How do you Beat the Heat?

General
21

There seems to be a lot of confusion on the whole electrolytes issue. An electrolyte is any sort of ion. The most common of these (biologically) are sodium and potassium, while the source of sodium is, of course, table salt. A source of confusion when discussing these things is the word “salt” - a salt is simply an ionic compound, while to most people it just means table salt. So while your body does need “salts”, it needs more than just table salts…it needs things like potassium salts as well.

Electrolytes such as sodium and potassium are very important in the body for muscle function, as your body depends on ions for transmitting signals and maintaining osmotic balance. Without ions, your muscles can’t function correctly. Osmotic balance has to do with concentration gradients…

  1. The concentration of salt in the cells is greater than the concentration outside the cells. This situation is when the cells are starting to get dehydrated, and you’ve just taken a big drink of water. The water will then be asborbed into the cells due to the osmotic potential.

  2. The concentration of salt in the cells is less than the concentration outside the cells. In this situation your body can’t absorb water because the osmotic potential goes the other way…water tends to leave to cells to equalize the concentrations.

So it is apparent that salts play a very important role in hydration…without enough salt your body can’t absorb water; this lack of sodium is called hyponatremia or water intoxication.

Sports drinks, besides providing electrolytes, also provide simple carbohydrates, such as sugar (glucose) for energy. This is not the same thing as fat for energy, feel the light. Glucose can be metabolized very quickly for energy, while fat is metabolized very slowly. Fat must be reduced over time, and cannot be relied on for energy during periods of intense exertion.

That being said, I’m not sure how necessary sports drinks are for during the excercise, as opposed to afterwards for recovery. I am inclined to believe that the “boost” they provide is the glucose, as wikipedia mentions that “It is really not necessary to replace losses of sodium, potassium and other electrolytes during exercise since it is unlikely that a significant depletion the body’s stores of these minerals will occur during normal training.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolytes#Sports_drinks)
On the other side of the argument, a few times after a hard ride, my bike shorts feel really salty from the sweat, though I doubt it is 500mg of salt, as suggested in the sports drink recipe earlier in this thread.

22

define bonk?

23

Hey skilewis, I’m really curious as to this recipe you’ve got here, but I’m pretty sure your salt amount is off. 1/2 teaspoon of salt is 2.5g, so 500mg (.5g) would be only a 1/10 of a teaspoon…for a quart of water. What seems more feasible is that you meant 500mg of sodium, which would be 1.25g salt, or 1/4 teaspoon.

What I neglected to mention in my previous post, is that while feel the light is right about the kidneys having to work hard to get rid of salt, sports drinks are formulated to be isotonic to blood (that is, the same concentration of electrolytes as blood) to avoid this.

24

  1. Google (or Wikipedia, or other)

  2. Bonk

  3. Read

25

How to beat the heat

Just ride. Do sessions. Thats what I do and I live in Texas.

26

So I read the wiki page on bonking, and it appears that it is indeed a result of using up glucose stores in the body, and is an indication of a need for more glucose, not more electrolytes.

27

I just recently started drinking Gookinaid Hydralyte with very good results. http://www.gookinaid.com/ On a 2-3 hour Muni ride I would drink between 2 and 3 Liters of water. By the time I was done riding, I would be totally wiped out, energy gone. Since drinking the Gookinaid (its a powder that I mix with water) I’m able to function normally after riding.

Yesterday, I went for a 2-1/2 hour Muni ride came home, showered then spent the next 3 hours swimming and playing in the pool with my 2 sons. I’m really pleased with this stuff.

28

My rides in the heat are usually 10 miles of muni. This is the stuff I use: www.ultimareplenisher.com

It comes with a small scoop. Use snack baggies and put in one scoop per bag. Seal them up take them on the ride with you. When you take a break, just add water, reseal, shake lightly, open, and drink. This method packs lightly and keeps only water in your camelbak. I tell people that it is magic balancing powder.

Electrolytes have made a good difference while riding, but a tremendous difference during recovery after a ride.

Ultima is not loaded with sugar, but I can add sugary foods at any time.

29

The best proof that sports drinks are a fake hype

Just read the label. I never waste my money, but I had a free coupon for a quart of Gatorade, and so I’ve got a bottle right here.
Drinking one quart of Gatorade gives you the following :

  1. 440 mg of sodium = 20 % of your daily requirement
  2. 120 mg of potassium = a whopping 4% of your daily requirement! For reference a medium banana contains 560 mg.
    Thats it for electrolytes. There is also 56 grams of sugar. Which a fat man needs like a lead enema. The rest is water and flavorings plus yellow dye.
    The comments above about how the body needs glucose to produce energy is entirely wrong. Muscle contractions are fueled inside the cell exclusively by adenosine triphosphate. Depending on the type of cell, this may be produced from more then 15 different ways through what is known as the Krebs cycle. One of the ways is by breaking triglycerides ( fat) into ketones, which are converted in the cells into ATP. It is common for pro endurance racers to compete on an empty stomach. Paradoxically, eating sugary crap will drive up insulin resulting in low blood sugar once the sugar is gone. Hypoglycemics (people with low blood sugar problems) do not eat sugar !
    So it is funny that the gatorade label proves my point that extra salt is a bad idea when you are exercising heavy. They hardly include any !
    The reason you feel better drinking “sports drinks” is because of advertising making your sub conscious associate the drink with pretty woman jumping up and down and cheering you on. That really works !:slight_smile:
30

drugs. just have some crystal meth and its all good.

