Drinking Water

Have you ever noticed a tennis player draw a deep breath in the midst of an excitingly poised match?

I have seen it many times. On TV, of course. Here are two situations where this may occur.

The first is before the player throws the ball into the air, smashing it into the opponent’s side of the court, while trying to win an ace.

The second is during the between-match breaks, just before the players dig into their training bags and take a swig of a drink from their bottle.

As a child, I used to often wonder what that bottle actually contained. A magic potion to restore strength? A burst of energy giving fluid? Or only plain water? Were these sportspeople really demigods drinking a secret, heavenly, nectar?

Today, decades later, and hopefully a little wiser, I harbour no illusions of any such magic potion. I know that these sports drinks, generally speaking, contain a mixture of:

•   water

•   sugar in some form

•   electrolytes

Let us look at each one of these three components: water, sugar, and electrolytes.

Water is by far the most important nutrient in our body, constituting about 60% of the average human body. We cannot live without water. Sweaty, exhausted athletes like tennis players need it even more badly than ordinary people like me.

Sugar in some form is important too, as it is major source of energy, especially for performing athletes. Obviously, too much sugar is not good for health in people with Diabetes as their glucose levels spike.

The third constituent of our tennis players sports drink is the electrolyte. What are electrolytes? They are positively or negatively charged minerals, which, by virtue of their electric charge help in body functions such as maintaining the body’s pH, adjusting the water balance, bone health, cardiac function, and muscle contraction. In other words, they are essential to the body’s function. Important electrolytes include sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, and bicarbonates.

As any health care specialist will tell you, drinking water is good, but you need to watch the electrolyte intake too, so that your water levels are adequately balanced. Indeed, sodium and glucose are important for water absorption. Water enters the blood from the intestine via osmosis, along with solutes such as sodium and glucose. While drinking enormous amounts of water without solutes can increase water levels in the body, they will disrupt the concentration of solutes such as sodium. The body then corrects the situation by simply excreting the excess water out via the urine. However extreme water intake or illnesses may make this correction difficult. Hence adequate solute intake is important when you consume water, obviously as per your doctor’s advice.

This then brings forth 2 questions: firstly, is it important to keep drinking water and secondly- are these electrolyte-rich commercially available hydrating drinks essential?

The answer to the first question is - yes, it is important to drink enough water as guided by your thirst. Moreover, most of the fresh foods that we take such as fruits and vegetables are largely made up of water and rich in solutes such as minerals. So, in a nutshell: eat healthy and drink water according to your thirst. Including the water in your food intake, you should be ideally taking about 2.7-3.7 litres of water per day.

And as for the second question, that of whether commercial sports drinks are essential, the answer is a NO. In every home kitchen lies the recipe a hydrating drink. If you feel tired after a workout, a little bit of sugar, lemon juice, some salt, and all of this stirred in a glass of plain water will give you a sports drink as good as any in the market.

There are exceptions of course. Ultra- athletic individuals and marathoners may need specialised hydration drinks. People with Diabetes may require more special care with regard to their mineral, carbohydrate and fluid intake, as plain sugar in excess can cause blood glucose spikes. And as doctors will tell you, in heart failure and kidney disease which are common complications of Diabetes, water intake has to be restricted, and one must be watchful.

But even in special situations as well as for the general population, adequate water intake is crucial. Dehydration is an uncomfortable condition caused by the lack of water. Dehydration leads to cramps, dry mouth and may even lead to kidney damage. Dehydration can be prevented by drinking water.

In this issue of Diabetes Health, we guide you through the nuances of water intake and how to improve it for better health, especially if you have Diabetes

Wishing you all a Happy 2025!

Dr Unnikrishnan AG

Editor