In the know with Dr. Joe - Staying Hydrated
Why is it important to stay hydrated?
Staying hydrated is important to your overall health and wellness. You want your body tissues (muscles, organs, fascia, etc.) lubricated so they glide easily and don’t create irritation and friction in the body. You also want your cells to be like plump grapes and not shriveled up raisins. I’m going to give you a visualization exercise. First, picture a bowl of grapes floating in water and imagine them moving around each other. Did they move easily or were there any difficulties? Next, picture you just opened a box of raisins and dumped them into your hand. How well does each individual raisin move? They tend to move as one giant mass since they are all stuck together, don’t they? This is similar to what happens in our bodies if we don’t stay hydrated. The tissues in our bodies have a hard time moving and over time, you may notice that you aren’t quite as flexible as you used to be. It may be due to your tissues not gliding smoothly over top of each other. Have you heard of a structure in the body called fascia? This structure looks like a spider web that surrounds every muscle, bone, nerve, artery and vein, and all of our internal organs (heart, lungs, brain, lungs, etc.). Our hydration levels effect how well this structure can move and function as well. I’ll go into more detail about fascia in next month’s new letter.
Research has also shown that even mild dehydration can decrease brain tissue fluid, which changes in your brain volume. What this means is being dehydrated can cause impaired cognitive abilities. If you’re experiencing brain fog, mood swings, or trouble finishing sentences this could be a sign that your brain needs you to drink more water.
How do you get dehydrated?
Dehydration happens when you use up more water than you replenish back into the body. If you don’t have enough water in the body, it can’t function properly. You can be mildly, moderately, or severely dehydrated depending on how much water is inside the body. Your body naturally loses water throughout the day through normal bodily functions like sweating, breathing, urinating, defecating, and keeping the eyes and mouth lubricated. These functions are not meant to dehydrate you, but if you aren’t drinking enough water your body will start limiting how much fluid it expends on these functions. A normal way your body can become dehydrated is through exercise which causes your body to sweat to help regulate the body’s temperature.
Some more serious causes of dehydration include:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Fever (which can cause excessive sweating)
- Frequent urination from:
- Diabetes
- Alcohol
- Medications
- Too much caffeine
- Frequent urination from:
Signs and Symptoms of Dehydration
- Dry eyes, skin, mouth
- If your feet are dry and peeling, that can be one of the first signs that you need to up your water intake
- Dry eyes, skin, mouth
- Trouble sleeping
- Depression
- Aches and pains throughout the body (neck, low back, knees, etc.)
- Bloating
- One of your body’s ways of holding onto water if it is not getting enough
- Bloating
- Increased appetite
- If you aren’t drinking enough water then the brain will send out signals to eat even if you aren’t truly hungry, because food has water in it and if you aren’t going to drink enough water, your body is going to try and get it another way.
- It’s hard to get enough water into your body through food so don’t think that just eating more will work for staying hydrated
- If you aren’t drinking enough water then the brain will send out signals to eat even if you aren’t truly hungry, because food has water in it and if you aren’t going to drink enough water, your body is going to try and get it another way.
- Increased appetite
Benefits of Staying Hydrated
- Fuller and firmer looking skin, not just in the face but all over the body.
- Appetite suppressant
- Decreased aches and pains
- Better mood and concentration
- Better sleep
- Removal of waste from the body
- Prevent constipation
Can you drink too much water? How much is too much or not enough?
You may also be wondering if you can have too much of a good thing and that is a good question. The short answer is YES, it is possible to drink TOO MUCH water. This is usually seen with marathon runners who are drinking A LOT of water before and during their races. What happens is the concentration of salt and other electrolytes in the body become diluted leading to a condition known as Hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is a condition in which sodium (salt) levels become dangerously low. This is the main concern of drinking too much water without replenishing your electrolytes. While there is no exact formula for how much is too much water because everyone is different and experience different conditions throughout the day such as age, sex, weather, activity levels, and your general health to name a few. It is recommended that you drink half of your body weight in ounces, so all the tissues of the body get adequate hydration.
Here is an example on how to figure out your average water intake for the day:
150lbs /2 = 75 ounces a day on average. In general if you’re working out or sweating, you want to add 8oz of water with a pinch of sea salt (to replenish electrolytes) for every hour you’re sweating.
Conclusion
Should you be drinking more water throughout the day?
Yes! Generally speaking most people would benefit from adding more hydration throughout their day. You want to make sure you’re also adding in electrolytes into your water to help maintain a healthy balance within the body.
The Hydration Challenge! (Experiment to try at Home)
1) Take a survey of how you’re feeling overall:
Are you feeling tired/groggy when you wake up in the morning? (0 = no, feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed & 10 = need a forklift to get out of bed)
Are you having trouble focusing throughout the day? (0 = no, I’m able to focus as long as I want & 10 = Oh, look a squirrel, a beaver, what was I doing again?)
What are you current pain levels in the body? Are there any areas that stand out? (0 = no pain & 10 = the most pain imaginable)
What is your level of stiffness in the body? Are there any areas that stand out? (0 = no stiffness & 10 = walking around like a mummy)
2) In a notebook rate your answer to these questions on a scale of 0 to 10. We are going to use this as our baseline before starting the experiment and then we are going to rate them again after the experiment to see if there have been any changes.
3) The experiment:
Drink half your body weight in ounces (current weight/2 = number of ounces per day).
Add a pinch of sea salt (NOT TABLE SALT) into every 8oz you drink. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt or Celtic Sea Salt are the ones we recommend
Do this every day for 4 weeks.
4) After the 4 weeks is up, rate your answers to the question again and then compare them to your baseline answers from before the experiment was started.
If you give this challenge a try, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram!
Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not to be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific treatment plan, product, or course of action. The author does not in any way guarantee or warrants the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any message and will not be held responsible for the content of any message. Always consult your personal physician for specific medical advice.