The Science of Sweat Testing and Personalized Hydration Ep 57

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Hello and welcome back to the Find Your Edge podcast. I am your host, Christina Fiumara Newport. And before we get started, I am excited to announce our very own 30-day fueling and hydration bootcamp. Registration just opened and only goes until August 7th. So you're gonna wanna jump on this super quick. If you're an endurance athlete who is struggling with your nutrition and hydration for both training and racing with things like cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or just simply not knowing how to fuel yourself properly for an upcoming endurance event like Ironman, marathon, half marathon, or even Olympic distance triathlon, triathlon, let me just tell you, it does not have to be that way. The Fueling and Hydration Bootcamp is the most complete way to help you fuel and hydrate properly for your best performance. As an athlete, exercise physiologist, and performance nutritionist, I have spent decades, you guys, refining this process and helping hundreds of athletes just like you. And now I'm excited to share this brand new process with you so you get the science, the strategies, and the secrets packaged all into this little Fueling bootcamp. Check it out at theenduranceedge.com/bootcamp. Fueling Bootcamp. So let's jump into today's topic, which is all about sweat testing. So first of all, what is it? And this is a very valid question. I get this question all the time from people who work with us. They say, well, aren't I just testing my sweat when I weigh myself before and after my workout? Yes, that is part of the process. But what makes sweat testing unique is that you are actually measuring your electrolytes that you lose during exercise. This cannot be done without actually sweating, without actually exercising. The results are just not valid. So otherwise it's pretty simple. The actual process of sweat testing is pretty simple. We've got a home sweat testing version as well as the version that you can do actually with you in our office. But basically you're taking a couple of pieces of Band-Aids and gauze, as I'm very simplifying this process, You go out, you do a workout at your self-selected pace and mode of exercise, but typically most people are running or cycling, and then you send us back your sweat sample and we test it for those electrolytes. So why does that matter? There are a couple of different electrolytes that you lose during exercise that are important to the actual functioning of muscle. The most important one is sodium. So sodium is a necessary nutrient involved in the maintenance of normal cellular homeostasis. So obviously we don't want ourselves to to be off balance. And again, as it relates to exercise, it's important in the regulation of that fluid and electrolyte balance and specifically blood pressure. The other nutrients that are important but don't play quite as big of a role but still do play a role are potassium and chloride and magnesium. There's some other things that are lost, but they're not quite as meaningful as sodium in particular. So why does this matter? Well, first and foremost, your health and safety is of the utmost important. And one of the most common things that happens with athletes, specifically endurance athletes, is gonna be dehydration. That of course is gonna be one of the biggest issues. And then of course that can lead to other issues specifically in the heat, which, hello, welcome to summer as it is right now. We also want you to do as well as you possibly can, so performance, right? Especially in relation to preventing cramps, dehydration, and GI distress. So electrolytes are really critical on all of those pieces. But something that a lot of people don't really realize about electrolytes is that actually, and this is, uh, again, not only anecdotal evidence that I've, after having worked with athletes for many decades now, but also actually in the research, is that having the right amount of electrolytes during exercise and afterwards too Aids in recovery. And I don't know about you, I've certainly experienced this myself, but have you had that sort of like post-workout, just, ugh, like just not feeling great? Or maybe you have a headache or maybe you've got some dizziness that can all be related to your electrolyte losses. Your sweat is like your fingerprint. We've had athletes of the hundreds of people that we've tested with sweat testing lose as little as 215 milligrams of sodium per hour. Up to well over 5,000 milligrams of sodium per hour. That is a drastic difference. So if we're just sort of guessing about what we need in terms of, you know, electrolyte pills or sports drinks, et cetera, that's okay cuz everybody has to start somewhere. But if you're somebody who really sweats in large quantities, or if you notice that you're having a lot of issues with, again, GI distress or cramping, or you're out there for very long periods of time, like ultra running, Ironman, or you're in very, very hot conditions, or if you're going really, really fast too. Like the Olympic triathlon was just this week. Of course I am, if anybody knows me, I am thoroughly obsessed with the Olympics, uh, and obviously triathlon, but it's, you know, it's not cool out. So that is part of the factor that plays into your performance as well as your health and safety. So knowing that information about your sweat specifically is really critical in creating your personalized fueling and hydration plan. When I look at the research and when I've been working with athletes, it is so hard to adjust for all of these potential factors that play into performance, which is why it just goes to show that we are all incredibly unique. And quite a few people will get out there and they'll try a particular product, you know, an electrolyte beverage or a sports drink or something along those lines, and they'll be just fine. But then there are of course those of us who really struggle and knowing this information is really key about yourself. Now here's the cool part about sweat testing. You should only have to get tested once. So I will say that again, you should only have to get tested once because again, your sweat is kind of like your fingerprint. So the amount of electrolytes that you lose in your sweat should not vary other than when you may be acclimating. And then of course, once you do acclimate, then you're good to go. So if you really want to know about your own particular sweat and hydrate according to your own unique needs and learn the science behind hydration, then I definitely encourage you to do sweat testing. And you're in luck because sweat testing is part of this 30-day fueling and hydration bootcamp that we are starting in August. So check it out, theenduranceedge.com/fuelingbootcamp. We have incredibly limited spaces available and registration only goes until August 7th. Thank you so much for listening.

Listening.

We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Find Your Edge podcast. If you like what you heard, don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And if you're interested in learning more about our endurance coaching, sports and wellness nutrition, metabolic and sweat testing, triathlon training team, or our triathlon training library, be sure to check us out at theenduranceedge.com. And don't forget to follow us on social media at The Endurance Edge. Thanks again, and we'll catch you next time.