FLUID AND ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE: A SCIENCE-BASED GUIDE

FLUID AND ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE: A SCIENCE-BASED GUIDE

From the desk of Robb Wolf

Science → Fluid and electrolyte imbalance: A science-based guide

When it comes to hydration, most people don’t think about preventing fluid and electrolyte imbalances. They merely think about drinking enough water.

This message has been drilled into our minds since childhood. To stay healthy, drink an 8 oz glass of water, 8 times per day. The problem is, there never was any science supporting this 8×8 rule. The real origin of this flaky myth is fairly pedestrian, and in fact the science indicates that drinking to thirst is sufficient in most circumstances.

In actuality, drinking too much plain water can dilute blood sodium, sometimes to dangerously low levels. The clearest example of this is the unfortunate marathon runners who experience confusion, light sensitivity, and even seizures at the finish line. These aren’t symptoms of fatigue, or even dehydration – they’re symptoms of overhydration.

Specifically, they’re indicative of exercise-associated hyponatremia. While hyponatremia is an electrolyte imbalance, it’s often treated as dehydration because the symptoms look similar. Yet drinking more water only worsens the condition. This isn’t just affecting elite athletes. Proper hydration can help all of us feel and perform our best, and that means dialing in fluid balance – so let’s start there.

BUY NOW: BUY LMNT MIX for better performance

What Is Fluid Balance?

Fluid balance refers to the distribution of fluids in your blood, organs, and other tissues. Proper fluid balance:

• Keeps your blood flowing smoothly through your blood vessels

• Keeps your brain floating in cerebrospinal fluid

• Keeps your skin moist and supple

• Helps you cool yourself with sweat

• Keeps your eyes lubricated with tears 

Maintaining proper fluid balance is the goal of healthy hydration, not just preventing dehydration. 

In most cases, your body handles mild disruptions like a champ. Even if you’re not thirsty, one extra glass of water won’t kill you. Your brain just suppresses antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and you pee out the excess.

And if you consume too much sodium (especially without liquids), your hypothalamus responds by making you feel thirsty. Then you drink something and fluid balance gets restored.

Let’s talk about what affects fluid balance now. Then you’ll have a better idea of how to stay hydrated.

What Affects Fluid Balance?

Your fluid balance system is designed to keep your body running like a German automobile. Some parts of this system (like water and electrolytes) are under your control, while others are not. I’ll start with the involuntary stuff.

#1: Brain, hormones, and kidneys

Most fluid balancing happens below the threshold of conscious awareness. The main players are:

• Your brain (especially the hypothalamus)

• Hormones (ADH, aldosterone, renin, angiotensin, etc.)

• Your kidneys

Your brain constantly monitors your blood osmolality (blood electrolyte concentration) and blood volume. When these become imbalanced, there are several ways your brain may restore order. It can play with ADH to retain or expel more fluids, play with aldosterone (secreted by the kidneys) to retain or expel more sodium, and trigger thirst. And all of those are just for starters.

The kidneys are the workhorse in this system. They do the dirty work—absorbing and expelling electrolytes and fluids to keep everything in balance.

Most of the time, this system works fine. But kidney failure, heart failure, drugs, illness, and unbalanced water and electrolyte intake are capable of disrupting it.

#2: Water intake

You never see an animal over-hydrating. They only drink when thirsty. That’s because thirst is a simple, effective indication that we need water. It’s incredibly good at preventing dehydration AND overhydration.

Your hypothalamus is the primary organ responsible for managing that thirsty feeling. Unless you have a condition that affects your ability to experience this sensation, I highly recommend listening to it.

Still, many people listen to another part of their brain: the part that’s been repeatedly told well-meaning, nonetheless bogus hydration advice. This part, untethered from physical cues, believes that more water is always better.

But too much plain water overwhelms the fluid balance system, causes sodium levels to plummet, and leads to symptoms we don’t want. That’s why we can’t neglect electrolytes.

#3: Electrolyte status

Drinking water is just one instrument in the fluid balancing symphony. You also have your hypothalamus, your kidneys, and a slew of hormones and electrolytes.

Electrolytes are charged minerals. They conduct electricity to power your nervous system, structure your skeleton, and regulate fluid balance.

Electrolytes (especially sodium and potassium) are part of the feedback loop that reports hydration status to your brain. Your body and brain are also ensuring you have enough electrolytes in the blood.

