Abstract
Preserving the hydration status means to balance daily fluids and salt losses with gains, where the losses depend on several physiological and environmental factors. Especially for athletes, these losses could be relevant and negatively influence the performance: therefore, their hydro-saline status must be preserved with personalized pre- and rehydration plans all along the performance period. Scientific literature in this field is mainly dedicated to artificial sport drinks. Different territories in most world areas are rich in drinking natural mineral spring waters with saline compositions that reflect their geological origin and that are used for human health (often under medical prescription). However, scarce scientific attention has been dedicated to the use of these waters for athletes. We therefore reviewed the existing literature from the innovative viewpoint of matching spring water mineral compositions with different athletic performances and their hydro-saline requirements.
Highlights
Sport-Related Natural Mineral SpringWater makes up 50–70% of body mass and is distributed in the intracellular (65%)and extracellular (35%) spaces [1]
Summarizing: (i) the progressive dehydration induced by exercise negatively impacts sport performance, in particular in long-distance events; (ii) a customized prehydration plan is strongly recommended, and (iii) rehydration during and after performance must be planned as well, since the ad libitum drinking does not optimize the hydration status [46,48]; (iv) a acclimation protocol [47,48] together with a aerobically fit background [45,47,51,52] help optimizing fluid balance; (v) despite some advantages of a supplementation with carbohydrate-electrolytes solutions, these often carry associated unwanted “side effects”
Knowing that a matching of natural mineral water categories with athletes hydration needs had never been attempted, the aim of this review was to seek if existing scientific literature in these two fields could—at least in principle—allow this operation, opening, in our opinion, a new field of investigation
Summary
Sport-Related Natural Mineral SpringWater makes up 50–70% of body mass and is distributed in the intracellular (65%)and extracellular (35%) spaces [1]. Council have issued guidelines on daily water intake: 2.0–2.4 L/day are recommended for males and 1.6–2.0 L/day for females [2]. These values must be adjusted depending on climate and level of physical activity. Tight regulation of blood volume is related to multiple organ systems and is closely associated with electrolytes content and hydration status. Since it is necessary for the constant perfusion of body tissues, the maintenance of plasma volume is crucial to normal multiorgan function. On the other hand, inherited abnormalities of the blood, including platelet disorders [5] can manifest in athletes under stress [6] conditions
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