Athletic Suppliments, yay or nay?

[theczar]

Also, you said you are eating unsalted peanuts, which is good. You need a little fat in the diet for your joints, but you also need plenty of salt, depending on where you live. I live in Arkansas, and the heat is ok as long as you stay hydrated, but as an athlete we shouldnt be afraid of a little sodium in our diets for water retention. If we cut out sodium, we wont sweat as much, which is a big problem. I think salted peanuts and a few other salty snacks a few times a week might actually benefit a high-sweating athlete.

From what I understand, high sodium can be just as bad as low sodium. Like you said, higher intakes of sodium are needed in hot and humid weather where you'd sweat alot. But also, pretty much everything that is prepackaged contains higher ammounts of sodium for preservation, including the deli meat I eat every day for lunch. I do however drink plently of Gatoraide (balanced with water tho. I try to drink less gatoraide than then I do water, but I drink alot of fluids anyway) which has sodium as well as other "good" stuff like potassium. The sugar in gatoraide isn't the best for you, which is why I try to balance it with plenty of water. Or am I wrong on that....?




anyway thanks for all of you guys' input. Also if there is any other suppliments or diet plans or other specific stuff that you swear by, I think it would be beneficial to everyone if you tell us what you use, why you use it, and why it is good for you.

[vault3rb0y]

Gatorade might as well be sweat and energy- it has the glucose you need for 1 hour+ workouts, and the water+sodium needed for sweat.

As for balancing your salt, i would say the RDA of 2000mg is good. In comparison, the average american gets 4500mg of sodium a day!! The thing is, training wise, sodium isnt going to be a huge limiting or helping factor. If you are within 1000mg of what you need per day, you probably wont see any difference than if you pegged it at 2000mg/day, simply because you are trying to do everything else nutritionally right. Its the americans that eat fast food every day and get 4500+mg of salt and tons of cholesterol a day, then consider nintendo wii their physical activity, that will have problems.

It sounds to me like you are on the right track! Just remember that the more you lift and run, the more you need to eat. A lot of athletes go into calorie deficit when increasing their training quickly, because they have big meals each day but its not enough. Try to find out how many calories, appoximately, you might burn per workout and per day. Then just eat accordingly. You will be suprised at how much you actually have to eat (if you are eating the right things) to get 4000+ calories a day. If you are following a balanced diet it takes a while for your metabolism to get used to it, but you might be past that stage already, i dont know. Personally i love quiznos prime rib subs, or any kind of subs with lots of meat, after a workout. Great source of carbs, protien, and some veggies. Dont be afraid to have it with mayo or mustard either, because its part of a balanced diet. But drink it with milk or juice and have it with pasta salad or potatoe salad and soup..... MMM!!!! Maybe im just wierd, but thats my favorite after-workout meal .

[rainbowgirl28]

I do however drink plently of Gatoraide (balanced with water tho. I try to drink less gatoraide than then I do water, but I drink alot of fluids anyway) which has sodium as well as other "good" stuff like potassium. The sugar in gatoraide isn't the best for you, which is why I try to balance it with plenty of water. Or am I wrong on that....?

Gatorade is pretty sugary, it sounds like you are on the right track. You have to look at how it fits into your overall nutrition and workout scheme. You could always go 50/50 with Gatorade and water.

[big10jumper]

I have the answer for you. SMART WATER. What it is is distilled water with electrolytes. The distilled water attaches to the toxins to filter out of your body but the electrolytes replenish. It also has calcium, magnesium, and potassium and it all comes without the calories and the sugar. Also, in my men's health it talked about a new product accelerade whcih has protein in it and they said that is key when working out. So I would look for those. Gatorade can spike your sugar levels and make you crash when you don't want to...plus it has high fructose corn syrup which is aweful for you.

[achtungpv]

Gatorade contains nearly as much sugar as regular Coke but you will probably consume more sugar since most people chug Gatorade like it's water. A study published last year showed Gatorade will rot your teeth faster than Coke. One more reason to avoid it.

