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Prevent dehydration during your ski trips

Prevent dehydration during your ski trips

Ski trips and dehydration may seem like an unusual combination, considering that people often associate dryness with arid summer days. But on the contrary, you are twice as likely to become dehydrated during the unforgiving winter months.

During cold weather or at higher altitudes, the air becomes drier. As our bodies have to work twice as hard to moisten and warm the air we breathe, our need to drink also increases.

Therefore, experts advise that you should never skip hydration breaks during your ski vacation.

So how do you stay hydrated on your ski getaway, especially if you’re spending your vacation at a higher altitude? Here are some tips:

Drink plenty of water. It is an obvious way to hydrate. Drinking more than 4 liters of water a day can help replenish fluids you have lost while sweating in the gym or on the slopes. If drinking cold water in winter isn’t too appealing to you, then drink, keep your water bottle out of the refrigerator, or warm it up a bit.

TIP: Is running water too heavy? Prepare spa water. Add slices of a lemon, an orange and a half cucumber, and some mint leaves to a jug of water and let it steep overnight.

Eat foods rich in potassium. Potassium helps keep water in your cells, thus protecting you against the harmful effects of dehydration. Winter squash, prunes, and sweet potatoes are just a few of the potassium-rich foods you can enjoy during the winter.

Take it easy with your sodium intake. Sodium does the exact opposite of what potassium does in cells: draw water out of them. That is why it is important to minimize the consumption of foods rich in sodium, such as potato chips. To control your sodium intake, choose to cook your food from scratch (as long as the chalet you are staying in during your ski trip has a kitchen) rather than opting for packaged meals. You will be surprised how much sodium is in a prepared pepperoni pizza.

Avoid or reduce alcohol consumption. That cool feeling you get after drinking a chilled bottle of beer after a long run is only temporary. Alcohol interferes with our body’s function to reabsorb water, prompting you to urinate more.

As a result, you lose more fluids than you gain when you drink alcohol.

More than just keeping thirst at bay, hydrating during your ski trips can help prevent the health consequences that dehydration brings: hypothermia, altitude sickness, and frostbite.

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