An accredited Sports Dietitian discusses electrolytes…
Electrolytes are essential minerals found in your blood, sweat and urine. They are required for various essential bodily processes, including proper nerve and muscle function, maintaining your body’s acid-base balance as well as keeping you hydrated.
Are you a Heavy Sweater?
As we come into summer, we know Cairns’ heat and humidity can be almost unbearable at times and often leads to excessive amounts of sweating. When you sweat, you lose both water and electrolytes, mostly that of sodium. As a result, long hours of working in the sun or intense exercise can cause significant electrolyte losses.
Should I be taking electrolytes?
Most people consume enough electrolytes through their diet to replace their daily losses. However, if you are someone who works outside in the heat all day, are an endurance athlete or engage in activities resulting in several hours of heavy sweating (think hiking, gardening, etc.) you may benefit from taking an electrolyte replacement drink.
Product Recommendations:
Think Hydralyte: The Hydralyte brand has a range of products including electrolyte tablets, ice blocks, powder, ready to use solutions and most recently released hot hydration drinks. They contain sodium and potassium for rehydration and are very low in carbohydrates at just 1.62g of glucose per electrolyte tab. Hydralyte can be great for those wanting to replace electrolytes lost, but who don’t need extra carbohydrates like you would get from a sports drink.
Think Endura Low Carb Fuel: The Endura low carb is a great option for those who are working outside or engaging in moderate amounts of high-intensity exercise. It contains a few extra electrolytes including sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium but is also low in carbohydrates at less than 1.3g per serve. With the addedelectrolytes, it assists in the prevention of muscular cramps and relieves aches and pain without the added carbohydrate/sugar.
Think Endura Rehydration Performance Fuel: Lastly, the Endura Rehydration Performance Fuel is for those endurance athletes engaging in intense exercise or exercise lasting several hours. It contains the same electrolytes as the Endura Low Carb solution but has 20g of carbohydrates per serve to replenish energy stores during exercise.
