Mid session hydration

[Edward]

I find it difficult to stay hydrated due to drinking yerba mate most of the morning and kava most of the evening. I did a basic search and came up with quite a few variations of this site...

http://www.food.com/recipe/oral-rehydration-salts-230966

I have no doubt it works, when I had food poisoning one time I added half a teaspoon of salt to a cup of hot ribena in water (ribena is a blackcurrant cordial in case it's a brand name you don't have, I'm sure you probably do).

I have used pre mixed rehydration salts before but they are rather expensive. I have used rehydration salts in water during a kava session and they did seem to prevent me getting as dehydrated as I usually do. I also drink a ginger cordial. I have mixed it with fizzy water but that leads to more bloating. I wonder if some ginger cordial in a cup of hot water with half a teaspoon of salt could be a good idea for sipping between shells? I have powdered ginger too that I could boil up, strain, add sugar and salt to the hot liquid and drink some hot and the rest after it has cooled.

Has anyone else thought about anything like this? Just chugging huge amounts of water never seems to help, you just pee it straight back out again. I'd be interested to hear anyone else's suggestions.

 

[nabanga]

I often drink rehydration salts in the mornings - the sachets are very cheap here - and it does help. But like you say you can just as easily make your own with a bit of salt and sugar/honey dissolved in water or cordial. That ginger recipe sounds good, will have to make some.
I've never drank it during a session though, always in the morning or late night.

 

[Edward]

I often drink rehydration salts in the mornings - the sachets are very cheap here - and it does help. But like you say you can just as easily make your own with a bit of salt and sugar/honey dissolved in water or cordial. That ginger recipe sounds good, will have to make some.
I've never drank it during a session though, always in the morning or late night.

I usually sip water or something else between shells but struggle to get a lot of liquid down. Also if I drink too much liquid between I struggle getting the next shell in. So maybe sipping something more rehydrating and with ginger as well makes sense? I'm going to give it a go tonight.

 

[Summer]

I would be interested in doing this also. Is the idea to drink the whole mixture in a certain time frame or what? It's just sugar/salt water then? Is that what makes it more appealing to drink? Sometimes I think being chronically mildly dehydrated is keeping me from really enjoying the full benefits of kava. I have good intentions of drinking more water but sure enough as soon as I start drinking kava the thought of having water in between kind of falls by the wayside.

 

[NAMBATU]

If they don't know what Ribena is, they won't know what you mean by "cordial" either - it's alcoholic in America.

 

[Edward]

I would be interested in doing this also. Is the idea to drink the whole mixture in a certain time frame or what? It's just sugar/salt water then? Is that what makes it more appealing to drink? Sometimes I think being chronically mildly dehydrated is keeping me from really enjoying the full benefits of kava. I have good intentions of drinking more water but sure enough as soon as I start drinking kava the thought of having water in between kind of falls by the wayside.

I know what you mean. I think just sipping something between shells would be better than nothing. I don't like to "chase" kava with anything because I feel it dilutes the effects in your stomach. If I don't drink anything I can feel the kava working. After about 10 mins or so I usually drink some water or something else so maybe a mix of ginger, sugar and salt would be just the thing?

 

[Edward]

If they don't know what Ribena is, they won't know what you mean by "cordial" either - it's alcoholic in America.

I see. What about blackcurrant squash?

 

[verticity]

I used to drink a similar concoction when I was on a low carbohydrate diet, but without the sugar. I would also add a little bit of salt substitute called "No Salt" which is potassium chloride. Or as a tastier alternative, sometimes I would just dissolve a couple bouillon cubes in some hot water and drink that. The reason I did that is that a low carb diet can cause your electrolytes to be depleted.

The "rehydration salts" are designed to replenish electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc.) that are lost due to exercise, or to losing fluids due to vomiting or diarrhea, or to diuretic drugs (such as kava). However, the salts themselves don't actually re-hydrate you: they just replace missing electrolytes. You still need to drink lots of water, because obviously only water can replace the fluids that are lost. If you are dehydrated, and you just drink 1 cup of "rehydrating salts" (regardless of whether it is a US or UK cup lol), you will not be rehydrated.

So, I think drinking this stuff might help alleviate or prevent some symptoms of dehydration, but it is not a substitute for water, and you should use it in moderation. It probably won't completely stop the diuretic effect of kava. In other words, you will still pee, but the antidiuretic effect of sodium might help you not pee as much.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if your body is too high in electrolytes, it can be bad for you also (it can even be very dangerous). Please remember the lesson from this fictional dystopian hellscape:

 

[verticity]

I see. What about blackcurrant squash?

What I imagine this is:

 

[Edward]

https://www.ribena.co.uk/

 

[Groggy]

Coconut water with Aloe juice is what I always drink. 1 quart per heavy session, lately I drink kava once a day, so hydration is not a problem. I also drink about a liter of Terere almost everyday.

 

[Edward]

Coconut water with Aloe juice is what I always drink. 1 quart per heavy session, lately I drink kava once a day, so hydration is not a problem. I also drink about a liter of Terere almost everyday.

I used to drink a lot of coconut water but these days I find chugging it gives me a dodgy belly.

