By Elizabeth Corey
When in doubt, H20 is the way to go!
With warmer temperatures upon us, I can’t stress enough the importance of drinking lots and lots of water. Notice I said water and not liquids. Water is the best thing for your body at all times of the year, yet we never drink enough of it. Dehydration is a common problem among people of all ages, and is prominent in the hot summer months. This isn’t news to us, so why do we continue to react to dehydration as opposed to being proactive to prevent it from happening?
A lot of online stats providing the recommended daily intake for individuals generally only consider the minimum requirement for sedentary individuals. Therefore, be wary and look at the fine print of what you read online.
DRY / STICKY MOUTH | LACK OF URINATION | MUSCLE CRAMPS
THIRST | HEADACHES
A previous SNYB blog post, The Importance Water, provides guidelines for athletes of various ages. It also provides the early symptoms of dehydration, including: dry or sticky mouth, lack of urination, muscle cramps, thirst and headaches. These are all symptoms that coaches, players and parents need to be aware of.
If you do experience any of the aforementioned symptoms, the first thing to do is stop any activity and get to a cool and shaded spot (if outside). Next, it is most beneficial to drink electrolytes which can be found in any sports drink. After that WedMD recommends drinking 2 litres of cool water over the next 2 – 4 hours. Lastly, you must rest in order to complete recovery and get back onto the court!
I recently stumbled upon an article that spoke to the myth about juice being good for you. The article discusses how juice should be considered a treat for people of all ages. A recent study found that 1 in 3 Americans believed juice to be equally as healthy to fruit. Even if the juice is 100% freshly squeezed it is more or less flavoured liquid sugar. When juiced, some of the most nutritious parts of a piece of fruit are left behind. For example, the skin of an apple and the membranes of an orange are packed with fibre and nutrients. This article reiterated the aforementioned statement of water being the best liquid for your body. The commercial juice industry has been successful in making people believe differently. Juice is inexpensive, can be individually packaged, and comes in a variety of flavours making it very appealing to purchase. This blog post should act as a friendly reminder to encourage you, your children and athletes to drink lots of water and avoid those sugary drinks.
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Elizabeth Corey is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Sport Management at the University of Ottawa. She is the Domestic Development intern at Canada Basketball, and is the Director of Events for the University of Ottawa Sports Business Club.