If you don’t, it’s red alert. Your bones get ransacked to normalize serum levels. That’s why most electrolyte deficiencies—sodium deficiency, potassium deficiency, magnesium deficiency, and calcium deficiency—are correlated with osteoporosis.[*][*][*][*]

When I talk about an electrolyte deficiency, I’m talking about suboptimal dietary intakes of a given electrolyte. Low dietary intakes alone won’t cause a true electrolyte imbalance, but they will increase the risk.

What Is an Electrolyte Imbalance?

An electrolyte imbalance is when blood levels of a given electrolyte get too low or too high. If the imbalance is severe enough, it may require medical attention.

Here are the medical terms for the various electrolyte imbalances:

• Hyponatremia (low serum sodium) and hypernatremia (high serum sodium)

• Hypokalemia (low serum potassium) and hyperkalemia (high serum potassium)

• Hypomagnesemia (low serum magnesium) and hypermagnesemia (high serum magnesium)

• Hypocalcemia (low serum calcium) and hypercalcemia (high serum calcium)

• Hypophosphatemia (low serum phosphate) and hyperphosphatemia (high serum phosphate)

 The main causes of electrolyte imbalance include:

• Overhydration with plain water (dilutes blood sodium levels)

• Vomiting or diarrhea (both deplete potassium levels)

• Heart or kidney failure

• Medications (diuretics, laxatives, and others)

• Excessive alcohol usage

• Refeeding syndrome

• Vitamin D deficiency (can disrupt calcium levels)

You’ll notice that poor electrolyte intake isn’t on the list. Remember: if you don’t consume enough electrolytes, your body will pull them from your skeleton. Serum levels are that critical.

Why I Worry About Hyponatremia 

Of all the electrolyte imbalances, I worry most about hyponatremia. Not only is it dangerous, but it’s a direct consequence of poor hydration habits.

Poor hydration habits are rampant. People drink water beyond the dictates of thirst much more often than you may think. It’s not their fault, of course. We’ve been taught to believe that it’s a wise and healthy practice. But even a few extra glasses of water could be harmful. Even mild hyponatremia can cause fatigue, low energy, malaise, muscle cramps, irritability, and weakness.

Severe hyponatremia is where things truly become scary. Confusion, seizures, brain damage, light sensitivity, brain swelling, and sometimes even death can occur. Many elite athletes have perished from this condition.

Just think how a marathon course is set up. Watering stations every couple of miles. Should we be surprised that about 15% of competitors develop exercise-associated hyponatremia?

The idea is to prevent dehydration (net water loss from the body). But optimizing to prevent dehydration is misguided because: 

• Athletes perform fine in a dehydrated state

• There are no sports-related deaths from dehydration in all the medical literature. (And there are many reported deaths from low serum sodium.)

• Aggressively hydrating with plain water increases the risk of hyponatremia 

Here’s the deal. Humans are meant to become slightly dehydrated when we sweat. It’s biologically normal, and it doesn’t appear to affect performance.

What’s not normal is aggressive fluid replacement. That’s how you cause a fluid and electrolyte imbalance. Let’s talk about preventing them now.

How To Prevent a Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalance

The goal of healthy hydration is to maintain proper fluid balance. How should you go about doing that?

Medical and pharmacological considerations aside, there are just two principles to follow: 

1. Consume adequate fluids

2. Consume adequate electrolytes 

To consume adequate fluids, simply drink to thirst. There are some exceptions (cold weather, altitude, age-related thirst impairment), but drinking to thirst is generally sufficient. 

Consuming adequate electrolytes requires more strategy. Start by eating electrolyte-rich foods for potassium, magnesium, and calcium—then salt those foods liberally for sodium and chloride.

My favorite electrolyte sources are green leafy vegetables like spinach, chard, and kale. You can’t go wrong eating tons of greens.

Yet diet and salt alone may not cut it. If you eat a whole foods diet, low-carb diet, exercise consistently, enjoy the sauna, or all of the above—you’re going to need more sodium. 

Five grams of daily sodium is a good baseline. Go up from there, however, if you’re still having low sodium symptoms like fatigue, headache, or cramps. One to two extra grams can make a huge difference in how you feel and perform—and the cool part is that you can feel the difference almost immediately.

To bump up your sodium, just add salt to your water. If you want a tastier option, add LMNT. It contains 1000 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium, 60 mg magnesium, and zero sugar per stick.

And so if you want to optimize fluid balance, drink electrolyte water to thirst in the context of an electrolyte-rich diet. Your body will appreciate it.

BUY LMNT MIX for better performance

Enjoy the best USA Swimming and swim lessons in Orlando at Blue Dolfins Winter Park, 2529 Cady Way, Winter Park, Florida.

