By Dr. Antonio Parolisi
Considerations on the sodium content in the water and the manic approach to the label
Too many times fitness lovers and perfect line maniacs make gestures that at best make people smile and sometimes they are even condemned by the medical field.
The legends that circulate among the experts in the field of Sport and Fitness are so many ... What I think is really important is the consideration of many "professionals" regarding the water supply and the relative quantity of Sodium in the mineral waters.
The concentration of sodium in the bottled mineral water is the obsession of the maniacs with water retention and "physical purity".
Everywhere we read the phrase, now almost rhetorical, "drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day". First of all the water supply depends on the amount of Kcalorie taken with the diet, in fact it is estimated that for every 1000 Kcal taken about 1 liter of water should be introduced; the water supply is also closely related to the amount of protein ingested, in fact the disposal of the waste product, the urea, of the protein metabolism is facilitated by a good water supply.
Athletes have a higher fluid requirement than those who do not practice physical activity; in particular when they dedicate themselves to activities with a high cardiovascular commitment, therefore aerobic with a medium-high intensity, the reduction in body weight is mainly due to the loss of liquids, which therefore must be replenished abundantly together with the lost minerals; for this reason mineral water alone, even "super-perfect" bottled, is not good because the sportsman needs to integrate both the sodium and the other minerals lost with the activity.
Just for the "drainage" maniacs, it must be said that there are marathon runners or cyclists who use homemade drinks with 2-3 tablespoons of salt in about a liter of water together with sugar, just to increase the sodium intake and maintain the correct plasma mineral concentration during the performance.
If this were not enough, on all physiology books it is recommended to take drinks with a fair amount of minerals and in particular sodium before, during and after physical activity.
It is unthinkable that with the studies done so far there are still technicians who advise against the intake of fluids during the activity, with the fear that the athlete will become heavy. Many Physiologists will confirm the above, in fact this attitude is not simply ridiculous, but even dangerous and sometimes lethal.
A reduction in the amount of water in the body can interfere with thermoregulation leading to an increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), even severe, a reduction in plasma volume, haemoconcentration (increase in the corpuscular part of the blood), and a reduction in physical capacity.
In the body building environment, however, one travels in the opposite direction; in particular with reference to those days before a race where large (but very large) quantities of water (often even distilled) are taken, hoping that the massive intake of liquids will trigger a consistent diuretic mechanism. This is true, in fact large amounts of water are also recommended to people undergoing kidney stones to facilitate diuresis and try to push the calculus out (Water Therapy), in any case always under the control of the Nephrologist who will advise this procedure as an adjuvant to other approaches.
In the case of the Body-builder the problem is different, in fact we even hear about athletes who take up to 10-15 liters of water the day before the race. And many still take distilled water for fear of the terrible sodium that could "tarnish" the abs. Not to mention the fact that many take diuretics to lose even more liquids, even if the most "wise" use potassium-sparing diuretics because obviously only the "evil monster" SODIO has to go away.
The risk that one unfortunately runs can be very serious and sometimes lethal. It is more dangerous to take diuretics for half a day than to follow an anabolic cycle for 12 consecutive months !!!! Steroids make you problems slowly and in the long run while diuretics kill you instantly !!!
CONTINUE: Water and sodium, second part ยป
