
make the individual lose more water or in this case urine quickly. The amount of caffeine
and sugar do cause fluid loss quickly through urination and can lead the individual to feel
dehydrated quicker.
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References:
1. Shaheen NA, Alqahtani AA, Assiri H, Alkhodair R, Hussein MA. Public knowledge of
dehydration and fluid intake practices: variation by participants’ characteristics. BMC
Public Health. 2018;18(1):1346.
2. McDermott BP, Anderson SA, Armstrong LE, et al. National athletic trainers’ association
position statement: Fluid replacement for the physically active. J Athl Train.
2017;52(9):877-895.
3. Dunford M, Doyle J. Nutrition for Sport and Exercise. 4th ed. CENGAGE Learning
Custom Publishing; 2017.
4. Dehydration and its effects on performance. Humankinestics.com. Accessed July 31,
2021. http://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/dehydration-and-its-effects-on-
performance
5. spoonerpt. Effects of dehydration on athletic performance. Spoonerpt.com. Published
July 24, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2021. http://www.spoonerpt.com/spooner-blog/effects-
dehydration-athletic-performance/
6. Sgsm.ch. Accessed July 31, 2021. http://sgsm.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Zeitschrift/51-
2003-1/06-2003-1.pdf
7. Kellogg K. The 7 best drinks for dehydration. Epicurious. Published October 2, 2018.
Accessed July 31, 2021. http://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/the-7-best-drinks-for-
dehydration-article
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