title: Pre-exercise ingestion of pickle juice, hypertonic saline, or water and aerobic performance and thermoregulation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ingesting high-sodium drinks pre-exercise can improve thermoregulation and performance. Athletic trainers (19%) give athletes pickle juice (PJ) prophylactically for cramping. No data exist on whether this practice affects aerobic performance or thermoregulation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine if drinking 2 mL/kg body mass of PJ, hypertonic saline, or deionized water (DIW) pre-exercise affects aerobic performance or thermoregulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Crossover study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Controlled laboratory study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine euhydrated men (age = 22 ± 3 years, height = 184.0 ± 8.2 cm, mass = 82.6 ± 16.0 kg) completed testing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants rested for 65 minutes. During this period, they ingested 2 mL/kg of PJ, hypertonic saline, or DIW. Next, they drank 5 mL/kg of DIW. Blood was collected before and after ingestion of all fluids. Participants were weighed and ran in the heat (temperature = 38.3°C ± 1°C, relative humidity = 21.1% ± 4.7%) at increasing increments of maximal heart rate (50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%) until exhaustion or until rectal temperature exceeded 39.5°C. Participants were weighed postexercise so we could calculate sweat volume.
  
  
  METHODS
  Time to exhaustion, rectal temperature, changes in plasma volume, and sweat volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Time to exhaustion did not differ among drinks (PJ = 77.4 ± 5.9 minutes, hypertonic saline = 77.4 ± 4.0 minutes, DIW = 75.7 ± 3.2 minutes; F2,16 = 1.1, P = .40). Core temperature of participants was similar among drinks (PJ = 38.7°C ± 0.3°C, hypertonic saline = 38.7°C ± 0.4°C, DIW = 38.8°C ± 0.4°C; P = .74) but increased from pre-exercise (36.7°C ± 0.2°C) to postexercise (38.7°C ± 0.4°C) (P < .05). No differences were observed for changes in plasma volume or sweat volume among drinks (P > .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ingesting small amounts of PJ or hypertonic saline with water did not affect performance or select thermoregulatory measures. Drinking larger volumes of PJ and water may be more effective at expanding the extracellular space.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo.
authors.forename: Jarett
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peikert
authors.forename: Kevin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001628:Beverages; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D018553:Cucumis sativus; D060766:Drinking Water; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009120:Muscle Cramp / Q000517:prevention & control; D010953:Plasma Volume; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014867:Water; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic; D014867:Water