Simple Ways to Stay Hydrated
Saturday, July 28, 2012 at 5:49AM
Staying hydrated is important - every organ, cell and tissue in your body depends on water for survival. Proper hydration also addresses a bevy of health concerns, from dry mouth and bad breath to gallstones and irregularity. Each day you lose water by simply going to the bathroom, sweating and breathing. Replacing these lost fluids is vital to preventing dehydration. Some common symptoms of dehydration include:
• Infrequent urination
• Urine that is darker in color than usual
• Extreme thirst
• Dry mouth
• Sleepiness or fatigue
• Headache
• Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• Confusion
You can help prevent dehydration by following these simple steps:
• Keep a bottle of water on hand. Sipping on water throughout the day will help prevent dehydration. Add a slice of lemon or lime for flavor, if you like.
• Make it a point to drink a glass of water when you wake and before bed.
• Eat fruits and vegetables. They are naturally water-dense, especially citrus fruits, watermelon, lettuce and tomatoes.
• Drink water before you exercise, as well as during and after.
• If you are drinking alcohol, always pair it with a glass of water to offset its dehydrating effects.
Reader Comments (25)
I blasted through 2 gallons yesterday, hoping I wouldn't get my recurring 'charley horse' spasms that I often get after spending the evening outside. Well.. I played volleyball for 3 hours, came home.. had a couple more glasses of water.. and had a record 5 spasms last night! 3 in my left calf and 2 in the bottom of my foot.. all throughout the night.
I thought the over abundance of water would fix this problem I've had of late, but it was worse than ever. Everyone's been telling me 'bananas' but I'm trying to stay low carb (no fruit).
Do you think potassium is the problem.. or do I need more water yet?
I'm an ICU nurse. You further diluted your electrolytes by hydrating. Try 1/2 Gatorade with 1/2 water before exercise/sports. There are other sources of potassium other than bananas. But, since sodium and potassium regulate your heart, you must prioritise and find the balance between looking good and staying healthy. Both can be done at the same time.
Two gallons of water is too much water. You can overhydrate yourself, too. Water flushes out electrolytes, which can leave you worse off than you already were. You can actually die from drinking too much water.
I have muscle spasms on occasion, as well. You need potassium, calcium, or magnesium. Eating a banana isn't going to kill you, dude. :)
My sister is a dancer and taught me a trick to get rid of spasms. I'm assuming they are in your calf. Simply shake your leg very hard a few times throughout the day, especially after exercise. This breaks down the lactic acid that has built up in the muscle. When mine were bad I did it in the shower, when walking the dog and he stopped to sniff or..., and any other time I was standing and thought of it. Also if I do get one it seems to help if I flex my foot until it passes.
PS. Water intoxication can kill you. So can "no fruit". Please reassess.
Coconut water is the best hydration after exercise or a long day of sweaty hard work! They drink this in the hot humid tropical countries as people are losing water and minerals in this weather.
Ok, have you heard of coconut water? that is one source or the best for hydrating after or before exercise, it has high potassium content, 950 in a glass of 8oz. Also, if you are deficient in sodium, I mean organic natural sodium, not salt, it causes leg cramp, so I suggest you eat or drink Celery juice that will provide you with organic healthy sodium to combat cramping. To Your Health,
Elizabeth, San Diego
wow.. some great advice and new information. Much appreciated all!
@ Kristy/Lynee, the "no fruit" is just temporary for a few months.. just trying to get as lean as possible. I would never live this way normally.. but it's a necessity for a while. I'm going to try some other sources this next week.
Thanks again.
Lynne is right--you way overhydrated, Jeff. Too much of anything isn't good for you.
Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium are all important electrolytes, and they can be depleted if you are trying to stay low-carb, Jeff. Sodium is usually easy enough to take in, but Mg and K can be harder. I recommend 400mg of Magnesium daily, usually at bedtime, and if you want to increase Potassium my favorite way is to use NoSalt (or NuSalt) which is Potassium Chloride. You can add it to your food or drink.