Train and Behave Like a Pro

Train and Behave Like a Pro

by Olivier Leroy

And it’s on the importance of training and behaving like a pro. 

Even though maybe you aren’t a pro (yet).

Why?

Because amateurs do big things in the water by accident.

Amateurs exhaust themselves trying to get inspired. 

Amateurs wait for circumstances to be perfect. 

Amateurs seek validation from others about their abilities. 

Be a pro. 

Pros don’t wait. 

Pros don’t expect things to be perfect. 

Pros don’t sit around waiting to “feel” motivated to do the work. 

And if there is one, overarching reason to strap on that pro mindset, it’s this…

Only a pro mindset eventually delivers pro results. 

So:

• If you’re going to practice today, every meter should drip with focus and your best effort. 

• If you’re hitting the weight room later today, every rep from the dynamic stretches in the warm-up to the 1RM lifts are done with technique cleaner than a freshly chlorinated pool. 

• If you’re face-to-face with a brutal main set this morning, your body language and outlook is all business.

Go get your pro on today. 

See you in the water,

Olivier Leroy

Get Better Hydrated and Better Fueled to Train Harder and for Longer

BETTER HYDRATED + BETTER FUELED = ABILITY TO TRAIN HARDER AND FOR LONGER.

LMNT’S ELECTROLYTE RATIOS EXPLAINED

From the desk of The LMNT Team

Science → LMNT’s electrolyte ratios explained

LMNT contains 1000 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium, 60 mg magnesium, and zero sugar. This bold yet simple formula is based on the latest scientific literature and evidence gathered from coaching tens of thousands of clients.

Finding a solution in plain sight

As a former research biochemist and New York Times bestselling author, LMNT Co-Founder Robb Wolf is well-versed on the intricacies of metabolism, especially in the context of fasting and low-carb diets. And his former coaches spent years assessing and optimizing the diets of their community. This combination unlocked a powerful insight.

When Robb—frustrated with his performance on the jiu jitsu mat—came to his coaches for advice, they knew immediately: he needed to dial in his electrolytes, specifically sodium. And when he took their advice a switch flipped, both on and off the mat.

But he wasn’t alone. Others adhering to otherwise healthy whole foods diets were exhibiting the symptoms of sodium, potassium, and magnesium deficiencies, too. Robb and his former coaches started to tinker with DIY electrolyte drink recipes and share them with their communities. It wasn’t long before people began to realize how much better they felt when they got the right amount of sodium.

The glaring gap in the electrolyte drink market suddenly seemed obvious. Everything in store was either woefully lacking in sodium, contained loads of sugar, or both. Sweat isn’t sweet, so why were all the so-called ‘sports’ drinks? That’s right. Just as important as what we put in LMNT is what we left out: calcium, phosphorus, and public health enemy #1: sugar.

Let’s dive into the clinical evidence behind the LMNT electrolyte ratio, starting with sodium, and then potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and trace minerals.

Sodium in LMNT

Each stick pack of LMNT contains 1,000 mg of sodium. Sodium is an essential mineral—the stuff of life—and many folks need more than they think. There are several reasons for this:

1. To replace heavy sodium losses through sweat. Athletes can lose several grams of sodium when training, particularly in hot, humid climates. We’ve talked to professional athletes’ trainers and they often log up to a 10-gram sodium loss in a hard practice or game.

2. To balance diets lacking in sodium. Processed foods contribute about 70% of US Americans’ sodium intake. When you ditch processed foods in favor of a healthy Paleo or whole foods diet, you significantly reduce your sodium intake.

3. To increase sodium intake on diets which cause rapid sodium loss:

   1. Low-carb diets (especially ketogenic diets) minimize the body’s production of insulin. Consequently, your kidneys excrete sodium at an increased rate.

   2. Fasting minimizes insulin similarly to low-carb diets, causing rapid urinary loss of sodium. In addition, you don’t consume any sodium via food during a fast.

4. To help people reach a baseline of 4–6 grams of sodium per day.

Athletes and folks on low-carb diets may need more sodium, but isn’t salt bad for your heart? The truth is, that’s not nearly as cut and dry as it’s been made out to be. Our 4–6 gram target comes from a 2011 JAMA study which found that 4–6 grams of sodium per day was the sweet spot for minimizing heart attack and stroke risk. To be clear, that’s a starting point. Folks with any of the aforementioned diet and lifestyle factors often need more.

