How many times have you forgotten your bottle of water before your training?

Have you questioned the importance of it?

Don’t you consider important drinking while swimming?

Do you think you are in the water therefore you don’t sweat as much as you do while running, cycling, or practising any other sport outdoors?

Do you think your fluid intake while exercising cover your physiological needs?

You might be in a big trouble if you are unsure whether you are keeping good practise or not.
Water is the only fluid presented in over ten thousands different types of chemical reactions and interactions taking place in our body.

60%-75% of the men’s body is water, in women’s body the percentage varies to 55%-65%. Water is methodically integrated into every biochemical constituent of every cell at every level (King, 2012)
Lack of water in our body can lead to dehydration. Dehydration can seriously affect both, athletes’ health and performance. However over hydration could also lead to water intoxication. Drinking abnormally large quantities of water can disturb the electrolyte balance, thereby affecting the athletes’ health and performance in an adverse manner.

Dehydration can lead in seizures, heat injury, cerebral edema, kidney failure, low blood volume shock, COMA and DEATH.

A seizure is the physical finding or change in behaviour that occurs after an episode of abnormal electrical activity in the brain working (NLM, 2014). That’s caused by an electrolytes imbalance which can lead to loss of consciousness and involuntary muscle. Heat Injury is caused from the lack of fluid intake while exercising at high intensity or under really hot conditions. If you experience an episode of heat injury you are likely to suffer from cramps to heatstroke. As previously mentioned, dhyhadration can lead into cerebral edema. If we have lived an episode of dehydration, the fluid intake after it has to be done progressively and carefully. Some cells can swell and rupture after the body tries to pull water back into your cells. The consequences are critical when brain cells are affected. Some organs as the kidney could be affected due to the lack of water into the body. The main function of the kidney is to remove the waist and to help balancing water and salt and others minerals as electrolytes in your blood. Dehydration can cause a malfunction of the kidney activity. Others activities as low blood volume shock (hypovolemic shock) could be avoided with good hydration. Hypovolemic shock is an emergency condition in which severe blood and fluid loss make the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body. Many of our organs would stop working if we suffer this type of shock (NLM, 2014). Severe dehydration can lead in coma and death if it is not treated promptly and appropriately.

How can we test your level of hydration and prevent from dehydration?

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PART II
Coming soon!