However, Lynne, I am very interested to see your cites which support your claim that "no fruit" can kill you. Please elaborate.
"However, Lynne, I am very interested to see your cites which support your claim that "no fruit" can kill you. Please elaborate."
-- That one made me smile, as well. :)
I'm definitely going to take you up on the mag and potassium ideas. Thanks, Dave!
Jeff - here are a few resources to help you with electrolyte and water repletion. One needs to be careful (especially) with potassium as too much, or little, could change the heart rhythm and harm the heart.
Electrolyte & water needs: http://www.iom.edu/Global/News%20Announcements/~/media/442A08B899F44DF9AAD083D86164C75B.ashx
Database for potassium food content:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/SR23/nutrlist/sr23a306.pdf
Lynne., I totally agree about losing electrolytes, but Gatorade is ACIDIC! (Meaning it actually leaches minerals from your body in order to metabolize it) Google Dr. Otto Warburg who won the Nobel prize for discovering the cause of cancer (and all disease essentially) - ACIDOSIS. Take some clear gatorade and put some pH drops in it to test it. It's about 2.8 on the pH scale. The blood needs to be between 7,36 and 7.46 - yes your body will regulate your blood, but at the cost of minerals from your bones, teeth and tissues. it will actually DE-hydrate you because it takes water to neutralize the garbage in bottled sports drinks (or any bottled drink - including water for that matter) Hydration is #1, but it won't matter if you are acidic - You can see a demo of this on www.KangenDemo.com... It would be much better to add some lemon juice, a pinch of REAL sea salt (not processed) and some good organic unprocessed sugar (that has minerals in it if you feel you need to sweeten it - but better without it.) If you are acidic, you will have a hard time flushing out lactic acids, so more muscle cramps, lower Vo2max, and longer recovery period. Also, if you are acidic, you will also have a harder time absorbing water and nutrients into your cells. And you will be more prone to degenerative diseases.
Not a lot of time to do a literature search given I have guests coming. What I can share with you is Weil's food pyramid. Ask yourself if you should be spending months depleting your body of anything at the foundation of good health: vegetables and fruit.
If you're stressing your body with sports the onus is on you to provide it with the nutrition it requires for the challenge. No fruits is not a path to good health. I guarantee the any health professional would support this statement, especially Dr. Weil.
Get lean slower, and embrace your body in the process.
http://www.drweil.com/drw/ecs/pyramid/press-foodpyramid.html
Blessings!
Lynne
As long as we are posting suggested food pyramids, might I throw an alternative into the ring?
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2010/food_pyramid_flat_2011sm-1.jpg
And I would not make the mistake of conflating fruits with vegetables. An occasional fruit can certainly contribute to good health, especially berries, but vegetables make a far better contribution to good health without all the sugar of fruits. Just because they both come from plants does not mean that they are equivalent in terms of nutrition.
Coconut water for all that potassium? Who knew?! That was a great find. Thanks for the info, Sue and Coach Elizabeth!
Apple Cider Vinegar for leg cramps.....just saying.
Coconut water/juice is definitely a winner! I also find that Aloe water/juice helps. It is loaded with healthy benefits (read the label on the bottle). I also use juiced wheatgrass. I either shoot it a a shot, mix with a little water or juice. Read up on the benefits of wheatgrass. It's too many for me to list here. Good luck with it. All these things have helped me out tremendously.
Those of you who are suggesting coconut water obviously have money to spend on fancy waters. I suggest to folks who have to watch the money that they eat healthy, drink water throughout the day while also eating meals that have the needed potassium, calcium, magnesium.
And if you work out a lot like three hours of volleyball, that you probably can handle drinking more water than the person sitting most of the day at work, or only doing an hours work out. Since fruit it loaded with sugar, I tend toward nutrient rich vegetables that have the potassium, calcium, or magnesium my body needs. Although I do eat fresh fruit daily.
Please, someone, just to make it easy for me: list the actual sources of these nutrients, preferably in vegetable sources. Thanks!
Paul,
Your Tax dollars at work:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=22114