[rainbowgirl28]

The distilled water attaches to the toxins to filter out of your body but the electrolytes replenish

That sounds like some marketing BS right there.

[vault3rb0y]

Like i said earlier, sugar is only as good as the company it carries. The sugar in gatorade is tested and engineered to be exactly the kind of calories you need for physical activity, with all the right nutrients and such that you need. granted, it has 35g of carbs and 35g of sugar, but thats what you need to not lose energy 1 hour+ into a workout. The only problem with that much sugar, or energy, is that without enough water with it, some people get an upset stomach. I think powerade makes a less sugar-packed one, or you can just water down the gatorade.

The easiest thing to do, though, and this is what my dad and I do before a workout, is eat a banana 15-30min before a workout and then just drink water. You dont need the gatorade, but you do want that immediate energy circulationg in your blood stream. Ive seen other athletes at NIN eating bananas after warm ups, just to keep that energy there when you might need it late into the meet.

[vault3rb0y]

I have the answer for you. SMART WATER. What it is is distilled water with electrolytes. The distilled water attaches to the toxins to filter out of your body but the electrolytes replenish. It also has calcium, magnesium, and potassium and it all comes without the calories and the sugar. Also, in my men's health it talked about a new product accelerade whcih has protein in it and they said that is key when working out. So I would look for those. Gatorade can spike your sugar levels and make you crash when you don't want to...plus it has high fructose corn syrup which is aweful for you.

you do realize that "electrolytes" are sugar, salt, potassium, and a few others right? And that distilled water has no more ability to "attach" to toxins than normal water?

And it doesnt have calories, but it has electrolytes? I dont understand, since electrolytes are usable energy, by definition they are calories in your bloodstream. And how is protien the "key" when working out? Im just curious, since protien rebuilds muscle, how does it help when you are working out more than sugars and carbs? Gatorade will spike your sugar levels if you arent doing anything when you take it, but if you burn that energy then your body wont overproduce insulin which is what causes the crash, usually 1 hour after you take it. And high fructose corn syrup is only as bad as the company it carries, and its not fair to say that just ONE thing isnt good for you. It IS good for you when taken with the right combination of other nutrients, but when you have 30g of pure sugar, not complex carbs, with nothing else but carbonated water with it, sure its pretty bad for you.

[jumpbackin]

by definition they are calories in your bloodstream.

I don't mean to pick on you, Vault3r, but by definition they are compounds that separate in water and carry a charge. For instance salt in water dissociates into Na+ and Cl-. I'm pretty sure some sugars, and certainly some proteins meet this definition. I think when athletes nd nutritionist talk of electrolytes they aren't really talking about the caloric electrolytes that meet the definition. They are talking about the mineral electrolyts like Sodium, Chloride, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, maybe a couple others.

[vault3rb0y]

Oh ok, better to have the knowledge than not, thanks! I just always associated electrolytes with the charge given my sugars, but you are right.

[jumpbackin]

I'll make an attempt to be usefull on this topic rather than just correct other posters (who arn't even out of high school yet! I'm real tough:)).

Some of you may wonder how to maintain a balance of electrolytes. If you're eating a healthy, well balanced diet with lots of fruit, vegetables and quality protein (hotdogs, Big Macs and soy aren't quality) and you are drinking lots of water, which you should be doing. About the only thing you might need to do in addition is to add a small pinch of Sea Salt to your drinking water. If you are getting lots of salt in your diet by eating salted peanuts, or whatever, you won't even need to do that.

[theczar]

About the only thing you might need to do in addition is to add a small pinch of Sea Salt to your drinking water. If you are getting lots of salt in your diet by eating salted peanuts, or whatever, you won't even need to do that.

I've heard alot of hype about sea salt as opposed to "table" salt, and I'm not even sure I know the difference in the two. Why is sea salt better?