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Proper hydration (water and fluid intake) is crucial to all of our bodily functions. It aids in digestion, waste and toxin removal, nutrient transportation and body temperature regulation. Proper hydration is also crucial to peak athletic performance.

How Hydration Aids Athletic Performance

During exercise, body temperature rises and muscles require more blood, and the main functions of hydration for athletes are to regulate body temperature and maintain blood volume. Water is a crucial component in blood, and your muscles require more blood when working out. In a properly hydrated athlete, blood volume remains constant, so there is enough blood for the muscles and the rest of the body and it is easily transported to the muscles. If fluid levels are too low, your blood will thicken, so it will not get to the muscles as easily.

Blood also helps absorb body heat and transports it to your skin, which is why you sweat. The evaporating sweat helps cool your body, too. If you are not properly hydrated, the aforementioned depleted blood volume will not transfer heat to your skin, so you will not sweat and can overheat.

Athletes who compete or work out for more than an hour at a time (marathoners, Ironmen, cyclists, etc.) need to replace nutrients while exercising, and proper hydration assists in nutrient absorption, too.

How Dehydration Affects Athletic Performance

Dehydration is a loss of water and fluids in the body, and it can have severe affects on your athletic performance and overall health. Inadequate fluid intake and improper fluid replacement mid- and post-workout are the biggest causes of dehydration among athletes; athletes simply don’t drink enough fluids. Exercising in hot, dry weather and excessive sweating are other causes.

Mild cases of dehydration are almost inevitable for athletes. You can never be perfect about replacing fluids, but your situation becomes more perilous as you become more dehydrated.

Listed below, in increasing level of severity, are ways dehydration negatively affects athletic performance:

1. Reduction of VO2 Max.
2. Feeling thirsty, loss of appetite and diminished endurance.
3. Cotton mouth and impaired performance.
4. Increased exercise effort, apathy, discomfort.
5. Difficulty concentrating, increased pulse and breathing rate.
6. Sleepiness, tingling, headache, stumbling.
7. Labored breathing, confusion, weakness, labored breathing.
8. Swelling of the tongue, muscle spasms, loss of balance.
9. Delirium, heat exhaustion, heat stroke or death.

The most severe cases of dehydration can lead to death because improper blood flow and excessive heat can cause your organs to shut down.

How to Properly Hydrate

Hydration is a never-ending battle for athletes. It’s easy to say “Just drink more water,” but knowing when and how much to drink before, during and after exercise takes practice. In an upcoming post, we will discuss how to properly hydrate so you get the most out of your exercise or competition.

Ever since preservatives were introduced into foods in the 1950′s there has been a continuum of food exploration that may finally be out of control.

Dr. George Wald a Nobel Laureate in Medicine in 1967 and a Higgins Professor of Biology at Harvard University said:

“Recombinant DNA technology faces our society with problems unprecedented not only in the history of science, but of life on Earth. It places in human hands the capacity to redesign living organisms, the products of three billion years of evolution. Such intervention must not be confused with previous intrusions upon the natural order of living organisms: animal and plant breeding…All the earlier procedures worked within single or closely related species…Our morality up to now has been to go ahead without restriction to learn all that we can about nature. Restructuring nature was not part of the bargain…this direction may be not only unwise, but dangerous. Potentially, it could breed new animal and plant diseases, new sources of cancer, novel epidemics.”

As a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, the impact of foods on the body plays a big part in how I assess the main complaint of each patient.

The quality of foods we eat can directly impact our bodies in many ways. Food itself can have medicinal value but, too frequently, the quality of available foods is poor. A poor nutritional diet can be a key factor in contributing to chronic aches/pains/injuries.

The five branches of TCM are: Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Physical Therapy, Nutrition, and Exercise/Breathing. As a TCM practitioner I want to take into account all of the things that impact the body and then filter it through the five branches. It’s much more than just acupuncture. It’s comprehensive care and lifestyle evaluation.

There is a great article in Acupuncture today discussing The Implications of GMO’s, Epigenetics and Chinese Medicine on Performance Enhancement.

