Deep mineral water accelerates recovery after dehydrating aerobic exercise: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study

BACKGROUND: The effect of deep mineral water (DMW) with moderate mineralization on the recovery of physical performance after prolonged dehydrating aerobic exercise in the heat was studied in nine healthy, physically active (VO(2)max = 45.8 ± 8.4 mL kg(−1) min(−1)) women aged 24.0 ± 3.7 years. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover human study to evaluate the effect of ingestion of natural mineral water extracted from a depth of 689 m on recovery from prolonged fatiguing aerobic running conducted at 30°C. RESULTS: Mean body weight decreased by 2.6–2.8% following dehydrating exercise. VO(2)max was 9% higher after 4 h of recovery after rehydrating with DMW compared with plain water. Leg muscle power recovered better during the slow phase of recovery and was significantly higher after 48 h of recovery after rehydrating with DMW compared with plain water. CONCLUSIONS: DMW with moderate mineralization was more effective in inducing recovery of aerobic capacity and leg muscle power compared with plain water following prolonged dehydrating aerobic running exercise.