Hello people! Today we’re gonna talk about Hydration for optimal health, why is it important and how staying hydrated can transform our bodies. All of us need to realize the significance of staying hydrated and how we can avoid multiple health issues by mere drinking enough water. So let’s begin.

Table of Contents                                                   

  1. Introduction
    • Why Hydration is Essential
    • Impact on Daily Life
  2. The Role of Water in the Body
    • Basic Functions
    • Signs of Hydration
  3. Consequences of Dehydration
    • Mild Dehydration
    • Severe Dehydration
    • Impact on Performance
  1. How Much Water Do You Need?
    • General Guidelines
    • Listening to Your Body
  2. Tips for hydration for optimal health
    • Daily Habits
    • Hydration Beyond Water
    • Hydration During Exercise
  3. Common Hydration Mistakes
    • Over-hydration
    • Ignoring Thirst
    • Relying on Sugary Drinks
  4. Conclusion

Why hydration for optimal health is essential?

Every human body depends on water to keep functioning. Each and every cell and organ in the body needs water to perform their functions in the body properly. Without enough liquid intakes, we can face multiple health related issues in our daily life. The habit of drinking lots of water can save us from serious issues like kidney stones. Moreover, body requires water to keep the joints lubricated and maintain the temperature of body and to prevent infections.

It is recommended to drink around 6 to 8 glass of water every day. The water does not have to be the plain water. It can come from flavored water or caffeinated drinks or fruits and vegetables like watermelon, oranges and lettuce. It is best to avoid sugary drinks because they are high in calories.

Impact of Hydration on Daily Life

  1. Maximized physical performance: Human body is made of 60 % water. It is essential for us to keep our bodies hydrated to ensure the optimal fitness. Our bodies can suffer from dehydration if we lose even 2 % of our body’s water content. Drinking enough water every day can boost our physical performance and help us stay active and avoid any signs of fatigue.
  2. Impact on energy level and brain function: Researches have also indicated that loss of water during any physical activity or exercise can cause stress, mood swings and headaches. It can reduce the energy levels and can cause harm to brain’s memory and performance.
  3. Prevents Headaches: some researches have shown that by staying hydrated we can avoid the symptoms of headache and migraine. Some people experience headache or migraine due to low water level in body. This can be treated with enough liquid intakes.
  4. Relieves Constipation: Constipation is commonly associated with dehydration. It has been scientifically proved that increasing the water intake can regulate a person’s bowel movement and can help relieve constipation.
  5. May help avoid Kidney Stones:  Sometimes mineral crystals are formed in urinary system and most common form of these is kidney stones that are formed in kidneys. Studies have shown that drinking water more frequently can lower the chances of formation of such stones in the urinary tract.
  6. Aid in Weight loss: it has been seen that drinking more water can boost the metabolism and it can help in burning more calories and make the weight loss process quicker.

The Role of Water in the body

  1. Helps Digestion: water is required in the digestion of food and supply of nutrients. Water is necessary for absorption of food in the body. It also helps to deliver essential nutrients to cells and it makes the stool softer to avoid the constipation.
  2. Transportation of Nutrients: water helps to deliver all the nutrients coming from food to the cells and also aids in removing the metabolic waste from cells. It is also called nutrient carrier.
  3. Temperature regulation: water helps in regulating body temperature through heat absorption in the body and preventing rise in the temperature of body during exposure to heat. Also it helps in sweating and evaporation to initiate the cooling mechanism of the body. This sweat is majorly composed of water and other elements like sodium and chloride.

One of the main signs of hydration is light colored urine. If the color of urine is pale and clear it indicates hydration. If the color is yellow and dark then it means you need to drink more water. If the lips are not chapped and skin is smooth, it also means you are well hydrated.

 The Consequences of Dehydration

Mild Dehydration: the best way to stay hydrated is to drink water even before you start feeling the thirst. If you are thirsty it means you are already facing mild dehydration. This mild dehydration can further lead to fatigue, headache and dizziness.

Severe Dehydration: Severe dehydration can cause serious medical issues like kidney damage, brain damage or even death. It can cause urinary tract infections, kidney stones, lead to low blood pressure and can be fatal in some cases.

