Sweating during exercise can cause fluid loss of up to 1 liter an hour, especially in hot humid conditions. Thus, replacing the electrolytes and water lost is especially important to ensure efficient recovery. Murray, et al has shown that a 2% decrease in body weight from fluid loss can be detrimental to performance and that a 2.5% loss of body weight can cause a 15% drop in high intensity exercise lasting longer than 7 minutes. Replacement of elecrolytes (namely sodium and potassium) will help keep blood plasma concentrations balanced and aid in water retention to normalize fluid levels. The problem with many commercial sports drinks (though containing high amounts of sodium and added potassium) is that they are loaded with sugar that can make the stomach upset and feel full following high intensity efforts. Sodium-enriched coconut water on the other hand has been shown to be as effective at replenishing similar amounts of sodium and higher amounts of potassium without the high quantities of sugar that commercial sports drinks contain. Additionally, it caused less nausea and upset stomachs than their sport drink counterparts. So coconut water can be an excellent alternative as your post-exercise recovery drink, especially if you find commercial sports drinks to be too sweet or too hard to drink without feeling nauseous. To read the full article, click here. Enjoy!