Originally published October 3 2005
Study of glycerol ingestion opens up alternative methods of hydration
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In the Journal of Applied Physiology, recent studies under various weather and temperature conditions have indicated that the body retains twice as much fluid when glycerol is ingested as when water is being consumed.
A second USARIEM-generated study found that ingesting glycerol, a sweetish syrup, was an effective hyperhydration agent, causing "nearly twice as much fluid" to be retained after four hours of cold-air exposure (CAE) compared with water ingestion alone.
This extravascular 'reserve' could later be called on during exercise or heat stress, when hydration becomes important to performance and thermoregulation," the paper noted.
"Whether the degree of hyperhydration" in the current study "is sufficient to improve physical performance in the cold or thermoregulation during subsequent body warming due to exercise or heat exposure remains to be demonstrated," the paper noted.
It's well recognized that athletes perform progressively better as the temperature falls from hot to cool.
It is also known that dehydration worsens performance in the heat, but its effect in milder environments is not well understood.
A USARIEM team led by Samuel N. Cheuvront found that dehydration by 3% of body weight had little adverse impact on cycling performance in the cold (36F), but markedly reduced performance in temperate air (68F).
"We induced a 3% body weight loss because that's about how much water the average marathon runner loses," Cheuvront noted.
Another measure they used is called the "zone of indifference," which can indicate not just whether a finding is or is not "statistically significant, but if it's biologically important or meaningful," Cheuvront said.
The "spirit of this approach, most closely related to equivalence testing in the clinical sciences, has recently been championed as a performance interpretation tool for the exercise sciences by Dr. William G. Hopkins," the paper noted.
The recent Institute of Medicine report on water and electrolytes established an Adequate Intake (AI) for water of 3.7 liters/day for a normal adult male, but there is wide variation.
Importantly, that 3.7 liters includes water from food and drink, including beverages like coffee or tea," Cheuvront noted.
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