 

[Zaphod]

I used to drink a similar concoction when I was on a low carbohydrate diet, but without the sugar. I would also add a little bit of salt substitute called "No Salt" which is potassium chloride. Or as a tastier alternative, sometimes I would just dissolve a couple bouillon cubes in some hot water and drink that. The reason I did that is that a low carb diet can cause your electrolytes to be depleted.

The "rehydration salts" are designed to replenish electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc.) that are lost due to exercise, or to losing fluids due to vomiting or diarrhea, or to diuretic drugs (such as kava). However, the salts themselves don't actually re-hydrate you: they just replace missing electrolytes. You still need to drink lots of water, because obviously only water can replace the fluids that are lost. If you are dehydrated, and you just drink 1 cup of "rehydrating salts" (regardless of whether it is a US or UK cup lol), you will not be rehydrated.

So, I think drinking this stuff might help alleviate or prevent some symptoms of dehydration, but it is not a substitute for water, and you should use it in moderation. It probably won't completely stop the diuretic effect of kava. In other words, you will still pee, but the antidiuretic effect of sodium might help you not pee as much.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if your body is too high in electrolytes, it can be bad for you also (it can even be very dangerous). Please remember the lesson from this fictional dystopian hellscape:

The opposite is also true - drinking too much water without electrolytes is also dangerous. Not typically an issue unless you are doing a lot of exercise and drinking a ton but it does happen. Back when I ran marathon distances this was a big deal - and replacement salts were very necessary. Rehydration after some kava - shouldn't need any additional salts based on most people's diets but it can't hurt. The amounts in gatorade or most vitamin waters are more than enough without adding the packets. Those packets are typically for endurance athletes or as you mentioned sickness.

 

[Edward]

The opposite is also true - drinking too much water without electrolytes is also dangerous. Not typically an issue unless you are doing a lot of exercise and drinking a ton but it does happen. Back when I ran marathon distances this was a big deal - and replacement salts were very necessary. Rehydration after some kava - shouldn't need any additional salts based on most people's diets but it can't hurt. The amounts in gatorade or most vitamin waters are more than enough without adding the packets. Those packets are typically for endurance athletes or as you mentioned sickness.

So would you say there is no harm in taking in the extra salts, your body will just excrete them? Bear in mind I drink kava and yerba mate every day, if I just drink water I find myself peeing a lot and can still feel dehydrated sometimes.

 

[verticity]

The opposite is also true - drinking too much water without electrolytes is also dangerous. Not typically an issue unless you are doing a lot of exercise and drinking a ton but it does happen. Back when I ran marathon distances this was a big deal - and replacement salts were very necessary. Rehydration after some kava - shouldn't need any additional salts based on most people's diets but it can't hurt. The amounts in gatorade or most vitamin waters are more than enough without adding the packets. Those packets are typically for endurance athletes or as you mentioned sickness.

Yup. In all cases, the key is moderation.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/

 

[Zaphod]

So would you say there is no harm in taking in the extra salts, your body will just excrete them? Bear in mind I drink kava and yerba mate every day, if I just drink water I find myself peeing a lot and can still feel dehydrated sometimes.

I don't think there is much harm if your drinking a lot - but I have not seen any reason to think that Kava would deplete them from your body either. You sweat them out when doing a ton of exercise so it is necessary to replace them along with the water you lose. Try them in moderation and see how you feel. I tend to drink watered down gatorade (multiple versions) and vitamin water after kava, but that is just because I prefer the taste over plain water. Despite how they are advertised they don't actually help you rehydrate.

 

[Edward]

I thought gatorade (and other sports drinks) had salts and sugars to aid rehydration, that's sort of the point of them?

 

[Zaphod]

I thought gatorade (and other sports drinks) had salts and sugars to aid rehydration, that's sort of the point of them?

They do - and maybe this is just a semantics thing. The water in these drinks (or just plain water) are what rehydrates you. The salts in these and the packets are to replace salts lost due to sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea. The salts themselves don't help in the rehydration process. Gatorade was originally specifically made for athletes who got glycogen and salt depleted after hours of exercise in the hot Florida sun (the Florida Gators hence "gator"ade). For most people moderate exercise doesn't require gatorade or replacement salts and I suspect neither does kava drinking. I drink them because I like the flavor better than plain water, but unless you are drinking upwards of gallon of water the salts are unnecessary.

 

[Deleted User01]

In the old days, the army gave the troops salt tablets to fight dehydration. Later, football coaches did the same ... until they invented gatorade.

 

[Edward]

They do - and maybe this is just a semantics thing. The water in these drinks (or just plain water) are what rehydrates you. The salts in these and the packets are to replace salts lost due to sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea. The salts themselves don't help in the rehydration process. Gatorade was originally specifically made for athletes who got glycogen and salt depleted after hours of exercise in the hot Florida sun (the Florida Gators hence "gator"ade). For most people moderate exercise doesn't require gatorade or replacement salts and I suspect neither does kava drinking. I drink them because I like the flavor better than plain water, but unless you are drinking upwards of gallon of water the salts are unnecessary.

OK, I get it, thanks.