Why is water important?

"The Fluid Pyramid" is a great indicator of how much fluid you should be drinking

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• Keeps you cool through perspiration
  
  
• Perspiration is 99% water, but also contains some electrolytes (salts)
  
  
• Enables the storage of glycogen, an essential source of energy in one's muscles
  
  
• An increased metabolic rate during exercise increases loss of water through perspiration and evaporation
  
  
• Athletes can lose up to a gallon of fluid an hour during heavy exercise
  
  
• If you do not replace the same amount of fluid you lose the body will start to protect itself by limiting its activity
  
  
• In the hot weather, dehydration can occur in 30 minutes if the body doesn't getting the amount fluid it needs
  
  
• Signs of dehydration:
  • feeling dizzy
  • light headed
  • having muscle cramps
  • feeling nauseated
  • having a headache
    
    
• 8-16 ounces of fast absorbing fluid should be consumed 10-15 minutes prior to exercise
  
  
• At least 4-10 ounces every 15-20 minutes during exercise
  
  
• 24 ounces after the activity
  
  
• Works as a solvent, transporting, combining, and chemically breaking down substances
  
  
• Hydrolysis, the process of water breaking down molecules, plays a key role in breaking down essential molecules such as proteins and carbohydrates. During hydrolysis the H+ ions bonds with the negative part of the molecule and the OH- ion bonds with the positive.

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