Impact on Performance: prolonged dehydration symptoms can lead to weaker immune system. It can adversely affect the heart health because the blood gets thicker in absence of water. Dehydration can also increase the risk of obesity because it slows down the metabolism in the body. Another impact is wrinkles on the organs of body. Organs start aging more rapidly if a person stays dehydrated most of the times. It also happens with the largest organ in the body which is skin. Appearances of wrinkles on skin are caused due to drop in the water levels in the skin from 20 % to 10 %. This drop in water levels affects the collagen in the skin and this leads to premature aging of skin.

Dehydration also affects mental health. It damages the brain and reduces its ability to handle stress, decision making and increases anxiety and depression. There have been many studies which show that more water intake reduces the risk of depression and anxiety.

How much Water do you need?

Water intake requirements depends on many factors like age, gender, weight etc. however, it is advised to follow 8×8 rule. This rule means that one should drink eight-8 ounces glasses of water every day. Other conditions like environment, and temperature also affects the water requirements. A person does not have to drink plain water to fulfill this water intake requirement. Rather this water can come from other fluids like flavored drinks, fruits, juices and vegetables. One can achieve the optimal water intake by incorporating fruits and vegetables in daily diet however sugary drinks must be avoided.

Another important element of staying hydrated is to ensure that you keep drinking water even before you feel thirsty. Because feeling thirsty means you are already dehydrated and it might cause fatigue and dizziness. Another thing to avoid is drinking too much water. Drinking too much water in short time period can lead to water toxicity. In this situation brain cells get swollen up and one might start feeling headache, drowsiness or confusion.

Tips for Staying Hydrated

  1. Carry a water bottle: most efficient way to stay hydrated is to carry a water bottle with you all the time. You can fill tap water and add some flavor in it if you don’t like plain water or you don’t want to buy mineral water.
  2. Eat more fruits and vegetables: some fruits and vegetable like watermelon, tomato and cucumber have lots of water content. Incorporating such fruits in daily diet can also help to increase water intakes.
  3. Water before meals: if you drink water before every meal it can help you in eating in small portions and can make the digestion easy. Caffeinated drinks can also add to your liquid intake.
  4. Physical activity: a person who stays more physically active is more likely to feel thirsty and drink water. So one way to increase your water intake is to get physically active and do some exercise every day. Always remember to drink water before the exercise and during the exercise as well.

Common Hydration Mistakes

A mistake that people make while trying to stay hydrated is drinking too much water. It is rare that someone gets sick because of drinking water but over-hydration can cause water toxicity. This condition can happen when people are involved in some physical activity, workout or sports. Water toxicity can cause mild fatigue and confusion. It can also lead to higher blood pressure and low heart rate.

Further, drinking water throughout the day is much better than drinking lots of water at once. Because if you drink a lot of water and you start urinating too frequently it will become very clear. This according to the latest research by David Nieman, a professor of public health at Appalachian State University is not a good sign. The clear color of urine indicates that the water is not staying well enough in the body and is a sign of over-hydration. Hence it is advised to drink water throughout the day and not at once.

Although it is a great idea to add flavors to plain water to help increase the intakes but one should not rely on sugary drinks and sodas for hydration. Sodas and sugary beverages can cause severe health issues like diabetes, obesity, heart diseases and can also damage bones and teeth.

Conclusion:

The importance of hydration for human body and living a healthy life is undeniable. Hydration is inevitable for a healthy body and mind and one cannot achieve the optimal mental and physical fitness without drinking sufficient amount of water every day. We must avoid the common mistakes like over-hydration and focus on small efforts to keep ourselves safe from the severe consequences of dehydration. Inculcating the habit of drinking water before, after and in the middle of meals and incorporating fruits and vegetables in the diet are some easy ways to ensure hydration. Also, drinking water during intense physical activity is essential to avoid any symptoms of dehydration. It is equally important to avoid over-hydration because this can cause damage to our brain cells.  Incorporating more fluids in the diet whether in form of plain water or flavored, fruits or vegetables can transform the lifestyle and can leave a positive impact on the overall health.

Good Luck and stay Hydrated!