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I have a race on Sunday and in addition to eating properly and hydrating will there be any benefit to increasing my intake of electrolytes during the week prior to the race? ie...gatorade, smart water, electrolyte tabs?

I believe humans cannot store water or electrolytes. I did find an article, written by a physician, recommending a salty diet starting several days before a race. His reasoning being: to be certain that the runner is not starting the race hyponatremic (low sodium level). Serious medical problems can result from hyponatremia.

* Don't drink more water than you sweat--compulsive water drinkers can start a race with a low sodium level (hyponatremia).

* When sweating a lot, choose sport drinks (that contain some sodium) over water (which has none).

* Don't overhydrate in the days before the race. You can't stock up on fluids like a camel.

* Eat a relatively salty diet in the days before the race.

* Eat some pretzels in the last half of the race.

"Running FitNews" Editorial Board Member, Randy Eichner, M.D., Oklahoma City, OK

stringman saidI have a race on Sunday and in addition to eating properly and hydrating will there be any benefit to increasing my intake of electrolytes during the week prior to the race? ie...gatorade, smart water, electrolyte tabs?

As FirstKnight states, you cannot store significant water & electrolytes per se, like some other animals can. At the same time, you can ensure you don't begin your race with a deficit, so that a mild increase in water prior to the race can be beneficial as a precautionary measure.

Body water content is a range, and it could help that you begin the race at the upper range, assuming this is a race of distance & endurance.

As FirstKnight suggests, body water retention can be influenced by salt, so that salt intact prior to the race may help water retention. Don't overdo, however, or your body may resist releasing that water.

The best way to hydrate is water consumption throughout the race. Continuous small amounts are ideal, if that's practical.

Please let us know how the race goes.

Potassium is important too.

Electrolytes is a fancy word for salts. Start hydrating the day before the race (with water) and eat some carbs. For a race you really only need to replenish your electrolytes if you are engaged in physical activity for more than about an hour.

No, not really. In my non-expert opinion I would think that you'd have all the electrolytes you need from your diet assuming you don't eat crap all day long. I believe where eating foods with salt helps right before a run is that it allows your body to absorb fluid so it doesn't sit sloshing around in your stomach (like it did on my run tonight ugh!)

Don't try anything before or during the race that you haven't tried in training.

How long is it? What you do the week before a half marathon and less and what you do the week of a marathon or longer are completely different things.

Okay let's not forget the other electrolytes. They are important. You really don't need more than 300mg of sodium a day. You can double that amount if you're an athlete that sweats profusely. The average American diet gets around several thousand milligrams a day so there's no need to supplement.

Other electrolytes that are important are:

Potassium, chloride; calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and bicarbonate.

There are others as well but these are the most common.

Potassium and calcium should be supplemented. Calcium is not only a mineral in the body but is also an electrolyte. If you do not have enough calcium in your blood then your body will try to pull it from your bones. That's why it's important to have a good calcium source that your body can absorb. Plus, calcium rich diets absorb more fat in the colon and push it out when you defecate. Dr. Oz believes that this also helps people from accumulating fat on the body. It's a win win situation to have a calcium rich diet. Calcium as an electrolyte also helps to regulate a healthy heart beat. I am not a big fan of milk, I take a calcium supplement instead.

Magnesium and potassium can be obtained by eating foods. Apples are high in magnesium which is responsible for muscle contraction. This is important for athletes.

I don't recommend bananas for potassium, avocados are much higher and also supply the body with other important nutrients like Vitamin K and some healthy fats.

Bananas are not all that powerful in terms of nutrition. They're just a fun food for me. A serving of raisins or figs have twice if not more potassium than bananas. Apricots have more than three times the potassium than bananas.

Foods for magnesium:
Spinach, nuts, black beans, okra, pumpkin seeds are quite high.

Bicarbonate and phosphate, I believe, are more concentrated in the bones and are not as easily lost through exercise - if I'm not mistaken.

I always ingest a spoonful of peanut butter about an hour before my race. Seems to help.

You're probably getting more energy from the fat content of the peanut butter more than anything else.

RunintheCity saidI always ingest a spoonful of peanut butter about an hour before my race. Seems to help.

I can't do peanut butter before my runs. I was on my long run yesterday and I thought about the peanut butter and honey sandwich I'd eaten at lunch and I started gagging. Weird.

Could be due to the bile production your body was stimulated to make in order to digest the fat.

Too much sodium is gonna retain water in your body.