[pct-l] Water Tricks- Hydralite

[steve_peterson at sbcglobal.net (Steve Peterson)]

I may as well chime in (for those who may have recently joined the list) with 
the Gookinaid (Hydralite) pitch: it's a "sweat replacement" that I've found 
really helps with water consumption. Since you have to mix it with water, it's 
useless *after* you've run out of water, but it sure helps staving off 
dehydration and speeding up re-hydration after you've gotten dehydrated.

I first started using it when I found that drinking more water wasn't helping 
with the sensation of thirst--it almost felt like I didn't want more water even 
though I was thirsty. Suspecting a lack of electrolytes, I tried some Hydralite 
and found it very effective. I did a variety of experiments and, so far, what 
works for me in 80-90F is to down some of it (a glass or two's worth) midday and 
at the end of the day. If I still feel thirsty after that, I drink a little 
more. I tried drinking just Hydralight but that was too much (at least at the 
moderate temperatures I was encountering).

Some people claim that just eating salty foods is good enough, but I've found 
that salt (sodium chloride), per se, isn't sufficient. I'm no expert, but I've 
read enough articles in publications like Journal of Applied Physiology to 
believe that there's something to Gookinaid's pitch that you need a combination 
of salts to keep the electrolytes in proper balance.

Hydralite contains glucose (FYI to the diabetics out there), and there are other 
products on the market (which I haven't tried) which make the same claims as 
Gookinaid does. I have no connection to the company; I'm just a satisfied customer.

--Steve

Tortoise wrote:
> Also recommended for dry mouth is to eat / suck on sugarless candies. 
> That's right, sugarless. You don't want to rot your teeth with sugar.
>