The Electrolyte Myth

As the Old Man Winter finally settles into its long solstice slumber, and the temperature and humidity have begun to rise, I've already started to hear runners and cyclist talking about how many electrolytes they need to consume per hour in order to not only prevent cramping, but to continue exercising at a high level of performance.

However, as is so often the case, it appears the belief that endurance athletes need to replenish electrolytes is a bit exaggerated.

Electrolytes are sodium ions and they make up the bulk of the “salty” non-water part of your sweat. Potassium is also excreted in sweat, but electrolytes are lost 10 times faster than potassium.

While electrolytes are lost when you sweat, sweating actually increases the concentration of electrolytes in your body. This is because when you sweat, you are excreting more water than electrolytes. Just as you don’t loose potassium and electrolytes at the same rate, you don’t loose water and electrolytes at the same rate. The result is, as you become dehydrated – meaning you have less water in your blood – the sodium to water ratio also changes, causing a higher concentration of sodium.

In fact, some research shows that even after exhaustive exercise, the amount of sodium lost is quite small. This was supported by double blind placebo test, which demonstrated that people who consume sodium-free (electrolyte-free) sports drinks performed at the same levels as those who received sports drinks with added sodium.

Furthermore, there is evidence that even electrolyte-added sports drinks cannot prevent a drop in blood sodium levels, because the drinks hydrate you more than they replace electrolytes. Again changing the sodium - water ratio in your body.

However, that doesn’t mean that sports drinks are completely worthless. Drinks like Gatorade have the simple sugars needed to help replenish the carbohydrates burned by the body during long periods of exercise as well as the water needed to help stave off dehydration. In a study performed at the University of Texas in Austin, they found that male athletes experienced a 6 percent improvement in sprinting (on a bike) when they consumed enough water to remain properly hydrated when compared to a group which drank water, but didn’t consume enough water to stave off  dehydration. This shouldn't be all that surprising... dehydration hurts performance. 

The final word: adding electrolytes does not appear to be needed, especially for performances that are less than 2 hours in duration. However learning to properly fuel your body is still an important and necessary skill, particularly when exercising in the heat. Experiment and find out what works for you. Even if the research doesn't support it, placebos can have a strong performance enhancing ability. Now go get outside!  

Brazier, Brendan, Thrive Fitness; The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness. Da Capo Press, 2009.

Burke, L. M.; et al., “Carbohydrates for training and competition.” Journal of Sports Sciences 2011, 29 (sup1), S17-S27.

Coyle, E. F., “Fluid and fuel intake during exercise.” Journal of Sports Sciences 2004, 22 (1), 39-55.

Gisolfi, C.; et. al. “Intestinal fluid absorption during exercise: role of sport drink osmolality and [Na+].” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2001, 33 (6), 907-915.

Larson-Meyer, D. Enette, Vegetarian Sports Nutrition: Food Choices and Eating Plans for Fitness and Performance. Human Kinetics, 2007.

(Note Runner'sConnect also has an article on electrolyte consumption, and they were kind enough to point me to some of the articles they consulted.) 

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

Vegan Doping: Forget Carbo-Loading, Lets Talk Nitrate Loading

By now, I assume you’ve all heard about Lance Armstrong who was recharged with doping last week and is currently suspended from all athletic events including Ironman and is threatened with having his seven Tour De France victories stripped (Armstrong qualified earlier in the season for the Ironman World Championship in Kona.) Rather than going into a rant about if I think he did it or not, the ethics behind doping, how this helps or hurts the sport, or any of the other mumbo-jumbo that is currently trending, I’d rather offer an alternative to people looking to get that extra little push from their training that is not only legal but is also incredibly healthy.

(Side note: Regardless of what he did nearly a decade ago, his performances in recent Ironman competitions have been stunning, and Armstrong credits his new experiments with plant-based veganism for much of his recent ability.) 

Several new studies over the past few years have found that a diet high in beets can actually do amazing things for athletes, including drastically improving performance. In the past I’ve written about how plant-based diets can lower inflammation allowing an increase in training, as well as increased energy and stamina all while decreasing your risk of many lethal diseases. But the power of beets seem to leave even these attributes in the dust.

In 2009 a study found that beet juice has the ability to dramatically lower the muscles need for oxygen. The reason athletes train is to strengthen their heart and lungs. As this happens the body becomes more efficient, delivering more oxygen throughout their system allowing their muscles to perform more work. However, no matter how good of an athlete a person is, once the oxygen reaches the muscles, it does the same amount of work. Superior athletes only advantage is the ability to pump more oxygen to their muscles more quickly and efficiently. This can be compared to a car. A sports car and a normal sedan both use fuel exactly the same, however the sports car will be fast simply because it has a stronger engine which can use the fuel more effectively. However the fuel is doing the same amount of work in both the sports car and the sedan.