Potassium in LMNT

Each stick pack of LMNT contains 200 mg of potassium, which is ⅕ of LMNT’s sodium content (1 gram). This 5:1 sodium-to-potassium ratio is important – let’s geek out on why now.

The sodium-potassium pump is a life-sustaining protein pump in our neurons’ cell membranes. For every 3 sodium ions it releases, it takes in 2 potassium ions—a process which enables everything from muscle contraction to neuronal firing. To help our pump function optimally, our total sodium and potassium intake should reflect this 3:2 ratio.

Because athletes, low-carbers, and intermittent fasters alike incur greater sodium losses, and because minimally processed foods are naturally low in sodium, sodium tends to be the bigger issue. To account for this, LMNT was intentionally formulated with a 5:1 sodium-to-potassium ratio. It puts us in a better position to hit the 3:2 sodium-potassium pump ratio.

While we could have put more potassium in LMNT, we find it’s ideal to consume potassium mostly through diet. Yes, diets low in carbs are often low in potassium-rich foods like fruit and potatoes, and more potassium is lost through urine on keto. But eating plenty of foods like meat, avocados, spinach, etc. should get even ketogenic dieters most of the way to the sodium-potassium pump ratio (3:2).

Potassium is also an issue for people eating a plant-poor Standard American Diet (SAD). The SAD is why only 3% of Americans reach the Institute of Medicine’s target of 4.7 grams of potassium per day. This target was set in 2005 based on evidence that potassium can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of kidney stones. The evidence is strong, especially for potassium reducing blood pressure.

4.7 grams is a great target to shoot for, but it’s a difficult target for low-carb folks to achieve. We recommend getting between 3.5–5 grams of potassium per day based on the published evidence. When establishing your personal goal, keep in mind factors like your size, sodium intake, activity level, and whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. These and other diet & lifestyle factors all affect your potassium needs.

Magnesium in LMNT

Each stick pack of LMNT contains 60 mg magnesium.

Magnesium is a crucial mineral. It aids in energy production, DNA repair, muscle synthesis, restful sleep, and many other things we care about, yet up to 30% of the population may be deficient in magnesium. This is likely why we see positive effects from magnesium supplementation on sleep, strength, anxiety, and depression.

Anthropological evidence suggests that our ancestors consumed about 600 mg of magnesium per day. Between 400–600 mg seems to be a reasonable target for optimal health, and there’s no downside to shooting for the upper end of that range. Try to get there with magnesium-rich whole foods first, then supplement your shortfall.

Why Don’t We Use Calcium?

LMNT doesn’t contain calcium, in part because many people are already getting the RDA (about a gram) through a whole foods diet.

But we also have concerns about supplemental calcium. Some clinical evidence suggests that calcium supplements increase soft tissue calcification in the arteries, among other places. This may increase heart disease risk. Some speculate that this effect is exacerbated by widespread vitamin D deficiency or could be mitigated by vitamin K2, but further research is required to determine whether or not this combination of nutrients could actually improve cardiovascular health.

We decided to keep LMNT’s formulation both simple and effective. We’re not against calcium, we just encourage folks to get their 1 gram per day through diet. And if, like us, you eat a whole foods, low-carb, ketogenic, or Paleo diet, the chances are you’re already hitting that.

Why Don’t We Use Phosphorus?

It was a no-brainer to skip the phosphorus (also called phosphate) in LMNT. Phosphorus deficiency is extremely rare because phosphate is abundant in the food supply. Most people actually consume too much of it. An excess intake of phosphorus elevates a hormone called PTH, which in turn tells your bones to shed calcium. Not ideal for bone density. Sometimes more is not better.

What About Trace Minerals?

Trace minerals are minerals that are present in small amounts in the human body. Some are essential for proper function, while others scientists remain unsure about.

The main trace minerals are:

• Iron

• Zinc

• Fluoride

• Selenium

• Copper

• Chromium

• Iodine

• Manganese

• Molybdenum

Let’s double click on iodine, a trace mineral that can be difficult to get via diet. Iodine is required for the production of thyroid hormones, crucial chemical messengers that regulate calorie burn, body temperature, muscle contraction, and much more. Iodine deficiency leads to low thyroid hormones, which is problematic for the developing brain. Evidence links iodine deficiency (in both mother and child) to an increased risk of childhood learning disabilities—which is a big reason why table salt is often fortified with iodine.

We don’t include iodine in LMNT—not because we don’t think it’s important—but because we know that not everyone will benefit from iodized salt. For example, calculating iodine intake based on salt intake can make it hard for some to manage thyroid disorders. Also, many people already get plenty of iodine through seafood, and too much iodine can be problematic.

