Last week we started talking about water and dehydration. Let's dig a bit deeper.
Why is it so important for us to stay well hydrated?
Water is involved in nearly every function of the body, and it is crucial to our survival and well-being. It transports nutrients, improves oxygen uptake in cells, works as a shock absorber, lubricates our joints, and keeps cell communications up to speed. When we are dehydrated none of these important functions work optimally, and that is bad!
I like to think of it like this:
Imagine that you are driving on the highway. There are three lanes, not too much traffic, and everything is running very smooth. It feels very relaxed to drive this way, and without effort everyone gets to where they need to on time. But, all of a sudden there is a roadblock up ahead, and the three lanes are now forced into one single lane. The cruising speed you had is long gone, and now it's bumper to bumper traffic, moving at a snails pace. It's getting hot sitting around in that car, the pressure is up, and you can see people getting very irritated all around you. Things are not working well, and on top of that you will be late to your destination. In essence this is what it's like for your body trying to work while it is dehydrated.
Some common signs of dehydration include fatigue, headache, irritability, a "crawling or itching" feeling in the legs, and smelly body odor. Remember Stinky Dave? Check out this video on how it may feel to be dehydrated as an athlete. When we are often or chronically dehydrated we get problems that can spread into all of our different internal systems. Due to the lack of water the detoxification process that needs to happen continuously in our bodies, doesn't work very well. When we cannot get rid of the waste, it piles up and causes problems.
"Dehydration results in an accumulation of harmful substances in the blood that act on cell membranes and have an adverse effect on the kidneys, nervous system, and immune system." [1]
What can go wrong?
Dr. Batmanghelidj has written an excellent book, Your Body's Many Cries For Water, where he goes into detail about what can go wrong with each system when we are dehydrated. It is a highly recommended read if you are interested in your health and how to improve it!
For instance..."Higher blood cholesterol is a sign that the cells of the body have developed a defense mechanism against the osmotic force of the blood that keeps drawing water out through the cell membranes, or the concentrated blood cannot release sufficient water to go through the cell membrane and maintain normal cell functions...Cholesterol production in the cell membrane is a part of the cell survival system. It is a necessary substance. Its excess denotes dehydration."[3]
"Asthma and allergies are indicators that the body has resorted to an increase production of the neurotransmitter histamine, the sensor regulator of water metabolism and its distribution in the body... Since one of the sites for water loss through evaporation is in the lungs, the bronchial constriction produced by histamine means less water evaporation during the act of breathing - a simple, natural maneuver to preserve the body water."[2]
your weight in kg * 33 = X ml of water to drink in a day
The Hydration Formula
So how much water should I drink then? For my metric readers the formula is as follows: your weight in kg x 33 = X amount of ml of water to drink in a day. For my other readers the formula is your weight in lbs divided by 2 = X amount of ounces of water to drink in a day.
your weight in lbs divided by 2 = X ounces of water to drink in a day
Where most people go wrong is that they do not calculate for all the drinks that they will have in a day that will act as diuretics. So pay attention and don't make this common mistake! If you add any of these drinks to your day like coffee, soda, diet-soda, fruit juice, tea, or alcohol [4] you need to add 1.5x the size of that drink to your day. If it is very hot outside or you are doing sports you need to add that to the total as well.
So, what may that look like?
Let's say Ben weighs 70kg. 70kg x 33 = 2310ml = 2.31Liter. That is the daily total of water that Ben should drink. But then he had 2 coffees and 2 glasses of wine, which makes a total of about 800ml. 800ml diuretics x 1.5= 1200ml = 1.2Liter. Ben should then drink 2.31+1.2= 3.5 Liter of water that day.
If he then added some sports to his day he would have to add even more water to his total. Don't forget to add a pinch of good sea-salt to your water cup as well. Without adequate amount of good mineral salt, your body cannot absorb the water. You just end up running to the toilet all the time and will still be dehydrated. But, more on this next week.
How to get off to a great start?
Figure out what your daily number is and then adjust depending on what other types of drinks you are having that day. Then why not start to drink a large cup of water with a pinch of sea-salt the very first thing you do in the morning.
And that's a great start! 😉
[1] Bennett and Barrie, 7-Day Detox Miracle, pg 80.
[2] Dr F.Batmanghelidj, Your Body's Many Cries For Water, Asthma and Allergies, pg 117.
[3] Dr F.Batmanghelidj, Your Body's Many Cries For Water, Higher Blood Cholesterol, pg 87.
[4] Dr F.Batmanghelidj, Your Body's Many Cries For Water, Renin-Angiotension System, pg 71.
Photo credit Aidan Meyer, Ethan Sykes, Pahala Basuki, Nabeel Syed on Unsplash