Newbury 1 Newbury Victoria Kin 355 Discussion Section 4 Date Submitted 11 26 13 Beverage choice hydration level and exercise performance Introduction Beverage choice impacts hydration level and both beverage choice and hydration level impact exercise performance Kalman 2012 Maughan 1997 Beverage choice impacts hydration level because certain beverages are more effective at achieving fluid balance Popkin D Anci Rosenberg 2010 An appropriate hydration level will improve exercise performance Beverage choice can also impact exercise performance because of their nutritional contents Park 2012 Shirreffs 2011 Beverages containing electrolytes and carbohydrates tend to improve exercise performance Beverage choice is often affected by palatability and availability Campbell Falck 2000 Food Drug Administration 2013 Maughan 1997 Saat 2002 The inability to maintain fluid balance and restore electrolytes and carbohydrates can hinder exercise performance Maughan 2012 Hypohydration and hyperhydration which occur as a result of inability to maintain fluid balance are common problems for athletes Shirreffs Sawka 2011 In order to obtain optimal exercise performance it is important to choose the correct beverage and maintain proper hydration level But with so many beverages to choose from it can be hard to know which is the best choice for hydration and performance Maughan Shirreffs 2012 Information about beverage choice is Newbury 2 important for athletes doctors and coaches More knowledge of beverages such as their ability to maintain fluid balance and their content will lead to improved beverage choices In turn better beverage choice will lead to improved hydration and improved performance Research on this topic is limited by the protocols of certain studies in which subjects were required to drink a certain amount of fluid Some studies required that larger amounts of fluids are drank while some were more restricted This in part was due to the fact that some studies were trying to cause either hyperhydration or hypohydration Johannsen 2013 Under normal exercise conditions subjects would have been able to drink fluids ad libitum Had subjects been allowed to drink at their leisure it may have shown different results The concentration on hydration level as the main outcome variable was also a limitation for purposes of this paper Many of the results do not emphasize the effects of hydration level on exercise performance Kalman 2012 Physiological mechanisms responsible for performance response were limited to those that help to narrow down the recommendation for fluid and fuel intake during exercise This cancels out any other sources of fluid and fuels that were detrimental to physical activity Coyle 2004 Another limitation was the small sample size of many studies in which many chosen subjects were considered as fit and active This limits the results because they cannot be applied to people who are unfit and sedentary This may have skewed the results in terms of performance and hydration level Johannsen 2013 Newbury 3 Figure 1 Connection between beverage choice hydration level and exercise performance Beverage Choice Hydration Level Exercise Performance This visual shows how exercise performance is affected by both hydration level and beverage choice Beverage choice also affects hydration level Kalman 2012 Johannsen 2013 Maughan 1997 Shirreffs 2011 Park 2012 Results Discussion Effects of beverage choice on hydration level Beverage choice impacts hydration level due to the managing of fluid balance Certain beverages are more efficient at managing fluid balance than others some of the most effective during exercise are water carbohydrateelectrolyte beverages coconut water and chicken noodle soup Fluid balance is achieved by drinking and mediated by sensation of thirst Popkin D Anci Rosenberg 2010 The determinants of fluid balance are fluid retention and plasma osmolality the measure of the body s electrolyte water balance Shirreffs Sawka 2011 Plasma osmolality can be described as normal hypotonic or hypertonic These terms describe the electrolyte and fluid balance Newbury 4 among the cells Hypotonic refers to cells that have shrunk in response to high concentrations of electrolytes in the plasma Hypertonic refers to cells that are bloated in response to high concentration of electrolytes in the cell Popkin D Anci Rosenberg 2010 In terms of fluid retention the body can also be considered as normal hydrated hypohydrated or hyperhydrated Hypohydration and hyperhydration both impact exercise performance negatively Hypohydration is when the body is under the homeostatic fluid balance level This can occur when the body loses fluids and electrolytes through sweating respiration and urine The amount lost depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise and an individual s gender height and weight Sawka Cheuvront Carter 2005 The best way to tell if someone is hypohydrated is by calculating their lost body mass over a certain period of time This protocol is much more accurate than testing subjective feelings of thirst Maughan et al 1997 Symptoms of hypohydration are dry mouth lethargy low to no urine output no tears and sunken eyes Vorwick Zieve 2011 The best way to counter the effects of hypohydration is through the intake of fluids It is recommended to replace all fluid lost from the body during exercise in order to maintain homeostatic fluid balance Cognitive performance is often very poor when hypohydrated Hypohydration affects cognitive performance by causing disruption of mood and it impairing short term memory arithmetic abilities psychomotor ability visuomotor skills and perceptual discrimination Popkin et al 2010 This is particular concern for the very young very old those in hot climates and those Newbury 5 engaging in intense physical activity Popkin 2010 Chicken noodle soup and water have similar positive effects on cognitive performance as tested with a Stroop color word test The average number of correct answers was similar for both trials 63 7 for water and 66 14 for soup but there were fewer errors for the soup trial 3 2 for water 2 2 for soup suggesting that it may be better for cognitive performance Johannsen et al 2013 Hyperhydration occurs when the body is over the homeostatic fluid balance level This occurs when the body takes in too much fluid resulting in a hypertonic plasma osmolality Hyperhydration can be prevented by consuming electrolytes and carbohydrates which are included in