Performance enhancement is often misconstrued as needing ‘something extra’ to out perform your opponent. Performance enhancement does not have to directly relate to a sport. I want to make your work performance better, your sleep better, your sex life better… Through acupuncture and TCM I want to enhance the body to be able to operate at peak efficiency, without needing that 3rdy party substance to function at a high level no matter what it is called to do.

As always, if you have any questions about TCM or acupuncture, Contact Us to set up a free 15-minute consult with our acupuncturist, Mike Allen L.Ac., Dipl. OM

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Well, we’re a couple of weeks into 2012, and, depending on where you live, this could mean temperatures in the 50′s or several degrees below zero. Regardless, athletes everywhere (professional and amateur) are bundling up before heading outside to work out, if they go outside at all. For those of you who do decide to brave the elements, here are some helpful tips for exercising in cold weather:

1. Check the weather and wind chill. Checking the weather is an obsession for many athletes, but it is doubly important during the cold winter months. Knowing the temperature and weather conditions will dictate how many and what type of layers you wear. Also, remember to check the wind chill, because the wind makes it feel several degrees colder.
2. Wear layers. The colder it gets, the more layers you need. Depending on the temperature and the person, three to four layers, or more, are needed during the winter months. The first layer should always be wool or a synthetic moisture-wicking material. The second, something to keep in your body heat, and the outer layer should always be something to protect you from the wind and snow.
3. Remember to hydrate. The importance of hydration does not go away because it is cold outside. What does diminish is an athlete’s awareness. Since it’s cold outside, athletes often don’t think about drinking water and Gatorade, because the sweat evaporates quickly. So, remember to hydrate throughout the day and during a workout in the winter months
4. Give extra time to warm up. Just like with your car, it takes a little longer for your muscles to acclimate and warm up in the cold weather. Not properly warming up is a sure-fire path to injury, especially when it is cold out. Allow plenty of time for your body to warm up when it’s cold out.
5. Decrease your intensity. As stated before, your muscles take longer to warm up during winter months. They also don’t function as efficiently, and trying to push through the cold and maintain a certain pace will only lead to injury. So, back off your intensity and focus more on perceived effort than speed when exercising in the cold.
6. Protect your extremities. The risk of frost bite is not present during warmer months, so remember to wear gloves and warm socks during winter. Also, wear a hat to minimize heat loss through your head.
7. Pay close attention to cars. The roads are a treacherous place for athletes, runners and cyclists especially, because drivers don’t pay attention or care enough to share the road. Snowy and icy conditions add more danger, because cars might not be able to stop, so pay extra attention to cars while working out in the winter.
8. Exercise during daylight hours. It is safest to work out during daylight hours because it is easier to see obstacles and be seen by cars. Working out during the daytime is harder in the winter, because it gets dark sooner, and working out before or after work may not be an option. So, many athletes workout during their lunch break. If you do workout at night, be sure to wear reflective clothing and assume that the cars can’t see you.
9. Consider working out indoors. Many athletes avoid working out indoors at all costs, but sometimes it is unavoidable when the snow is blowing and temperatures are below zero.
10. Stretch before and after a workout. Regardless of when or where you exercise, always remember to stretch before and after a workout to maintain flexibility and blood flow to your muscles. Flexibility helps decrease injuries and will help you warm up sooner during winter months. >> Learn more Sports Injury Prevention Tips

The University of Colorado Hospital is leading a study funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation to find out if Eastern Medicine, particularly acupuncture, is effective in treating fatigue, a major side-effect of Parkinson’s Disease.  The hope for the study is to provide the nearly 1 million Americans and 5 million people world-wide that suffer from Parkinson’s, a way to increase quality of life. The double-blind study began in November 2010 and currently has 22 participants. By 2013 the goal of the study is to have 90-100 participants.

To read more about the full article on the Parkinson’s Disease and acupuncture study follow This Link

Studies like these are becoming more and more common in the western medical arena. Each year more research proves that acupuncture is effective in treating any number of ailments. For this reason, and others, Insurance companies are starting to incorporate acupuncture benefits into their health care plans. Recently in Colorado, Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield added acupuncture to its network benefits and is enrolling a number of local providers.

If you have any questions about acupuncture or are interested in a free consult with our acupuncturist, Mike Allen, L.Ac. please feel free to Contact Us