Are you feeling a bit unfocused and cranky? Chances are, you may be mildly dehydrated. Research shows that being just a little dehydrated is tied to a range of subtle effects — from mood changes to muddled thinking.
Dehydration happens when your body loses more fluids than it takes in. When that shift occurs, your body isn’t able to do all the things it’s supposed to.
Summer, however, has it’s own complications of adequate water intake. The hot and humid weather can wreak havoc with our ability to stay hydrated – even though.. you are not exerting much energy. Why? The days are longer, warmer (downright hot) and you are losing water without realizing it.
Each day, your body normally loses about eight cups of water, and that needs to be replenished and even more if the weather is hot. When you become dehydrated, your blood becomes thicker, making your heart work harder. Also, as you age, your thirst signals are not optimal, making it especially important to be aware of how much water is consumed.
Dehydration — no matter which season we’re in — is always dangerous. After all, roughly 68% of a person’s body weight is water, and it only takes a 1% – 2% drop to cause mild dehydration – not much, along with vital electrolytes.
Over 75% of people are walking around with symptoms of mild dehydration and do not even realize it. They are experiencing joint pain, headaches, sugar cravings, fatigue, back pain, lack of motivation, lethargy, weight gain, lack of focus and irritability.
When you do decide to hydrate, there are different types and choices of water one can choose to hydrate with outside of tap water and what you decide upon has a powerful impact upon your health. At the very least, ensure you use a charcoal filter found in pitchers or applied to faucets.
Spring Water comes from natural springs formed from an underground source. What makes spring water different is the water is not recycled and you get it directly from the source
Reverse Osmosis is a water purification technology that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove ions, molecules and larger particles from drinking water
Hydrogen-Rich Alkaline Water straight from your water ionizer is the very best way of hydrating. Replete with energy boosting and antioxidant action, you will notice the difference straight away. Hydrogen is the smallest molecule known and can easily pass the cell membrane optimizing health as well.
Mineral Water This type of water naturally contains essential minerals. The reason is mineral water is obtained from underground sources
Distilled Water is something that undergoes a treatment process to remove minerals and salts by reverse osmosis and distillation.
Sparkling Water has undergone carbonation which it then becomes fizzy, similar to sodas. You can convert spring, purified or even mineral water into the sparkling water by adding carbon dioxide.
My recommendation is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily at a minimum. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds (or 63.5kgs), drink 70 ounces (or 2L) of water each day. Remember, if the temperature is hot, to drink even more. How do you know you’re adequately hydrated? Check your urine color. Your urine should be light or clear in colour.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4207053/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21549098
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18926940
Armstrong LE, Ganio MS, Casa DJ, Lee EC, McDermott BP, Klau JF, Jimenez L, Le Bellego L, Chevillotte E, Lieberman HR. Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. J Nutr. 2012 Feb; 142(2):382–8. Epub 2011 Dec 21.
Ogino Y, Kakeda T, Nakamura K, Saito S. Dehydration enhances pain-evoked activation in the human brain compared with rehydration. Anesth Analg. 2014 Jun; 118(6):1317–25.
LORI SHEMEK, Ph.D., is a leading researcher in fat cells and the owner of DLSHealthWorks, a company she created to help men and women conquer their issues with weight and self-esteem. Her work has been featured in Ladies’ Home Journal, Shape, Woman’s Day, The Rikki Lake Show, ABC, CNN, NPR, FOX News, and The Huffington Post, which recognized her as one of the nation’s top diet and nutrition experts.
Dr. Shemek holds a Doctorate in Psychology; she is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and a Certified Life Coach.
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