Sergey wrote:However this topic's name is not "Facts about your body's physiology" and I don't believe it was necessary to go into all the exciting details about water absorption.
I however do believe it is necessary to have an understanding of how and why the body works the way it does if you are going to be giving out suggestions.
Sergey wrote:but knowing that water is absorbed by the intestines is not beneficial to a regular footbag player.
I'd say knowing that water is absorbed in your intestines and not in your mouth, or on your fingernails, or by your arm hair, is very benificial to footbag players. especially when people are telling them otherwise.
Sergey wrote:I'm not saying you are wrong, but I believe that my reply to this thread was far more informative (to a regular person) than yours.
forgive me, but how is posting completely incorrect information "informative"?
Sergey wrote:You did not back up any of that. Yes, water is not absorbed by your mouth, but that doesn't mean that 1) 2) and 3) is wrong. Back it up please.
See, now I don't see why i should, when you obviously didn't do any research or back up any of your claims.
but...
i'll do ya one better.
Sergey wrote:If you swallow water, then:
1) You waste water.
2) You will get tired and it will slow you down.
so, if i swallow water i waste it? I think i explained why this isn't true in my first post, unless of course you have a different explanation of "waste". Inorder for water to be absorbed by your body, you need to swallow it so it makes it's way through your digestive tract and gets to your intestines. I'd say pouring water on your arm, or on your feet might be a bit more wasteful, unless ofcourse you want to have a shower instead or rehydrating your body.
All the reactions in your body, be it digestion, muscle contraction, energy production, all happen within fluid. Water is the most abundant fluid in the body and makes up between 50-70% of our over all body weight, depending upon your body composition. Muscle tissue is about 73% water, and fat is about 20%.
In the body, water is required for body temperature regulation, via sweating. It's also required for the formation of blood, and within blood for the transportation of nutrients, energy in the form of glucose, and oxygen to working muscles. Blood also acts to remove lactic acid and co2 from your muscles. It's also in synovial fluid, the fluid that lubricates and provides nutrients to our joints. If we don't swallow water, we don't absorb water. if we don't absorb water we are going to see impairment to those normal body functions: impaired transportation of nutrients to working muscles (fairly important for physical exertion), impaired removal of waste products like lactic acid created by working muscles (lactic acid is what causes that burning sensation in your legs, and it's easier to play footbag without it), impaired lubrication and nutrition of joint tissue. So if we want to continue working vigorously, i'd say it's pretty wasteful not to swallow water.
if i swallow water it will make me tired and slow me down. some people do feel uncomfortable if they drink too much water too quickly (i agree with that
), but drinking water in the end is a far better solution to this problem than not swallowing it at all. Dehydration is characterized by many debilitating symptoms which are going to be far more detrimental than an uncomfortable stomach. When we get dehydrated we will see fatigue, weakness, and low energy levels because cellular reactions aren't happening in their optimal environment. We are also going to see headaches, muscle crapms, dizzyness, drymouth, and irritability. It's major result is a reduction in blood volume, because sweat is derived from blood plasma. less blood volume means less circulating oxygen to the heart and muscles, and impaired performance.
The effects of dehydration on our work capability are seen quite quickly too. At as little as 2% of body weight lost via water will result in a decreased work capacity and a decreased ability to regulate our body temperature. For a person of 150 lbs, that's 3 pounds of water, and in one session i personally have lost upto 7 pounds of water, even while i was drinking. As this progresses, we see reduced muscle endurance at 3%, at 4% we see reduced hand-eye coordination (and this probably also applies to foot-eye) as well as muscular strenght and endurance are greatly compromised. often when we start working, we are already at a deficet, so you might not even be required to lose the full amounts.
Keep in mind, the rate a which you lose water via sweating is dependant upon your external environment. the hotter it is outside the sooner your sweat mechanism is going to kick in. for a 70kg person working at about 80% of their capacity in temperatures of 10 degrees celcius, they will likely lose between 1-1.5 liters per hour. at room temperature, we can see from 1.6-2.5 liters per hour. at 30 degrees celcius, like it was at worlds this year, we can see between 2 and 2.8 liters of water lost per hour through sweating. So you can see how quickly we can become dehydrated if we don't replenish that water lost, and how we can slowly over time become dehydrated if we don't adequately replace it. Swallowing water really is quite important if we want to fend off dehydration and the negative effects that go along with it.
you know you are right and that every one should not swallow water. i think every thing above explains why that statement is wrong and people shouldn't follow your advice on this particular subject.
side note: dehydration can lead to increaded chance of injury. Muscles and tendons, being made largely from water, require it in part for the flexibility and pliability of the tissues. Think about streching a nice fresh rubber band versus a dried out old one. the dried out old one is going to tear and snap much sooner when compared to the nice supple rubber band. Same thing goes for your tissues.
some general water guide lines: drink before, drink during, drink after.
-drink 400-600 ml (1.5-2.5 cups) 2 or 3 hours prior to playing. this is money in the bank for later, and it gives you time to get the excess out.
-about 15 minutes prior, drink another 150-350 ml (0.75- 1.5 cups).
-during, drink 150-350 ml every 15-20 minutes (or drink it in sips through out but this is a good numerical goal). Th kidneys can handel 800-1000ml/ per hour without being stressed. the objective here is to replace the water lost through sweat. don't rely on being thirsty, because at this point you are already dehydrated, and being thirsty may influence you to chug it down, which is going to give you that sloshing water feeling.
-after training drink 750 ml (3 cups) for evey pound lost, or monitor your urine colour. dark, scanty urine means dehydration, and you want is to be clear or very light yellow in colour.
things you can use to replenish water are pretty much any non caffeinated, non alcoholic beverage, such as water (duh
), juice, milk, sports drinks, soup, even decaffeinated coffee or tea. you might even benifit from juice or gatorade because it also provides some calories and will help fend off low blood sugar (low blood sugar results in fatigue, dizzyness, blurred vision and disorientation.)
A.G.
) and the normal rate of absorption is about 300-400ml per hour.
