Does oral buffered sodium supplementation reduce nausea and vomiting during an ultramarathon?

Abstract

This work examines whether nausea or vomiting during an ultramarathon are due to a fluid or electrolyte imbalance, and if these symptoms can be reduced through the use of buffered sodium supplements. Starters (n = 376) of a 161.3-km ultramarathon underwent body weight measurements, 74.5% completed a post-race questionnaire, and 53.0% also underwent a post-race blood draw. The incidence of nausea or vomiting progressively increased during the race, and affected 60% of runners overall. Weight change and rate of sodium intake in supplements or in buffered sodium supplements did not differ between those with and without nausea or vomiting. Post-race serum sodium concentration also did not differ between those with and without symptoms in the last race segment. We conclude that weight change, the rate of sodium intake in supplements or in buffered sodium supplements, and serum sodium concentration are not related to symptoms of nausea or vomiting during a 161-km ultramarathon.

KEYWORDS:

• dehydration
• endurance exercise
• exercise
• running
• sodium
• water-electrolyte imbalance

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the VA Northern California Health Care System. The work was also supported by the Western States Endurance Run Foundation. We thank Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital for laboratory services, Lodi Health and James Milner for phlebotomy services, and the following individuals for assistance with data collection: Dr. Jim Agnew, Maddison Bowles, Dr. Jeffrey A. Chan, Colleen Conners-Pace, Ali Etemady-Deylamy, Dr. Keith George, Dr. Steve Hammer, Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg, Samuel Jurek, Rachel Lord, Dr. Christine Mathiesen, Dr. David Oxborough, Dr. David Paris, Emily Pearce, Peter K. Raisanen, Professor John Somauroo, Taylor Valentino, Lisa Weiss, and Casey Westbrooke. The contents reported here do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.