During the exercise you can get to lose a lot of fluid through sweating depending on the characteristics of the person, the weather conditions and the time that physical activity lasts, in addition to minerals that are in the sweat. An isotonic drink is not is more than a drink that contains water and mineral salts in the same proportions as in our body. Therefore, when we drink these sports drinks, we make sure that we are ingesting a liquid with a balance of salts similar to that of our cells. To choose to drink only water, or an isotonic drink, we must differentiate Between: Exercises of low intensity and less than 1 hour duration:
These can be running at a low pace, a short ride with the bike, a swimming session. This loss of liquids can be replenished perfectly by drinking water and by not asking for a large amount of sweat, the mineral salts and the lost electrolytes are replaced by the foods themselves included in our diet.
Exercises lasting more than 1 hour:
During the exercise, a large amount of fluid is lost through sweating, between 1.5 and 3.5 liters / hour. Endurance sports, in which the duration exceeds 1 hour, are the most susceptible to cause dehydration in athletes. In these cases the use of isotonic drinks is indispensable.
Conclusions
- When the exercise is of high intensity or exceeds 1 hour, it is advisable to drink an isotonic drink to hydrate, since through the sweat mineral salts are lost in addition to water.
- The heat and humidity increase sweating, so we must pay more attention to hydration when these conditions occur.
- If the exercise does not exceed 1 hour and the intensity is moderate-low, it is enough to hydrate drinking water.
- We recommend always planning an adequate strategy of replacing liquid and mineral salts to avoid dehydration, since as we have seen, thirst is not always a reliable indicator to hydrate well.