Fluid intake and type during the summer

[Opti]

I need some help. I notice during the summer I need to drink more fluids just to hit
the same level of health. I also have issues I don't during the winter of my feet swelling when my fluid intake is too low. Since I'm obviously sweating enough to change my fluid needs should I be drinking something like Gatorade in the summer to help?


I think I'm off by at least 20 oz. during the summer as last night I drank at least 60-64 oz.
and yet I had the effects of having 40 oz. or less during the winter, waking up with cruft in my eyes and my feet still not back to normal. I struggle sometimes to drink enough liquids and even if I have a busy day or am very forgetful in winter I can go as low as 20-24oz. and my feet aren't affected at all.

Help!

[steph08]

If you are outside or doing a lot of physical activity, I would definitely add in something like Gatorade. It sounds like you need some electrolytes and salt to make up for what you are sweating out.

[Artemis Windsong]

I took some training several years ago outside of Las Vegas.  They have a fluid intake schedule. 

Plain water or 1/2 water 1/2 gatorade:

1 quart before bedtime.

1 quart in the morning.

1 cup EVERY hour.

The trainers wanted peeps to take frequent toilet breaks.  Stay in the shade as much as possible.

Not following the hydration schedule caused weakness, tiredness, head aches; and I don't know what else because peeps who didn't follow it had to leave to program
-----------------
I have swelling from the heat.  I continue to use rubbing alcohol.  My new things are ginger capsules and tumeric on my eggs.  I have added a couple of swallows of tonic water after exercises in the heat to stop cramps later in the night.

I hope this helps.  It's a repost but trying to find the original thread from a year ago would be difficult. 

[Opti]

Thanks Artemis. What is the rubbing alcohol for?
Do ginger and tumeric help decrease swelling?

I don't think I need to do quite as much as you describe, but my bare min might be 80 oz.
Optimum 100 oz. and above.  I want to summer somewhere cool.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

I've been getting terrible swelling in my ankles, thanks to the heat - thanx for the tip on rubbing alcohol.

Definitely avoid too much alcohol (highballs/wine, etc) - or carbonated sugary soft-drinks AND caffeine. I've also heard that Gatorade and other "energy" drinks will dehydrate more than they hydrate.

LOTS of water is better. I don't mean drinking gallons in one sitting - but having a glass or bottle of water handy to sip on will help keep you hydrated. Avoid being in the sun for long periods - it will sap you of energy and dry you out too.

[Artemis Windsong]

To reduce ankle swelling, lay on your back with your feet up above your hips. 

I've had water on my ankles/feet so bad from the heat that I sloshed when I walked.  All I could do is wait for it to go down.  About a week.

[Opti]

Wow Artemis, I don't think I've ever had sloshing but maybe I'm not paying enough attention. The scary thing is my feet look like fat clay feet made by a child, the width of my foot goes from B/C to full C into full D width.  The last thing I seem to lose is the cankles.


I spoke to my chiropractor today and we agree that a diet mostly of protein, veggies, fruits, and very little carbs would be best. Its a pricey diet and one I used to follow when I made better money a decade ago and other times in the past. I think I'm going to see if I can come up with good ideas for using canned beans and try to use very little pasta and bread.

Lone, there have been a couple times in my life where I used to do only fruit before Noon/lunch. I like doing that but buying enough fruit is pricier for me than having enough meat or protein. Sadly I don't like bananas except in baked goods and I need to stay away from acid fruit like oranges. I do think the lack of water containing food in my diet is part of the issue. Found a website by some Eurpoean hydration institute and they say food can/should be about 20-30% of you daily water needs.

[Jaguar]

The summer of 2004 was really bad for water retention in my feet and ankles. My Chinese Family doctor taught me to flex my ankles when sitting. What a difference that made after flexing my ankles for 20 minutes. So that's what I do now just flex my ankles when sitting.

[Artemis Windsong]

The rubbing alcohol is rubbed on the swollen affected area.  The green color rubbing alcohol is supposed to be better than the clear.

I use rubbing alcohol to rub down my hands, knees and feet after exercise.

This tip was given to me by a woman in her 70s who plays tennis in the AZ heat.  She also said to stretch the hips, legs and feet as soon as possible.

A cold water foot soak in epsom salts really feels nice in these hot weather.
-----------
I have also gone to the freezer section of the grocery store on hot days to get the water swelling down.  Expect to head to the toilet when it lets loose.

I have a small foot stool I use to elevate my feet or use a step when I am sitting outside.  It's amazing how much fatigue is prevented by elevating the feet a little.  A little foot rest was part of an office ergonomics plan where I worked years ago.
-----------
I heard that bread has more salt than an order of french fries from McDonalds.

[Artemis Windsong]

A friend told me today that she has increased the beans in her diet.  Black beans, gabanso beans, pinto bearns, red beans, navy beans.  She buys the canned then rinses the salt off.

Another friend soaks her dry beans 4 times before cooking to get rid of the gas affect.

Green beans are good for reducing water retention.  The great thing about them is the entire can is about 50 calories.

[Deleted]

 it appears that sitting in front of a computer has a dramatic effect upon how much people drink...

[Deleted]

 I typed that with an arched eyebrow... (is there an arched-eyebrow emoticon?)
 The eyebrow was neither plucked nor penciled, and definitely not waxed.
 Just a natural eyebrow... no tints, additives, dyes, pigments, waxes, paints, weaves, braids or beads.
 An "artistic" acquaintance of mine works as a clerk at a liquor store... he shaves his balding head but grew out his "soul patch" so he could braid in some beadwork. It looks so... silly. One gets the impression that he's desperate for a little attention.(Fortunately, he recently removed the stud from his pierced eyebrow and let the festering wound heal... after a couple of years or so of pretending that he looked "exotic". He didn't look exotic... he looked infected.)

[steph08]

The truth is that soda and other carbonated drinks do dehydrate you. However, not all sports drinks do that. If you have been sweating a lot, you are losing salt and electrolytes along with water. In order to absorb water back into your system, you need to intake salt and electrolytes as well. 

I just ran a marathon in Florida in January and it was 90+ degrees and high humidity. You could drink all the water you wanted but you needed to make sure that your body was absorbing that water properly. Hyponatremia becomes a real risk.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

I've probably doubled my intake of water by doing this. I really think that being dehydrated was the main cause of the arthritis I was having.

I don't know about dehydration causing Arthritis - it's a joint condition (like Rheumatism is). Arthritis causes more swelling in the joints than Rheumatism, but if you're too sedentary, your Arthritis will get worse.

I had Rheumatic Fever as a kid, so I've always had some joint swelling and pain (knees, ankles, knuckles, etc. I also have a mild physical disability due to an injury. If I sit for long periods of time, my ankles will swell like balloons. If I'm sitting at my desk, I try to keep my feet slightly elevated (a small footstool under the desk helps). And I raise my legs and rotate my feet & ankles while I'm sitting to keep them limber and help stop them from stiffening up or swelling too much.

I also get up from my desk (or sofa) and walk around the room for about 5 minutes every hour - sitting for long periods of time will cause the fluids to build up in your ankles and cause them to swell - due to lack of circulation.