31

People in hotter climate areas ( der. Texas etc.) are not as susceptible to the heat as people on or near the east coast are (Pittsburgh, NY). Example if it got to 100-higher there would be a problem (some people dieing) and other things of that nature. So yeah when you say “I live in Texas so what I am a de-de de”(ok I added the last part). Take that in consideration. Get it. Got it. Good.

32

I like they way you think. Maybe.

33

I know I hardly slept when I visited ohio. I drank about 4-5 16oz energy drinks or some NOS energy drinks. I also drank about 5-7 liters of vault. What that has to do with beating the heat I have no idea.

34

Hammer Nutrition

Check out hammer nutritions website, they make all sorts of products for endurance athletes and have a wealth of info…download the “Endurance Athletes Guide to Success” and read it. And buy endurolytes, which are electrolyte pills, they work great. Learn how to fuel properly, what and when and you’ll get better overnight, or at least feel a whole lot better.
www.hammernutrition.comhttp://www.hammernutrition.com

35

I’ve had good luck with nuun tablets. Camelbak elixr as well. Both are tablet form, won’t gunk up a bladder, and negligible calories. Gatorade is just a big sugar shot.

36

I would say just use crack instead of crystal man…

37

How do you think the cells make more ATP?

“Your cells absorb glucose and convert it into energy to drive the cell.Specifically, a set of chemical reactions on glucose creates ATP (adenosine triphosphate), and a phosphate bond in ATP powers most of the machinery in any human cell.”

Your cells use glucose as an immedate scource of energy and fats if you run out. It takes more energy to break down a triglyceride (fat) so it can be converted to ATP than it does to use the Monosaccharide (glucose).

I can’t belive your telling a chemist he is wrong about this. :thinking:

38

In high heat I’ve had luck:

. Drinking a 2 liter an hour before the ride.
. Taking a couple multi-vitamins (high in potassium) with the 2 liter.
. Wetting my t-shirt with cold water (and rewetting during the ride if possible).
. Also, ironically, caffine seems to make me feel better (mentally).

Drew

39 
This is the Krebs cycle. It is named after it's discoverer. It is the complete chemical explanation for how the cell creates ATP from carbs, fats or proteins.  Note there is no mention of glucose there, it is first converted to  the succinic acid at the bottom. Note the keto glutaric acid on the right, this is derived from fat metabolism. My point being that you do not need to eat sugar to have energy. Proteins or your own muscle or fat can be used just as well. You do not need to be a chemist to learn about this. Many animals are quite strong and never eat carbs (sugars). This is the reason why it is unnecessary. There are many possible pathways a cell can make energy from,

glucose metabolism is just one of many. :slight_smile:
And did anyone get my point that there is a useless amount of electrolytes in gatorade ?

krebs_cycle.gif

40

Hey feel the light (can I just call you FTL?),

I did a looooot of reading this evening on sports drinks/electrolyte replacements…and I have to say it was really interesting and I learned a lot. At this point I have to say I agree with you in regards to sports drinks, especially Gatorade. IF they are going to put sugars into the drink, they should use simple sugars, not the high fructose corn syrup they use. They also don’t need as much as they do use. And though you say they use too little salt in Gatorade (I think that’s what you’re saying…), all of my reading has hinted that they use waaay too much. You are certainly right about the potassium, though. A proper electrolyte replacement should have more potassium than sodium, and Gatorade hardly has any.

The key here is the difference between an energy drink and a electrolyte replacement drink. An energy drink focuses (correctly or not) on providing carbs (sugars), while an electrolyte replacement drink seeks to replace exactly what you sweat out.

An electrolyte replacement drink can be helpful, I believe, if you are really exerting yourself and sweating lots for an extended period of time. These electrolytes need only be present in small amounts, though.

Now, as for the glucose issue, I have to admit I don’t know too much about biochemistry. However, as I understand it, your body’s first source of energy is the glycogen reserves stored in the liver, because they are very quick to mobilize. These will always be burned first, and are constantly being burned to generate energy, and produced from blood glucose. These glycogen reserves are how the body manages blood sugar: if you eat a bunch of sugar, insulin is released and turns some of the glucose into glycogen and stores it. If your blood sugar drops, some of the glycogen is converted to glucose.

Once your body uses up its glycogen reserves, either you need to ingest some more sugars (preferably glucose, as these are absorbed quickly as there is no need to digest) or your body must start burning fat. Fats are much more energy dense than sugars, but take much longer to be transported and metabolised.

While the electrolytes are not actually used up during excercise, glucose is actually burned and converted to energy, so it most definitely needs to be supplemented or replaced in some form during exercise. You are right, however, that you can’t “sugar load” in the same way that you can “carbo load”.

P.S. I know how the Kreb’s cycle works, and I know ATP can come from more than one source :stuck_out_tongue: