A new study has suggested that hikers, football players, endurance athletes and elite and recreational exercisers can avoid water intoxication by drinking only when thirsty during exercise. The study appears in Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine.
As per the updated consensus statement on exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH), using the innate thirst mechanism to guide fluid consumption is a strategy that should limit drinking in excess and developing hyponatremia (low blood sodium) while providing sufficient fluid to prevent excessive dehydration. The updated statement emphasizes a more balanced approach to hydration, especially during the summer months.
Hew-Butler added that the release of these recommendations is particularly timely, just before sports training camps and marathon training begins within the United States, where the majority of EAH deaths have occurred.
Exercise-associated hyponatremia, sometimes called 'water intoxication,' refers to reductions in the body's sodium level occurring during or up to 24 hours after physical activity. Over-hydrating has already killed 14 athletes, yet dehydration risks are easily curbed, the experts say.
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