Your food
requirement increases when you increase your physical activity. You need
nutrients that can provide you more energy. Water and possibly sodium chloride
or salt are also needed to be increased. A teenage boy who is physically active
needs around 5,000 calories a day while a nonathletic boy at the same age only
needs around 3,000 calories daily. If you’re athletic, it is recommended to
take extra servings of food from all groups, particularly vegetables, fruits,
cereals and breads. These foods are necessary to fill the increased energy
need.
If you
sweat, you lost water and you need to replace it to avoid dehydration during
strenuous exercise. Dehydration can result to heatstroke, fatigue and death.
However, you should know when to replace the water lost through sweating. Water
replacement should not only done during exercise. Drinking too much water in
one go during increased physical activity may lead to waterlogged. Just take
moderate amount of cool water before, during and after your exercise. Most
athletes need to take eight ounces of fluid every 15-20 minutes during arduous
activity.
Experts
recommend to take cool water around 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit. Cool water
empties from the stomach immediately, allowing the body to absorb it faster. It
also helps absorb body heat.
Most commercial
sports drinks available in the market today contain sugars and electrolytes.
You may take them when activities last more than an hour for carbohydrate and
electrolyte replacement. But plain water is just fine most of the time especially
if your activities only last an hour or less.
Choose a
sport drink that has less than 8% total solids (electrolytes, sugars.) Fluid
absorption may delay because of more concentrated solutions. Don’t choose
drinks that contain fructose as the only source for carbohydrate to prevent
stomach upset. Moreover, fructose should be first converted to glucose before
your body can use it for energy. This conversion process delays its use as a
source of energy.
You can
increase your salt intake in foods. Experts do not recommend the use of salt
tablets because they can cause stomach cramps. Salt tablets hold water in the
stomach for long period of time which can cause water to be pulled back into
the intestinal tract and not into body tissues where water is needed the most.
