Hydration

You know that you need to drink water, lots of water. That’s one of the first things we learn growing up, and it’s a basic thing our body CRAVES. Did you know you can go about 8 WEEKS without eating, but only DAYS without water?? It’s so important you guys!!

And shocker: America is overwhelmingly nutritionally deficient in water.

Let’s talk about it.

WATER is the most important nutrient our bodies need. It makes up 50-60% of our total body mass (pending on the individual – this is 10-13 gallons in the average adult). Yup, gallons.

Our blood is 90% water, most of the volume of our cells are made up of water. Our bodies are incredible & adaptive and can create 8% of the necessary water through daily processes the body goes through, but the other 92% has to come from what we consume in our food and drinks. If your body is dehydrated, it changes on a cellular level.

Some important roles that water has in our bodies are:

  • flushing out toxins,

  • transporting nutrients,

  • keeping our body temperature regulated,

  • absorbing shocks to our joints & organs,

  • improving cellular communication,

  • improving cognitive function (no more foggy brain!)

  • helping the body to heal itself, helps oxygen get delivered to our cells,

  • removing wastes from our body.

But don’t worry, there’s an easy way to calculate how much water you should drink (phew!):

Your body weight (in lbs)/2 = the MINIMUM amount of water you should consume each day (in ounces).

Now we know that water is crucial and we need to be consuming lots of it every day (how much again? your body weight [in lbs]/2= X ounces of water you need/day!). But how do I know if I’m dehydrated or not?!

Here are some common signs of dehydration:

Early signs.. exhaustion, anxiety, irritability, cravings, depression, headaches, and cramps.

Later stage signs… constipation, colitis, migraines, back pain, join pain, heartburn, and fibromyalgia.

If you have any of these signs (odds are you do) what might be causing it? Here are some common things you’re consuming that may be aiding in your dehydration 👇🏼

Common diuretics:

  • coffee (guilty 🙋🏻‍♀️)

  • soda

  • teas

  • alcohol

  • prescription drugs

  • packaged fruit juice

Any of these sound like you?? If you’re simply not drinking water, start drinking it! But if you think you’re drinking enough water, diuretics may be the problem.

Diuretics actually slow the reabsorption of water in your kidneys – which are helping you to eliminate waste from your body. This is HUGE. Your kidneys need water to eliminate wastes, maintain the miners balance of the body, & help regulate the production of red blood cells. If there’s not enough water in your system or you’re consuming diuretics, your kidney has a harder time doing what it needs to do to keep your body healthy & functioning properly!

If you’re hard-pressed to give up that cup of coffee (me) but get how important hydration is and may be experiencing some of these symptoms of dehydration, I have another easy formula for you.

(Ounces of [insert your choice of diuretic] x 1.5) + (your body weight (in lbs)/2) = daily minimum water intake you need

Ashley KuhlmannComment