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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1982)
DRINK ALL YOU WANT... AND MORE! Research shows endurance 1s directly related to fluid Intake When you think of running, a picture probably comes to mind of a person Duffing along a trail or track. A trickle of sweat is rolling down the runner's face. Sweat is the first source of body fluid loss that most people think of. And they are right, 1t is an imoortant source of lost body fluids. The averaae oerson, on an average day, loses two cuds of water through perspiration. That's with out exercise. On too of those two cups, an av erage oerson loses eight more cups of water through other body functions. Human kidneys are one of the best recyclers we know of. On an average day, kidneys filter through 40,000 cups of blood, with only five and-a-half cuos of water lost 1n the form of uri ne. L>ca luca urine onu ^cr a^iifluun, uric u*Juy breathes out two more cups of water and loses a half cup 1n the stools. Studies have shovm that a significant loss of body fluids can affect performance. So how do Deople get those ten glasses of water back Into their systems? Three glasses of water get back Into an average person's body through regu lar dally meals. The body gains another one-and a-half cups as food is metabolized. That leaves f1ve-and-a-half cups of water for the average person to take 1n, during an average, cool day. One study performed at Harvard University looked at how the Intake of water affected an athlete's endurance. A group of athletes were asked to run on a treadmill for as long as they could, without drinking any water. They were allowed frequent breaks during their running, but after three and half hours, most of the ath letes’ body temperatures had gone uo to 102 de grees. They were exhausted and couldn't go any more. The next week, the athletes ran on the tread mill again. They still were allowed some rest periods, but this time they could drink as much water as they wanted. With a replacement of body fluids, most of the athletes nearly doubled their running time. It was nearly six hours be fore their temperatures reached 102 degrees and they couldn't 90 on. TO FUEL OR FOOL YOUR BOOY: THAT IS THE OUESTION! What good is an automobile that does not run? Washing and waxing keep it looking good, but GASOLINE, OIL, FLUIDS AND WATER make it run. Tune-uos and check-uos keep it running. Think about yourself as a more complex and valuable machine. Your good looks won't get you going in the morning. Your tank is emoty and you need to fuel up after your overnight fast. Running too often on emoty will eventually affect your ap Dearance, your energy output, and your overall health down the road. YOU NEED A CHECK LIST YOUR CAR FOR GOOD MILEAGE, BEST PER FORMANCE: _Proper fuel _011 and water pressure _Fluid check _Tire check Battery check ^1-ube and grease FOR YOURSELF TOO. YOURSELF FOR GOOD HEALTH, LONGER LIFE: _Good nutrition _Normal blood pressure _Adequate fluid intake _Proper weight for sex and height _Enough rest Exercise “WELL NOW..." Newsletter Published Monthly June 1982 Editor: Cynthia Kane Student Health Center Universtly of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 1-503-686-4441 A third test was performed on the same tread mill, with the same athletes. This time, they were made to drink as much water as they lost through sweatlna. It turned out they needed half again as much as they were motivated to drink by thirst alone. The results of this body fluid replacement were amazing. After seven hours, they still hadn't reached a body tempera ture of 101 degrees. Most of them said they felt thev could go on nearly forever. This study points out the importance of ad equate fluid intake for athletes aiming at en durance. The key to adequate fluids is the way they help the kidneys do their job of filtering out body poisons. If Deople only drink the a mount of fluids they think thev need for their thirst, they may not be oroviding enouqh for their kidneys to do a good job. Less than opti mum performance will be the result. As one physiologist put it, "Kidneys do better If you don't trv to do a sink full of dishes in a cup of water.“ Reprinted with permission from "Pulse Beat", a publication of McKenzIe-WUlamette Memorial Hospital. (May 1982)
