Influence of sodium replacement on fluid ingestion following exercise-induced dehydration

This study investigated the hypothesis that addition of Na+ to a rehydration beverage would stimulate drinking and augment restoration of body water in individuals dehydrated during 90 min of continuous treadmill exercise in the heat. Following a 3.0 +/- 0.2% decrease in body weight (BW), 6 subjects sat in a thermoneutral environment for 30 min to allow body fluid compartments to stabilize. Over the next 3 hr, subjects rehydrated ad libitum using either flavored/artificially sweetened water (H2O-R) or a flavored, 6% sucrose drink containing either 25 (LNa(+)-R) or 50 (HNa(+)-R) mmol/L NaCl. Results demonstrated that rapid removal of the osmotic stimulus, during H2O-R, and the volume-dependent dipsogenic stimuli, during HNa(+)-R, are important factors in limiting fluid intake during rehydration, compared to LNa(+)-R. It was also found that the pattern of fluid replacement and restoration of fluid balance following dehydration is influenced by the dehydration protocol used to induce the loss in total body water and the sodium content of the rehydration beverage.