At least that is what traditional sports science always told us.

A new study took eight cyclists and measured their oxygen levels while cycling on an indoor trainer. They did the test at several times, including before and after taking placebos, as well as after having consumed two glasses of beet juice for several days. After drinking beet juice for a few days in a row, the cyclists were able to perform the same amount of work with 19% less oxygen. When they were cycling at full pace to exhaustion, they were able to increase their endurance to fatigue by an astounding 16%.

It is worth mentioning that before this experiment, there was no known food, drug, or steroid that could actually increase energy extraction from oxygen.  However, it appears that beet juice made their bodies significantly more efficient.

Why Beets? Well, besides being packed with macro, micro, and phyto-nutrients, beets offer one of the most concentrated sources of nitrates. When compared to berry juice (also packed with goodness, absent the nitrate) performance after beet consumption improved while the berry juice did nothing to affect normal performance. 

This is where it gets a bit complex, so hold on to your hats. After consumption, nitrate is absorbed in our stomachs and then actively pumped back into out mouth through our salivary glands. This is done because our body knows we have special bacteria living on our tongues which takes the nitrates and converts them into nitrites which are then re-swallowed, re-absorbed and finally sent off to the cells in our muscles. Here the nitrites are converted yet again into nitrate-oxide. This nitrate-oxide then helps take the place of oxygen in the muscles, therefore requiring less oxygen to perform more work. Because the nitrate needs to be absorbed by bacteria on the tongue using antiseptic mouthwash or excessive spitting after absorbing the nitrates was found to cancel the benefits.

So if you are preparing for marathon season, have a big cycling event or racing in a triathlon, instead of worrying about carbo-loading before your race, perhaps you should consider a diet high in nitrates, including beets, and dark leafy-greens such as kale, collards and arugula. But be warned, while nitrates found naturally in fruits and vegetables can increase performance, the nitrates added to cure meat (think bacon and hotdogs) are actually highly potent carcinogens that are linked to all types of cancers. This is because instead of turning into nitrate-oxide as they do when nitrates are ingested from beets and dark greens, they convert into nitrosamines. As it turns out, this is because meat is void of vitamin C, which blocks the conversion of nitrates to nitrosamines. As such, the nitrates found in bacon and hotdogs convert into the harmful nitrosamines during the processing stage, making all cured meats harmful regardless of what they are eaten with; while veggies continue to have beneficial affects. As such, perhaps you should consider trading your next BLT for an arugula and beet salad or simply add those ingredients to your smoothies!

(my favorite way to add beets to my diet is by peeling and shredding them)

Besides running a bit faster and a bit longer, beets have other advantages that make them beneficial to everyone’s diet. According to Dr. Mikhail Tombak, a scientist and longevity expert, beets have also been shown to that improve “blood structure and cure diseases of the circulatory system, large intestine, and digestive system." Tombak also says beet juice helps dissolve liver, kidney and bladder stones.

 So what is the take from all of this? Well, athletes will see their performance improve if they ingest a large amount of nitrite-rich foods before they race. Perhaps I am bit of quixotic but I’d like to think Lance was simply benefitting from the power of the beet.

Dr. Greger of NutritionFacts.org has nearly an hour of video lectures on the topic.

These were the most relevant sources considered:
Schorah CJ, Sobala GM, Sanderson M, Collis N, Primrose JN. Gastric juice ascorbic acid: effects of disease and implications for gastric carcinogenesis. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991 Jan;53(1 Suppl):287S-293S.

Webb AJ, Patel N, Loukogeorgakis S, Okorie M, Aboud Z, Misra S, Rashid R, Miall P, Deanfield J, Benjamin N, MacAllister R, Hobbs AJ, Ahluwalia A. Acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bioconversion to nitrite. Hypertension. 2008 Mar;51(3):784-90. Epub 2008 Feb 4.

Eaton SB, Eaton SB 3rd. Paleolithic vs. modern diets--selected pathophysiological implications. Eur J Nutr. 2000 Apr;39(2):67-70.

Vermeer IT, Moonen EJ, Dallinga JW, Kleinjans JC, van Maanen JM. Effect of ascorbic acid and green tea on endogenous formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitrosopiperidine in humans. Mutat Res. 1999 Jul 16;428(1-2):353-61.

Liu CY, Hsu YH, Wu MT, Pan PC, Ho CK, Su L, Xu X, Li Y, Christiani DC; Kaohsiung Leukemia Research Group. Cured meat, vegetables, and bean-curd foods in relation to childhood acute leukemia risk: a population based case-control study. BMC Cancer. 2009 Jan 13;9:15.

Crinnion WJ. Organic foods contain higher levels of certain nutrients, lower levels of pesticides, and may provide health benefits for the consumer. Altern Med Rev. 2010 Apr;15(1):4-12.