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Too Much Water Can
Kill
by: Steven
Chabotte
Long distance runners and other endurance athletes have long been
educated to believe that drinking lots of fluids during a long
distance or endurance event was critical. And if you didn't drink
enough water, you ran the risk of dehydration.
Researchers - studying 488 runners in the 2002 Bost Marathon
found that the bigger danger is in drinking too much fluid (water or
sports drinks) rather than not enough. They found that 62 of the 488
runners, more than one in eight, had a serious fluid and salt
imbalance after the event. And three of them were in the danger
zone.
Hyponatremia - a condition where drinking too much water or other
fluids to the point where the salt level in the body drops too much
- can develop during marathon races where the runners drink
constantly to stave off dehydration.
Runners who actually gained weight (anywhere from 4-11 pounds)
during the event and very thin runners are most at risk. Runners who
drink sports drinks with very little salt in them are least at risk.
The goal of drinking during a race is to replace water that is lost,
not to take in more than you are losing.
A good way to learn how much is right for you is to weigh
yourself before a heavy training session. Then drink and record how
much liquid you consume during the trainging. Then weight yourself
again. If you find that you weight more after the training than
before, you should cut down on your liquid intake. By performing
this exercise, you will learn how much liquid you really need to
injest during an event and be able to pace yourself accordingly.
Hyponatremia can begin with confusion and lethargy and can
progress rapidly to more severe symptoms. They can include
twitching, siezures, stupor, coma and even death.
In recent years, hyponatremia has killed several amateur marathon
runners as well as competitors in the Marine Corps Marathon.
To learn more about hyponatremia and proper hydration during
events, visit http://usatf.org/groups/coaches/library/hydration/
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About The Author
Steven Chabotte is a freelance writer that writes for The
Nutrition Guide at http://www.thenutritionguide.com and
My Attorney Finder http://www.myattorneyfinder.com.
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