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Light headed after running


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If you'd like to prevent it, drink lots of water/Gatorade/Powerade. Even if this wasn't due to dehydration, it will most likely help. You should also notice that you don't get sick as much if you drink lots of fluids, and if you're drinking gatorade/powerade, you will probably notice your times getting better. At least, both of those have always been the case with me in my 400m and 3200m races.

 

The best indicator of dehydration is urine color: if it isn't clear, you're dehydrated. And yes, that means that most of the world is dehydrated, and no, I don't always practice what I preach.

 

The unfortunate side effects of water? None, really, except going to the bathroom.

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The best indicator of dehydration is urine color: if it isn't clear' date=' you're dehydrated. And yes, that means that most of the world is dehydrated, and no, I don't always practice what I preach.

 

The unfortunate side effects of water? None, really, except going to the bathroom.[/quote']

 

Citation for this first claim? Since your second claim is about as far off as you can get, I'm not about to give you benefit of the doubt on the first.

 

There are definitely side effects of too much water. There is a condition called "water intoxication" (hyponatremia) which is caused by excess water depleting the electrolytes in your body (especially sodium, AFAIK)

 

It's not just athletes that are at risk. Here is report of a water intoxication death.

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Citation for this first claim? Since your second claim is about as far off as you can get' date=' I'm not about to give you benefit of the doubt on the first.

 

There are definitely side effects of too much water. There is a condition called "water intoxication" (hyponatremia) which is caused by excess water depleting the electrolytes in your body (especially sodium, AFAIK)

 

It's not just athletes that are at risk. Here is report of a water intoxication death.

 

Citation? About 6 years of first aid training, including areas concerned with dehydration. Even one of the instructors I had in a CPR class expressed this - and he was a medical doctor.

 

And as far as hyponatremia goes, I somehow doubt that the average high school athlete is going to drink enough water to flush his/her body of electyrolytes. Your own article starts with the question "Can too much water harm marathon runners?" Later, it states that "Whether athletes other than marathoners experience this series of events is unclear" and that the majority of the victims of hyponatremia were taking anti-inflammatory drugs. It also says that "These drugs can block the excretion of water from the body." FYI, many marathons will not allow any runners under 18 to compete. And the longest distance at the high school level is 2 miles (3200 meters). A marathon is more than ten times that. Marathons also frequently have more negative effects on runners than just sodium depletion. Some marathon runners also stock up on carbs and water the day before the marathon, which probably contributes to the problem. And as for a citation for that last bit, I have friends who run marathons.

 

Plus, if he/she is drinking powerade or gatorade, he/she is taking in minerals that replenish electrolytes, or whatever the scientific term for it is.

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it still sounds like Hyperventilation to me, perhaps it`s unacustomed excersize? or the guy is a smoker? etc...

 

but it sounds Very symptomatic of over Oxygenation to the blood, and is often accompanied with a pounding headache afterwards :(

 

I`m no medical doctor be sure, but from experience, I`ve found these symptoms to be the case mainly :)

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Citation? About 6 years of first aid training' date=' including areas concerned with dehydration. Even one of the instructors I had in a CPR class expressed this - and he was a medical doctor.

[/quote']

 

That's not a citation.

 

And I stand by my rebuttal of your claim that there are no side effects of too much water other than going to the bathroom. I think that death is a pretty serious side effect. The second link mentions many other conditions that can lead to hyponatremia. The last link wasn't a marathon runner.

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actualy, certain compounds of the Vit B complex will cause urine disscoloration, almost to Flourescent extremes!, high protein foods (esp red meats) will have this effect too.

 

it`s indicative of nothing though, your blood electrolytes may be 100% in ballance and you`ll urinate clear.

they could also be off by a complete football field and show a color :)

 

it really is a BAD indicator on its own, take it into account sure, but it`s only one of a few things to look for in an accurate diagnosis.

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1. I don't smoke/drugs/alcohol (anything bad)

2. I find my self out of breath after the 7th and 8th 200 meters, so I'm not sure if its over-oxygenation

3. My urine is yellow last time i checked, but I drink about 5 bottles of (240ml) water a day... not to mention the juice nor the milk.

 

Another question, does anyone know a good way to breath while running? Like inhaling 3 steps, exhaling 2 steps or etc for both distance, medium and short runs?

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1. I don't smoke/drugs/alcohol (anything bad)

2. I find my self out of breath after the 7th and 8th 200 meters' date=' so I'm not sure if its over-oxygenation

3. My urine is yellow last time i checked, but I drink about 5 bottles of (240ml) water a day... not to mention the juice nor the milk.

