HDAA Essential: Do you really have hydration under control?

When you sweat, you can easily lose 500mL to 2 litres of fluid per hour. You can lose more in hot conditions and when it is hot, manual laborers can lose 10-14 litres per day . Most people know that you lose electrolytes in this sweat fluid and that it is important to replenish electrolytes as well as fluid. But most people do not realise that you also lose amino acids. In particular, you lose a group of six amino acids known as the high-demand amino acids (HDAA) at much faster rates than the other amino acids.

When you are exercising, the body replenishes the losses of HDAA by breaking down muscle proteins to release the amino acids it needs. The more muscle protein that you breakdown, the longer the recovery phase will be because there is more muscle protein to rebuild.

Supplementing with the HDAA during and immediately after exercise can help reduce the the breakdown of muscle proteins and thus reduce recovery times.