Isotonic -- Does not alter salt concentration in your blood. There is no disruption of water/salt balance.

Hypertonic Fluids -- This adds salt to your blood and now surrounding tissues have less salt. Water moves into your blood.

This is not hydrating because water that moves into your blood is trying to re-establish correct balance. It's not extra water to help hydrate but needed water to reach proper balance.

Steps to Proper Hydration

Because of our high salt diets, most Americans need to drink filtered water. However, it's not necessary to drink 15 glasses a day that some diet plans recommend.

Instead, drink 1 glass of filtered water with each meal and drink an additional 2 glasses of filtered water throughout day. This should come out to about 5-7 glasses of filtered water per day for most Americans (that's assuming your eating proper number of meals per day).

The remaining fluids you drink need to have same amount of salt as your blood. This type of fluid keeps your blood isotonic to surrounding tissues. Isotonic fluids have no net effect on moving water and you sustain a proper level of hydration.

The best isotonic fluid to drink (in my opinion), diluted gatorade. Mix water with gatorade in equal proportions and enjoy! Drink as much as you like since it's isotonic to your blood and won't cause water to move into or out of your blood.

Conclusion

Think more in terms of proper hydration and not disrupting water/salt balance your body worked hard at creating. It's not about drinking more water, but more about drinking right fluids.

To Healthy Living!

Michael A. Smith, MD

Chief Medical Consultant

Diet Basics Website

Eating Carbs But Not Gaining Weight:

You can eat carbs and not gain weight. It is in choice of carbohydrates that you consume that will make difference. Including more vegetables and whole grains in your diet and eating less simple carbohydrates like sugars that are in soda, candy, processed and refined foods will help you in losing weight. Paying attention to portion sizes will also help. Pasta is an easy trap for eating to much carbohydrates. If you like pasta add vegetable to you dishes, since vegetables are good carbs and have fiber in them they will help fill you up faster. Eat a salad with every meal, but pay attention to what you put on your salad, stick to low fat versions of dressings, like Italian and Vinaigrettes. Creamy dressing when they are low fat can be loaded with sugars to take place of fat, so it is important to pay attention to nutritional values of dressings.

Another way of using carbs in your body is weight training. Weight Training requires your body to use carbs for exercise and to repair muscles after your workout. Finding a requirement in body for carbs that you eat is a great way to use carbs that are consumed. By finding requirement for use of carbs you do not need to worry so much on how many carbs that you consume but just types of carbs. Always remember that no matter what sugars in abundance are not good for your body or your weight loss goals.