How to gain more body water?

[InnerAthlete]

Here's an interesting read on Apple pectin.

[Pandara]

IA, thanks for an informative and insightful link.

[InnerAthlete]

A tiny excerpt from said web site:

"Pectin increases viscosity and volume of stool so that it is used to combat both constipation and diarrhea."

[YogaMaster]

I thought this was an interesting article regarding keeping yourself hydrated.

Will I hydrate faster if I drink a mix of apple juice and water? | Outside Online

[yogabond]

Originally Posted by Csilla

someone told me that drink salt water in the morning will help (put a pinch in a glass of water), is that true? would I consume too much sodium by doing that?

I always thought salt dehydrated you.

[YogaMaster]

It is true that a liquid with a high concentration of salt will dehydrate you, and you end up feeling thirstier than before you drank it. This is why you cannot drink ocean water, because the salt concentration is so high, it actually pulls water out of your system. This is the principle of osmosis. The principle basically states that water will naturally flow from a highly concentrated system of water to a system with a low concentration of water across a permeable membrane (like your intestines), so that the concentrations will be evened out.

Just to clarify, if you drink ocean water, you will have a lot of sodium moving through your intestines. This makes for a low concentration of water in your intestines, and so, by osmosis, water (roughly 60% to 70% of your body) will enter your intestines to try to dilute it to equalize the concentrations. In the opposite scenario, when you drink lots of pure water, water will actually move out of your intestines to hydrate your body. This is just a crude example, because body chemistry is actually somewhat complicated because there are lots of other chemicals involved, like the salts and citrus additives others have already mentioned which improve the absorption of water into your system.

So, in the end, it's all about balance, just like yoga. When your body sweats, you lose electrolytes, like salt. In order to stay hydrated, you have to put back the water and the electrolytes that came with it, again like salt.

If you drink a salty solution, you are basically just consuming but your body got rid of at some other point during the day. That's basically what gatorade is. The guys at gatorade analyzed sweat, made synthetic sweat, then they put a bunch of sugar in it to cover up the salty taste, and Eureka!, you have a tasty, expensive, possibly overrated rehydrating solution. That said, I drink gatorade, not exclusively, but I do drink it.

[cyclezen]

Originally Posted by YogaMaster

It is true that a liquid with a high concentration of salt will dehydrate you,... (SNIP)

So, in the end, it's all about balance, just like yoga. When your body sweats, you lose electrolytes, like salt. In order to stay hydrated, you have to put back the water and the electrolytes that came with it, again like salt.

If you drink a salty solution, you are basically just consuming but your body got rid of at some other point during the day. That's basically what gatorade is. The guys at gatorade analyzed sweat, made synthetic sweat, then they put a bunch of sugar in it to cover up the salty taste, and Eureka!, you have a tasty, expensive, possibly overrated rehydrating solution. That said, I drink gatorade, not exclusively, but I do drink it.

Taking this to a level higher, electrolyte balance is more than just a bottle of gatorade or pinch of salt in the am...
Here's a link to a bit more comprehensive roundup of exercise chemistry (as relates to electrolyte balance).
Daily Peloton - Pro Cycling News
Absorption rate is a limiting issue...
and regards to this article, it is reference for very high level athletics and prolly shouldn;t be directly interpreted to most daily lives. But the relational info is still valid.
other important notes there: "*Sodium is listed because it is the electrolyte lost in sweat at the highest rate. Other electrolytes lost include chloride, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.".

And Colgan's theory of "Biochemical Individuality" - very important. Each person has a variable rate of loss and absorption for various electrolytes. And these can be quite high and restricting variables for high performance athletes (and will also affect functions for 'normal' people).

Add the state of the small intestine, and the water and electrolyte absorption can be highly variable.
I.E. - a person goes to a diet of much higher fiber content and doesn't accommodate with proper water intake. The state in the small intestine changes and water actually gets drawn out of the body in great volume, causing a dehydrated state. With reprocussion for electrolyte levels all the way down to the cellular level.
More Fiber is always a good thing, but very few simplistic blurbs on health also mention that one needs to accompany increased fiber with a higher intake of water/fluid (other than coffee, tea or other diuretics).
there's so much more...
re - IA's valid comments about pectin... great stuff, but needs to be considered in rehydration, since it is 'fiber'.

[YogaMaster]

Great link, cyclezen.

I actually did a 150 mile bike ride from Houston to Austin, and all this stuff came into play.

I didn't measure anything out or anything, but I had to replenish my electrolyte loss with with bananas, pretzels and gatorade, and just plain calories with stuff like oreos.

[yogabond]

Have you heard about the hydration effects of coconut milk? I hear it is supposed to be a lot better then Gatorade. I search all over for it though and the only place I have ever seen real pure coconut milk was when I was in Hawaii. Anyone know of good locations to purchase in NYC?

[Pandara]

Hi Yogabond,

When I was in India in 2005 I had a very bad stomach bug losing most of my electrolyte etc. When one of the Indian yogis saw me in my bad state, he went out and bought me a fresh coconut which was cut opened at the top and with a straw I drank the water, afterwards he break it open and scraped the soft fleshy membrane out on the inside and made me eat that as well. By that afternoon I was so much better and after another two coconuts it was amazing - bug, cramps etc gone and I look and felt very well, so perhaps there is much truth in it about the coconut.

In South Africa you get coconut water in cans, but it just doesn't taste the same and I am wondering if they don't remove much of the goodness in the process to can it.