[pct-l] Thirst is the Best Water Gauge

[dsaufley at sprynet.com]

Gatorade is very high in sodium, and too much sodium that isn't used can lead to kidney stones (ever get the feeling you just can't win?).  I find that Cytomax is an excellent electrolyte replacement that is lower in sodium.  I've used it for years for mountainbiking, and now for long distance hiking, too.  It's what Lance Armstrong uses!!! Still, I'm careful to only use it when I'm losing hydration due to exercise -- I never drink it as a beverage otherwise.

 I've also heard great things about Gookinaid, which has less sugar than Gatorade.  

L-Rod

-----Original Message-----
>From: William Skaggs <weskaggs at primate.ucdavis.edu>
>Sent: Jan 19, 2007 10:41 AM
>To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Thirst is the Best Water Gauge
>
>
>Mark Jernigan wrote:
>
>> Bottom line was that I was actually drinking too much water, which is a bit of a 
>> paradox to a distance hiker who is sweating like a race horse.  I resorted to taking 
>> Potassium tablets, which did help somewhat and got me through the thru, so to speak.
>>  
>>  Three plus years (and 2 kidney stone operations) later I now routinely use the 
>> following suppliment when I hike: 
>>
>> [ . . . ]
>
>Drink Gatorade instead!
>
>There are two main ions that affect the electrolyte balance in the body,
>sodium and potassium.  Potassium exists almost entirely inside of your
>cells, so you lose hardly any when you sweat, and therefore need to replace
>hardly any.  Sodium, on the other hand, exists almost entirely *outside*
>of cells, and is lost in large quantities when you sweat.  So, what you
>need to supplement with is sodium, not potassium.  Supplementing with
>potassium is actually worse than drinking plain water, because
>it very quickly gets pulled inside cells and then pulls water in with it,
>thereby reducing the amount available for sweating.
>
>Gatorade was designed to have just the right mix to replace what you lose
>when sweating, and is very hard to beat.  And the basic rule is that your
>body knows what you need:  if drinking something feels unpleasant, then it 
>is probably the wrong thing to be drinking.
>
>(I'm a neuroscientist, by the way:  it's my job to know about this stuff.
>Which doesn't mean that I can't be wrong, of course.)
>
>Best wishes,
>
>  -- Bill
> 
>
> 
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