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| THE EQUESTRIAN ATHLETE |
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When to Replace Electrolytes
by Johanna Harris |
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That pounding you feel isn't your imagination, it's your heart trying to keep you cool. When you ride or clean stalls in the heat and humidity, your heart beats more often to move more blood and make more water available for sweat. Heat makes you sweat, humidity prevents it from evaporating and cooling you in the process, and this makes you sweat even more. You lose electrolytes with every drop.
Electrolytes are particles that conduct electricity when they're dissolved in water. They help make your blood flow, heart beat, nerves fire, and muscles grow and contract. Sodium, potassium, and calcium are a few electrolytes you may think you have to worry about replacing when you sweat a lot, but the truth is, a balanced diet ordinarily provides more than enough.
Running out of sodium is rarely a problem for the average American because we eat a fair amount of commercially prepared food, and our bodies monitor the thickness of our blood during exercise and start to conserve sodium when we've sweat too much. As far as the other electrolytes are concerned, citrus fruits and vegetables are loaded with potassium, and athletes lose little in comparison to the amount they get from a balanced diet. Since a balanced diet includes dairy products, you should be able to replace all of the calcium you lose.
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Beverage/food
Orange juice, 8oz*
Low-fat milk, 8oz
Gatorade®, 8oz
Dried figs, 10
Banana, 1 1mg
Low-fat yogurt, 8oz
Plain bagel, 1
* oz = ounces |
Sodium (mg)
15mg**
125mg
110mg
20mg
450mg
130mg
245mg
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Potassium (mg)
430mg
380mg
30mg
1330mg
450mg
440mg
50mg
**mg = milligrams |
Other
Vitamin C
Calcium
Sugar
Calcium & phos
Phosphorus
Calcium
Phosphorus |
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If you spend eight hours a day sweating lightly, or more than four hours
sweating heavily, you need to drink plenty of water the entire time and then
eat more fruits, vegetables, and dairy products with your next meal.
1997 by Johanna L. Harris. All RightsReserved. Reprinted with permission.
Johanna L. Harris has an M.A. degree in Physical Education, Exercise and
Sports Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the
editor/publisher of The Equestrian Athlete, a monthly newsletter providing
equestrians with exercise and sport science information. You can also reach her
at (800) 404-8514. |
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