Hydration
Why is it so important to stay hydrated?
Water is essential for life, and maintaining hydration is important for physical and mental performance. The human body is largely made up of water although body water content declines with age from about 75% in babies to around 60% in adults. Although we can live for up to 50 days without food, without water we would only survive for a few days, even in a cool climate.
If we’re dehydrated, our bodies and brains won’t function in the optimal way, from the way we feel, heal, react, our ability to absorb nutrients from the food we eat or the way our cells and organs function - it really does affect everything.
We often mistake hunger for thirst, reaching for something to eat rather than just having a glass of water which is another reason why we tend to overeat and gain weight. If you’re thirsty then you are dehydrated and kids (and the elderly) are terrible at recognising this so it’s important that you encourage them to drink more water.
How much should we be drinking? The average woman should be drinking at Least 1.6 litres a day, the average man should drink more than 2 litres as a guideline. (That’s four small bottles of water or 8 glasses of water minimum). Obviously you need to take other factors into consideration like activity levels and climate/temperature. Teas, herbal teas, coffee, juices, milk and food content (particularly fruit and vegetables) do contribute to hydration but water is absolutely the best choice. Sodas, sugary drinks and concentrated fruit juice should be avoided where possible, not just because of their complete lack of any nutritional value, but because of the amount of sugar they contain and citric acid which only encourages tooth decay. If you want a fruit juice far better to pour in a quarter of a glass and top it up with water.
We should drink enough to balance water losses. Water leaves our bodies through our skin, our breath and our urine all day long and if we are exercising our bodies keep cool by evaporating fluid from our skin as sweat so we need to drink more when we exercise to avoid dehydration, in fact our performance is enhanced greatly by maintaining hydration before and during any endurance exercise. Sports drinks may be useful to provide energy and electrolytes but choose your drink wisely, they are often high in calories from added sugar and contain too high levels of sodium and caffeine. You can add a pinch of sea salt to your water instead as this enhances water uptake.
What type of water? Arguments and differing information reign on this subject. The best answer is just drink as much as you can from the best source you can. Tap water Is better filtered where possible but we are fortunate to live in a country where our tap water is safe and clean. Bottled mineral water can definitely be a very convenient option too but there is little evidence to support that it is better or safer than tap water and also comes with question marks over whether plastic may contribute to excess oestrogens and then there’s the additional cost and environmental issues. My advice would be to buy a water filter or jug.
There are so many benefits to drinking more water. It combats fatigue, it reduces blood pressure, reduces histamine reactions like nasal congestion and allergies, it makes the skin glow and reduces skin issues, it lowers our cholesterol levels and helps to eliminate digestive disorders. It flushes out unwanted bacterias from our bladder and kidneys, it speeds up joint and cartilage repair which is so important after exercise and keeps us supple, it stops unwanted weight gain and if all of that wasn’t enough (!) it slows down the ageing process, not just in our looks but in our organs. Drinking enough water literally keeps you young - feeling, looking and acting - for longer.
So my top tips are:
Keep water handy all the time in front of you, in a glass or a bottle; Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink a glass of water you will already be dehydrated;
Dilute fruit juice and stay away from fizzy soda drinks;
Flavour water naturally with fruit, put lemons, limes, strawberries or mint in a jug;
Thirst is often mistaken for hunger, try a glass of water first before you reach for a snack;
Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics which leach more water out of us so to prevent dehydration caused by alcohol intake balance each glass of alcohol with a glass of water;
For one day, set a timer on your phone and have a glass of water every hour - it comes round quickly, you’ll be surprised - but this is what you Should be drinking!