Gulping vs Sipping Water

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icart
Participant

July 7, 2009 at 10:10 pm

Post count: 8

#1498

Blog from the New York Times http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/eating-to-fuel-exercise/?em

The whole piece is good, but this was the part I found most interesting.

Should we keep sipping fluids while we’re exercising?
How we drink can make a difference in how optimally we hydrate our body. A lot of people sip liquids, but gulping is better. Gulps of fluid leave the stomach more rapidly. It’s important to do this. It seems counterintuitive, it seems like gulping would cause a cramp. People are more likely to have stomach cramps sipping because fluid stays in their gut too long.

artwednesday
Participant

July 8, 2009 at 10:05 pm

Post count: 42

#5167

Namaste’ icart,

Interesting article…I keep a cold gallon of water with some ice at the bottom next to me and a few big gulps every so often seems to help me out a lot…here is a link to a discussion of what other hot yogi’s said about water during class…

https://www.hotyogadoctor.com/index.php/site/forum/viewthread/177/

Jeff

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

July 14, 2009 at 3:22 am

Post count: 3048

#5185

Hello icart and Jeff

I wanted to add a little more explanation to this topic because for my liking, the article which had some great and worthy comments didn’t gel for me in when it comes to regular folk (ie those that are not regularly exercising athletes) or hot yogis. Let me explain. And by the way, I AM NOT the definitive expert on this but I wanted to lend my reasoning to this from a physiological perspective and also the hot yoga perspective.

I firstly thought about stomach size. Let’s look at 2 extremes for the sake of illustration. If you are a large eater then your actual stomach size is large. Think about how much training one of those people has to go through in order to FIT 60 hot dogs in for that amusing July 4 hot dog eating contest. Their stomachs have to be very large. Now think about someone who may even be experiencing famine (and you can add to that some dieters). Their stomachs can be tiny.

The person in the competition could chug a HUGE glass of water and it may not touch the sides! And the receptors in the wall of the tiny stomach will definitely register distension when a large volume (or even a smaller volume) of water is drunk.

So the argument put forth in the article will not hold true for the vast majority of people (who are not avid exercisers). What is a gulp anyway? It is less than (or approx) an ounce of water. You may need to swallow quite a bit of water to do what the article suggests.

Now let’s consider what’s in the water. If you drink PURE water then the theory holds true (taking into consideration stomach size). But if you add electrolytes or other additives then this changes the gastric emptying rate.

Now if you are in a marathon this is where you would want to chug down a lot of water. You definitely want to encourage moving that water out of your belly and you may need to take a fair amount. After all the demands on the body are great.

And now for hot yoga?
Can you really take big gulps of water before half moon, backbend, standing head to knee, camel or rabbit? What about just before full locust or floor bow pose? Sometimes the pressures are so uncomfortable that it can make you nauseous.

The rate of gastric emptying is extremely complex. For example, the presence of fat in your small intestine will delay gastric emptying. Maybe it will even prevent fast emptying of the water in your belly. If you have food in your tummy from a recent meal, then the water will mix with the contents, not bypass it. So there are loads of things to think about.

Any comments about your experiences, anyone?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

icart
Participant

July 14, 2009 at 9:26 pm

Post count: 8

#5191

During class, I was thinking about this too. There are really only a few places in the series where I can actually gulp water (gulp for me is swallowing a couple times while water is flowing into my mouth). I only do this with straight H20. The trade off for me is that if I get a couple gulps of water in after we move to the floor, I don’t have to (or feel compelled) to take many little sips to get the equivalent amount of water.

Pamela0414
Participant

July 4, 2010 at 1:48 am

Post count: 58

#7331

I am very careful to only take sips of water during class. I am much more comfortable on the floor if I don’t have the water to deal with. Even though I don’t eat 4 hours before class I still can have GI issues. Floor bow or rabbit could be really uncomfortable with a bunch of water in it. I am pretty sure my stomach doesn’t empty fast. That is why I have to stop eating 4 hours before class.

In this issue everyone is different and I think we all have to find what works for us. Your practice is your own.

Namaste.
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