Electrolytes are generally a measure of sodium, potassium and other minerals needed by the body for proper functioning of nerves and muscles. During exercise, the body loses electrolytes through perspiration. Therefore, it's important to know replace electrolytes during sports activities. Not doing so can result in illness, kidney damage, or in rare cases, death.
Instructions
1. Know that replacing electrolytes during sports activities is especially important in hot weather. Perspiring excessively leads to losing more electrolytes, so a conscious effort to replace them must be made. A long workout in cool temperatures, as well as hot, can just as easily lead to a drop in electrolyte levels.
2. Learn that drinking water alone during strenuous sports activities doesn't replace electrolytes, but in fact decreases the amount of electrolytes in your body even more. This can lead to water intoxication and/or hyponatremia, characterized by sudden, severe headaches, fainting, seizures, coma or even death.
3. Find that you can reduce the level of sodium you lose during sports by cutting back on the amount of sodium you use on a regular basis outside of exercising. Doing this increases the level of aldosterone in your system, which helps you retain sodium. Reducing your sodium intake and increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will also increase your potassium level.
4. Replace electrolytes during a workout by consuming sports drinks that contain sodium and glucose. For longer workouts, you may need to turn to a form of electrolyte replacement that comes in tablets. Another good source of replacing electrolytes during sports is through tomato or V-8 juice.
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