Health professionals urge electrolyte supplements in moderation amid heat wave

With Raleigh bracing for soaring temperatures this weekend, health professionals are reminding North Carolinians to stay hydrated.

Registered dietitian Addie Claire Jones said the goal to preventing dehydration is drinking enough fluids before dehydration stats to set in.

She said the best way to combat dehydration is by meeting your body’s basic water intake needs.

“Our body’s basic hydration need is half of our body weight in pounds – in ounces,” she said. “For a 150lb person, 75 ounces is their base line.”

Jones further explained additional hydration is needed based on the level of activity.

“Let’s say 150lb person is going to exercise for an hour, we want thirty more ounces, so now we’re looking at 105 ounces,” she said.

With Raleigh bracing for soaring temperatures this weekend, health professionals are reminding North Carolinians to stay hydrated.

Jones said the need for more hydration can be exacerbated by extreme heat.

For those who are working out heavily, Jones said an electrolyte supplement may be beneficial to help replenish your body after heavy sweating.

“Gauge it off of your activity level. Are you a mom chasing her toddler around the backyard? Are you training for a marathon? Where do you fall on that spectrum and do we really need any sort of supplement?” Jones explained.

The dietitian said she often recommends food-first approaches and said combatting dehydration is no different.

For a mom prepping to spend the day outdoors with her kids, Jones recommended adding a sprinkle of salt to watermelon during breakfast.

“That’s a great source of sodium, potassium, magnesium without having to add any sort of powder to it,” Jones said. “If fruit is not your think, cucumber is also very high in water content. There are lots of foods that are high in water and high in electrolytes.”

She also urges shoppers to pay attention to nutrition labels before adding items to their carts.

“With something like Gatorlyte, which is another Gatorade product which has more sodium in it, or another popular one in marketing right now is LMNT; that one has 1,000mg of sodium,” cautioned Jones. “The recommendation is 2,300mg for a non-sweating, non-athletic person. So if you’re having that and then eating one thing out of a can in a day, you’ve already exceeded that need.”

Jones said most kinds of sports drinks, like regular Gatorade, likely won’t cause a huge health issue unless you’re consuming them frequently and in place of your regular water intake.

As a good rule of thumb, she recommends limiting electrolyte supplements to just one-per-day.

No Byline Policy

Editorial Guidelines

Corrections Policy

Source