weirdvis

Last night my buddy and I played some Racquetball. When I got off of work at 4:00 pm the temperature outside was a whopping 104° F. I figured this would be a total sweat fest and a great opportunity to melt some pounds off.   

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With the summer heat scorching down upon most of us, two big issues are keeping cool and keeping hydrated. For those of us blessed by dry heat, it's easy not to feel as if you're sweating; the air soaks up your skin's moisture almost before it's shed. For those of us in humid environments, the air becomes hot and heavy, our sweat clinging to us like plastic wrap, making us feel consistently hot and wet. In either case, it's easy for us to forget to replenish those fluids we so rapidly shed.

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The most recent heat wave may have passed, but summer is still in full swing -- which means heat-related health alerts. While these issues are not directly related to diabetes, diabetes can confound a heat-related health issue, making it harder to recognize and treat. Heat-related symptoms can mimic sugar-related symptoms and vice-versa, so it is in our best interests to know our normal ranges and reactions to the greatest degree possible.

The most basic heat issue is hydration. For some of us, dehydration will cause our blood glucose levels to drop; for others, it will cause those readings to rise. For some of us, the physical stress of dehydration will, at one point or another, trigger an adrenaline response and its associated glycogen release, leading to u-shaped curves (think "Dawn Phenomenon").

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When you think about the weather in Phoenix what's one of the first phrases that comes to your mind? C'mon, I know you know it. Yep, "It's a dry heat."

Well, that's definitely true. It's quite dry here. I can feel fine just before leaving the house for my walk and within the first two minutes I feel absolutely parched.

So, while it's dry, it's still hot. Really hot. I'm amazed at the number of people I see exercising outside in the middle of the day. All I can think is how crazy they are! This is yet another reason why I walk in the early morning; I'm out the door before 5:45 a.m., preferably by 5:35 a.m., but some mornings require a few more minutes to get my tired butt out of bed.

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Many hot-weather health issues center around proper hydration. My last post discussed how much water we should be drinking, and whether or not fluids other than water counted towards that volume. I finished up by mentioning that in addition to the amount we consume, we need to take into account how quickly we process those fluids, and what should (or should not) be in the fluids we are taking to maintain proper hydration. 

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One more Sunday up bright and early, missing most of the final day of the Tour de France to join the shop ride over at our usual Virginia Beach retailer. I arrived on site with enough time to give a Team Type 1 water bottle and set of team cards a good home with Matt-with-two-"t's", the type 1 rider who wore his 2011 Tour de Cure fundraising jersey last Sunday. It's always good to find swag a good home... and then there was also the surprised-and-very-happy look on Matt's face when I delivered the goods. Then again, several of the regulars thought we were heading home Sunday, rather than today -- so the surprise may have been as much that of me showing up, ready to ride, than anything else.

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