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Weight Loss Exercise

Watching Athletic Hydration During Summer




Athletic Hydration is a big issue this Summer with temperatures around the country being so high. I am always concerned about hydration when I exercise but in the summer months when it is hard to stay hydrated even when doing nothing it is even more critical to keep your water and electrolytes up.

Proper hydration plays a critical role in athletic performance. Some consequences of dehydration are as follows: cramping, fatigue, dizziness, rapid elevation of body temperature, confusion, fainting, and the inability to sweat (cooling mechanism of the body).

Symptoms of Dehydration

Despite these symptoms obviously hampering athletic performance, they can progress rapidly into heat exhaustion or heat stroke. In order to avoid these serious side effects and increase the ability to perform at top levels, it is essential that not only athletes, but everyone that is exposed to Louisiana temperatures have a clear understanding of how to maintain proper hydration.

When focusing on hydration, it is important to look at some warning signs that the body gives to signal the lack of proper hydration. Thirst is considered by some experts to be an early signal that your body is in need of re-hydration. But according to Nancy Clark in her “Sports Nutrition Guidebook,” athletes may have already lost over a pound and a half of water weight before their thirst mechanism kicks in.

Athletic Hydration Signals

Watching Athletic Hydration During Summer

Athletic Hydration

So it is may be ill-advised to rely on the thirst signal before looking to replenish fluids. Another warning signal of early dehydration is referred to as the Urine Test. Dr. Porche, a long time athletic trainer at the collegiate level, would post dark yellowish/orange sheets of paper in the stalls of the restrooms.

These sheets stated: “If your urine is the color of this paper, you are dehydrated!” That is how he got the message across to athletes about self monitoring for dehydration. According to The Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, normal urine of an adequately hydrated individual would be the color of lemon juice.

Athletic Hydration Tips

The following is a look at what steps need to be taken before, during, and after strenuous activity in order to maintain proper hydration levels:

Encourage athletes to hydrate properly before long periods of activity or exercise in a hot environment.

Consuming at least ½ liter of fluid (about 16 fl oz) two hours before activity provides the fluid needed to achieve optimal hydration and allows enough time for urination of excess fluid. Because rapid absorption is not critical, athletes can choose to drink water or many other beverages.

The question whether consuming caffeinated beverages causes dehydration is often asked. Caffeine increases urine production slightly in athletes not accustomed to it, less in athletes who customarily consume caffeine.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Bacteria on Shopping Carts

Bacteria on Shopping Carts

Bacteria on Shopping Carts

I just ran across an article on MSNBC  that wrote about a study that found that Bacteria on Shopping Carts is so bad that there is more bacteria on them than in the restrooms in supermarkets themselves. I am not really surprised since all the food going in and out of a supermarket is from farms and storage facilities, and other very dirty places.

Researchers from the University of Arizona swabbed shopping cart handles in four states looking for bacterial contamination. Of the 85 carts examined, 72 percent turned out to have a marker for fecal bacteria.

E.Coli Bacteria on Half of All Shopping Carts

The researchers took a closer look at the samples from 36 carts and discovered Escherichia coli, more commonly known as E. coli, on 50 percent of them — along with a host of other types of bacteria.

“That’s more than you find in a supermarket’s restroom,” said Charles Gerba, the lead researcher on the study and a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona. “That’s because they use disinfecting cleaners in the restrooms. Nobody routinely cleans and disinfects shopping carts.”

The study’s results may explain earlier research that found that kids who rode in shopping carts were more likely than others to develop infections caused by bacteria such as salmonella and campylobacter, Gerba said.

Bacteria on shopping carts handles aren’t the only thing you need to worry about when you go to the local supermarket, Gerba added. In other research, he’s found that reusable shopping bags that aren’t regularly washed turn into bacterial swamps. “It’s like wearing the same underwear every day,” Gerba said.

How To Avoid Bacteria on Shopping Carts

So what should we do about the problem of bacteria on shopping carts? Well I know that the bright colors and mostly clean floors in a supermarket as well as the really bright lights seem to give an image of cleanliness – false sense of safety. So here are things that you should do when you are in shopping.

1. Never touch your face – As you are probably aware, anytime that you touch your face you are giving a very easy access for bacteria to enter your body.

2. Know that you hands are dirty – Sure you can’t see the dirt but the bacteria can live a while on your hands so make sure that anything that you touch; keys, kids, shopping cart, car, steering wheel,food boxes, meat. Are all dirty.

3. Keep baby wipes or antibacterial wipes with you – I know that some people will say that these wipes will not kill all bacteria but they still do a great job. We keep these in my wifes purse as well as have them in the car (my wife is a bit of a bacteria paranoid.).

So you can see that even the most common areas of society, a place of shopping is really dirty with unseen bacteria. Keep the above tips handy to help make sure that you stay safer. And remember that bacteria on shopping carts is something that you have to be careful of for yourself.

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