 

Another question, does anyone know a good way to breath while running? Like inhaling 3 steps, exhaling 2 steps or etc for both distance, medium and short runs?[/quote']

 

I power walk, but this technique was taught to me by a guy who was in the military and had to run for long distances. You learn to inhale every other time your left foot hits the ground.

 

It's - "Inhale" left-right

........"Exhale" left-right

......."Inhale" left -right.

 

You hyperventilate for about a minute to get your blood oxygenated, then you breathe in that rhythm - in through the nose, out through the mouth. The faster you run, the faster you breathe.

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Swansont: I'd like to say something that I should have said the first time around:

I stand corrected.

 

I was aware that too much water and not enough urination can lead to kidney damage, but I was not aware of hyponatremia. Also, I am aware that that wasn't a citation - it was more of a "this is what an MD told me" than anything else. As for the whole urine color thing... Neither of the two sites you gave said that clear urine was unhealthy. I stand corrected on the clear being well-hydrated part as well as on the other point, but I would think that a lot of people might have a hard time making the distinction between light yellow and yellow. It's quite possible that I was told clear for the sheer simplicity of it.

 

Going further into the sites you posted, these sites were of interest:

http://www.topendsports.com/nutrition/hydration-fluids.htm

http://www.topendsports.com/nutrition/hydration-strategies.htm

http://www.topendsports.com/nutrition/hydration-methods.htm

and especially http://www.topendsports.com/nutrition/hydration-strategies.htm

 

 

While 8-12 glasses of water is great for the average sedentary person' date=' many of us are fitness conscious or on the pursuit of some type of bodybuilding physique. With that in mind, I think the new standard for us should be 1-2 gallons of water a day.

 

As a bodybuilder, you are putting much more nutrients, food, supplements, and other stuff into your body. What your body does not use, it must rid itself of by any means necessary. Usually it does this via water. So drinking plenty of water becomes a necessity. Increasing protein puts a strain on your body and drinking lots of water can keep things "moving." Creatine monohydrate supplementation requires a lot of water. Creatine is all about cell volumization. Making sure your cells are completely hydrated helps with the volumization process. NO2, a hemodilator, requires water. Many other supplements require water as a transport and a flushing method.

 

The side effects of drinking too little water are an excess buildup of certain chemicals. Creatine can leave behind some buildup that overtime, becomes a bit hard to pass. Putting such a strain on the body is also self-defeating. But don't get me wrong, it's not just about Creatine and NO2. It's about making sure you are hydrated.[/quote']

 

And sorry for not clarifying myself in my second post - I meant that there aren't any side effects to proper hydration except going to the bathroom more often. I suppose it could (in theory) be possible to still get hyponatremia with proper hydration and not over-hydration, but I would think that these cases would be pretty extreme - with a proper diet, it shouldn't be an issue. But, here I am just speculating, so if I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

 

On a lighter note, I never knew urine could be green or blue. That kind of amused me. What was somewhat more amusing are the problems this could cause - they put blue dye in the toilet bowl during drug testing to make sure people don't use water from the toilet. Talk about a bad time to pee blue. :)

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...hmm is there a way to induce green or blue urine? :D

 

Green or blue urine is due to the effect of artificial color in food or drug. It may also result from medications including amitriptyline, indomethacin, and doxorubicin.

 

From This site

 

Note that I am in no way endorsing the actions implied by this post.

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I haven't looked at the link, but I'm guessing that they mention methylene blue as an additive? ;) With excess water consumption, the biggest problem you will find is that you cramp up a lot more. The excess of water depletes the potassium ions from your system which leads to more muscle cramping than if you normal infusing your system with water. The hypokalemia is more of a problem than hyponatremia. (Especially if the muscle that's cramping up is your heart). People always seem to think that the more water you drink the better off you are, but I'd say a good analogy to this would be red wine. A glass of red wine every day will provide a lot of medical benefits, but a bottle of red wine each day will cause a great deal of harm to your body. :D

 

The color of urine pretty much just indicates what your body is getting rid of. As I'm sure many have noticed, urine color is darker in the morning as your urine is collecting all of the 'junk' your body is getting rid of over night. During the day, your urine color tends to be a bit lighter than when you first void upon awakening. (Probably this is also because during the day you urinate more often than you do during the night, so the 'junk' can't accumulate in your bladder). For me, urine color is a great way to tell how much I've had to ingest in terms of alcohol. When I go out drinking, I always know when it's time to ease up on the booze when I take a leak and it comes out clear as water. As soon as all the color is gone, it means that I'm at my desired level of intoxication and that it's time to start drinking water instead of booze. As a result, I haven't had a "hangover" in years and always seem to maintain that perfect level of intoxication. :D

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