Water And Performance
By far the most prominent nutrient in our body is water. Our bodies are basically made from 70 to 75% water. Most of this water falls into the category of biologically structured water. Muscles comprise around 75% water, blood 85%, and our brains 75 to 90%. A reduction in fluid consumption or absorption of water will greatly affect the performance and function of our bodies. For example, during exercise your core body temperature increases and to help cool the body from this internal heat buildup, your body shifts more blood to the skin to release the heat via sweat (water). If the body becomes dehydrated, the temperature of the body will increase with traumatic results (heat stroke). Keep in mind that your blood also has to carry nutrients and oxygen to the muscles to sustain human performance and to remove the metabolic waste (lactic acid, etc.) produced during exercise. The higher the temperature gets in the body, the more blood will be taken away from muscle function to aide in the cooling of the body. This main function is carried out by water, thus the more hydrated you are, the more efficient your body becomes in performance and endurance.
What does water do for the body?
- Proteins and enzymes of the body function more efficiently in lower viscosity solutions (hydrated body / structured water) than in a higher viscosity solution (dehydration). Essentially proteins and enzymes can move more freely through a thin intracellular fluid. Muscle mass is based on protein metabolism.
- Water is the main transport of delivering nutrients into the cells.
- Water is crucial for all anabolic reactions in all types of athletes.
- Water is needed for proper joint lubrication and disc hydration of the spine.
- Water ionizes salts, which provide the electrolyte environment for electrochemical conduction of nerve impulses. This means a more hydrated cell will have a more effective nerve firing which results in faster reaction time and the oxygen affinity of hemoglobin is improved thousands of times leading to better oxygenation of the blood which means more aerobic function of the body.
- When training, if you are not adequately hydrated and wait till you get thirsty before you drink water, your body has already decreased its performance by as much as 10%. (Ex. Run a mile in 7 minutes, decrease by 10%, now you run the mile in 7minutes and 42 seconds)
- Training in hot environments one can lose around 2 liters of water every hour or about 22 ounces every 20 minutes.
- Trained athletes have enough glycogen in their muscles for a couple of hours of hard training. The water reserves in the body diminish at a very fast rate. Thus a more hydrated body leads to greater endurance.
- On average a person loses 80 ounces of water a day via sweat, breathing, and bodily functions. If you exercise that amount increases proportionately to the intensity of the workout.
- If your urine is yellow, this can be a good indicator your body is dehydrated, where pale or clear urine can indicate proper hydration.
As your body loses water via sweat and breathing during exercising, it is important to keep in mind what happens to your performance and why it is crucial to drink the proper water and amounts. For each per cent of body weight lost due to dehydration, your performance slips by about two per cent. This can easily be the difference between being a quality athlete verses a champion.
Effects of dehydration – Weight Loss
Less than 1% | No Effect – Top performance level |
1 to 2% | Feeling of Thirst – Possibility of Diminished Performance. |
2 to 3% | Possibility of Performance Loss by 3 to 10%. Impairment of Cognitive Function - Concentration, Lucidity, Dexterity, Etc.) |
3 to 4% | Dryness of the Mouth and Dark-Colored Urine. Possibility of Performance Loss by 5 to 20% |
4 to 6% | Frankly Impaired Concentration, Risk of Headache. Possibility of Performance Loss by 20 to 30% |
Over 6% | Pins and Needles in the Extremities, Risk of Collapse. Possibility of Performance Loss by over 30% |
REFERENCE: The Water Institute | |
The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Dietetics Association make the following recommendations to help athletes stay hydrated and maintain peak performance:
- Drink between 8 to 10, 8-ounce glasses of water every day.
- Drink at least 2, 8-ounces glasses of fluids two hours before practice or competition.
- Drink 2, 8-ounce glasses of fluids 15 minutes before practice or competition.
- Drink at least ˝ glass of fluids every 15-20 minutes during practice.
- After (practice or) competition, drink 2, 8-ounce glasses of water for each pound lost.
The above recommendations are based on “standard water” consumption.
How structured water differs from standard water:
Standard water is an ever-changing mass of water clusters. Water molecules (H2O) cling to each other through hydrogen bonds. These water clusters vary in size from a two-molecule cluster size, up to a 200-300 molecule-size formation. The membrane walls of our bodies can only absorb certain sizes of water clusters. Because our membranes are classified as semi-permeable, if the clusters of molecules are too large, they will have a difficult time being absorbed into the cell. When we drink a standard glass of water, we are only absorbing 20-30% of the water into our cells. The rest is flushed through our bodies, because of the size of water formations.
This is where “Structured Water” comes into play. By using a series of proprietary technologies, we can vibrate the clusters and break up the larger water clusters. The structured water is then locked into place through physical forces of vorticular motion and magnetic moments so the water clusters stabilize. When a person drinks “Structured Water”, they are now absorbing 90-100% of the water because of the smaller cluster size.
Dr. Rodney Russell
Eon Beverage Group, Inc
Director of Health and Fitness