As for the other trace minerals, you’ve probably seen ads touting Himalayan pink salt or sea salt as “mineral-rich.” Simply put, we believe in obtaining micronutrients from nutrient-dense whole foods first and foremost. The minute amounts of trace minerals found in sea salt and pink salt are easily obtainable from other healthy foods. Here’s an article that addresses our choice of salt.

The Electrolytes In LMNT

As you can now likely recall in your sleep, each serving of LMNT contains 1000 mg of sodium, 200 mg of potassium, and 60 mg of magnesium.

This science-backed ratio allows you to get enough of these vital minerals without throwing off your body’s very particular electrolyte balance.

We want healthful hydration to be an easy box to check on your path to health and wellness. Bring a stick pack of LMNT wherever you’re headed, add it to water, and drink to thirst. We also recognize that LMNT isn’t an option for everyone, and that hydration is only one important factor in our well-being. We strongly recommend eating a diet of minimally processed whole foods as a part of holistic health.

With that in mind, let’s end on two practical notes:

1. Please check out this guide to electrolyte-rich foods. Your diet is your starting lineup in the electrolyte game.

2. We offer a full list of homemade electrolyte drink recipes. Just like we did for years, you can make your own electrolyte drink at home.

Stay Salty,

The LMNT Team

ORDER LMNT HYDRATION MIX

$45.00 Excl. tax - Order here —> https://www.winterparkcycles.com/lmnt-hydration-mix.html

USE OUR CODE at payment: BD-LMNT25

25% OFF and FREE shipping. You should receive the next day if ordered before 5pm! Do it NOW! Train better tomorrow!

________________________

Blue Dolfins have been teaching swim lessons, conducting a year-round USA Swimming Club, and competing in national & international competitions for over 50 years in Winter Park and greater Orlando.

Hard Training and Why We Do it

Hard Training and Why We Do it

Great article from former Canadian swimmer, Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Training is meant to prepare you for competition. 

Physically.

Mentally.

To inure yourself to pressure, adversity, and the physical demands of swimming your best exactly when you need it most. 

The approach of making training hard so that competition is “easy” is not novel. It’s something high performers across a variety of fields use to build authentic, legitimate confidence.

Here’s an example.

Been reading an excellent book titled SAS: Rogue Heroes, by Ben Macintyre, that chronicles the formation of Britain’s Special Air Service, an elite commando unit, during the early days of World War 2. Selection and training for this new unit was brutal. Recruits worked their way up to completing 100-mile treks in the baking sand-blown desert in Egypt carrying a full load of water and stones (to simulate the weight of explosives they’d carry for nighttime raids). 

The goal?

"…to instill supreme physical stamina and self-confidence, to make the men so inured to hardship that the reality, when it came, would feel almost easy. 'The confident man will win,' said commanding officer, Lieutenant John Steel 'Jock' Lewes." Lewes, a born leader, didn’t just ask his prospective warriors to do these marches on his own…He first tested the marches himself in the hot desert, pockets full of rocks and stones.

The point?

Make practice so challenging and full of hardship that when it comes to stepping up on the block, you can look down the length of the lane and know that you’ve put in more work and conquered more challenges than the swimmer next to you and the PB in the psych sheet.

Crank up the pressure by racing your teammates, tracking performance, and aiming to beat metrics from distance-per-stroke to average pace.

Use test sets to challenge yourself mid-season and sharpen your competitive mindset.  Set audacious goals in training to expand your mindset of what is possible.  Swim with a mindset that embraces difficult challenges instead of shrinking away from them. 

Chase hardship in training and you will find excellence and an impossible-to-fake confidence on race day.

See you in the pool,

Olivier

___________________________

Blue Dolfins have been teaching swim lessons, conducting a year-round USA Swimming Club, and competing in national & international competitions for over 50 years in Winter Park and greater Orlando.

Blue Dolfins Meet Results Podcast July 22 - Flags

This is a Blue Dolfins results podcast for the Flags Championships in Ocala. Great swims all around by Ian Heysen, Agatha Amaral, Jacob Tindall, Isaac Tindall, Emmy Maguire, Cole Dedekind, Ben Rines, Will Rines, Po Hemmasart, Gavin Mellet, and Karen Hoefler. This team in Winter Park and Greater Orlando is really coming together. Blue Dolfins Swim Team has been the best aquatics program for the Greater Orlando area since 1972. Click below for the Podcast.

Joe Auer · Blue Dolfins Meet Results Podcast July 22 - Flags