It turns out, drinking a boat load of water the second you feel dehydrated isn’t going to reverse the effects. In fact, chugging water does the opposite. Thank god we’re friends with smart medical professionals like Dr. Kristin Wootton, ND who taught as as much.
“If you drink a large of amount of water in a short amount of time, your body will eliminate most of it as urine due to volume overload, and it can actually slow down the rehydration process,” says Wootton. Well, shoot. We’ve been doing it wrong all these years.
Instead, sip your water slowly. This will give your post-workout bod the time it needs to absorb water back into the muscle tissues. “The general rule of thumb is to drink between 16 and 24 ounces of water for each pound you lost during exercise over a period of one to two hours after exercise,” she says.
If your activity is less than an hour, regular old H20 will do the trick. But anything more than that, Wootton recommends rehydrating with an electrolyte-containing drink. It’s all about retaining and restoring fluid balance, y’all.
“When looking at sports beverage or electrolyte replacement drinks, many of them can contain large amounts of sugar or ingredients like food dyes,” Wootton says. And when you’re on a form of the candida diet like we are, sugar in any form is a big, fat no-no.
But there are healthy alternatives that won’t poison your insides with excessive sugar. “Add foods containing sodium and potassium to your post-run water, and use coconut water as a source of electrolytes. Or make your own electrolyte sports mix,” says Wootton.
Here’s her fav (and oh-so easy to make at home) recipe for a good old fashioned post-run electrolyte replacement. Simple, and delicious.
What you’ll need :
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups filtered Water
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- 1/8 teaspoon unrefined salt (to taste)
Stir above ingredients together, sip, and be merry.
Kristin Wootton is a Naturopathic Doctor. Join her network on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. She WILL make you smarter…and healthier.