Sports Performance: A Comparison of Oral Rehydration Solutions on Hydration Biomarkers in Military Personnel
Authors: Reginald B. O’Hara1 and Brenda Moore2
1Chief, Biochemistry Services Division, Department of Clinical Investigation, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, For Bliss, TX, USA.
2 Moore Enterprises, LLC., Independent Research Contractor, Yellow Springs, OH, USA
Correspondence:
Reginald B. O’Hara, PhD, ACSM-EP
William Beaumont Army Medical Center
Department of Clinical Investigation
Building 18509 Highlander Medics Street
El Paso, TX 79918
reginald.b.ohara.civ@health.mil
210-792-1048
Reginald B. O’Hara, Ph.D., is the Chief of the Biochemistry Services Division at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Department of Clinical Investigation, Fort Bliss, TX. His research interests focus on the clinical pathology of the disease process, human performance, exertional heat stress, and physiological fatigue and recovery in military personnel.
Brenda Moore, Ph.D., nutrition microbiologist, is retired but continues to support her own research contracting business in Yellow Springs Ohio. Dr. Moore worked as a research nutrition microbiologist under an ORISE contract from 2016-2019 in the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, WPAFB, OH where she conducted research on thermal stress and dehydration in military personnel.
Sports Performance: A Comparison of Oral Rehydration Solutions on Hydration Biomarkers in Military Personnel
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Exertional heat stress is a serious condition, especially for military personnel working in high-heat and humid climates, such as flight maintainers, flight crew, loadmasters, and Special Operations Forces Operators. Hence, this study assessed the effects of military-approved oral rehydration solutions (ORS) in highly fit military personnel while performing a 10-mile run. The ORS tested were Gatorade (G) and CeraSport (CS), with water (W) as the control. Methods: Fifteen “well-trained” participants (13 male, 2 female) (mean± SD: age, height, weight, % body fat, and VO2 max = 28.07 ± 5.0 yrs., 69.79 ± 4.2 in, 174.4 ± 21.53 lbs., 13.7 ± 6.7%, and 52.9 ± 5.0 mL/kg/min, respectively) completed three separate 10-mile treadmill runs, separated by a one-week recovery period. Hydration biomarkers were measured at baseline, post, and 20-minute run pause increments during each 10-mile testing trial run. Study investigators measured the following hydration biomarkers 1) Body weight change (BWC), 2) hematocrit (Hc), 3) exercise heart rate (HR), 4) blood glucose (BG), 5) blood lactate concentration ([BLa¯] b), 6) hemoglobin (Hb), and 7) total urinary output (UO). Results: No statistical difference occurred in the hydration biomarkers, likely due to the large volume (1500 mL) of fluid consumed. While no significant differences in BG were detected between G and CS, both CS and G values were significantly higher than water (p< 0.05) throughout the study. Additionally, blood lactate concentrations ([BLa¯] b) were lower during the last 40 minutes of the study when CS was consumed in comparison to G, approaching significance (p= 0.09) at Time 7 (T7).Conclusions: Outcomes from the present study provide preliminary evidence that consumption of CS in the same volume and time as G results in the preservation of BG values with lower sugar and carbohydrate consumption and without a concurrent rise in blood lactate. The present study showed that although there were no statistical differences in hydration biomarkers, potential differences may be more clearly extricated in future studies conducted in varying environmental conditions, such as higher temperatures and humidity, with a larger sample size, or a more prolonged exercise period.
Keywords: rehydration solutions, biomarkers, physical exertion, sports, military personnel
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