Don't wait, HYDRATE!
Water, water water! Our forests are burning up, smoking out most major cities in the province. As important as it is to protect our landscapes from the drought, we need to do the same for our bodies, now more than ever with the heat warnings we’ve had this summer and the declining air quality due to the smoke from all the fires. But how much water is enough and what does adequate hydration mean? Is it the classic 8 cups or 2L/ day? It could be. Naturopathic philosophy encourages and focuses on creating treatment plans specific to the individual and their health needs. A blanket rule of 2L/d is just a number, a good general rule, but here's my take on how to maintain adequate hydration through the summer heat and demands of the busy life work schedules we all seem to lead.
How do you know if you're adequately hydrated or better yet, dehydrated? What are common causes and side effects of dehydration?
What goes in what must come out. If you’re drinking enough water then you should be peeing regularly through the day. The less you drink the more fluids your body will hold onto because it needs that fluid, all cells in the body need lubrication to function optimally (think of electricity and water). Our bodies are circuits that carry electrical currents, without fluidity of our cells these circuits are dampened and slowed down. If your urine is a dark yellow colour or you can count the number of times you pee in a day on one hand then you’re probably not drinking enough water. I often hear people say they don’t want to drink water because they don’t want to pee. That’s a crazy concept to wrap my head around, I don’t get it. Hopefully after reading this post and understanding WHY we need as much water as we do and what happens to the body when we don’t get it those who felt that way will have a change of heart. For those of us with extremely stressful (mental and or physical) jobs or to do lists, drinking enough water will not only keep you hydrated but the hourly or so pee break that comes with it is actually a bonus. Our brain can only productively concentrate on one task for ~45 consecuitive minutes. So think of that bathroom break as a reset for your bladder & your brain. It gives us a chance to get up, stretch our legs and walk around, increasing circulation and blood flow. Even the act of washing our hands after is a way to not only cleanse from the bathroom but a reset in general. Solution, aim to drink enough water so that you’re frequently urinating throughout the day. The best way to judge this is based on the colour and volume of urine output. It should be close to clear or a very mellow yellow throughout the day. The “only" brighter yellow urine we should have is first thing in the morning when we haven’t drank any fluids through the night which gives the body a chance to concentrate the solutes for excretion in the morning, the higher the concentration the darker the colour. That, and if you take B vitamins in the morning you’re probably familiar with the neon yellow that washes out the next time you use the washroom.
Next lets consider what factors contribute to dehydration aside from how much water we drink.
Exercise and sweating! This is a no brainer. Intense exercise and activity stimulates our cardiopulmonary system to work harder, faster and stronger to keep up with the demands of whatever given exercise we're doing. Our respiration rate increases to accommodate the need for extra oxygen when doing aerobic and anaerobic activity. To simplify these terms aerobic activity is anything at an intensity where oxygen can adequately meet the energy demands of exercise via metabolism. Activities up to an intensity that can be maintained for a prolonged period. Anaerobic on the other hand is any activity that quickly depletes oxygenation causing you to become "out of breath,” usually these are of high intensity that can be maintained for only short “sprints” of time. Part 2 is an increased heart rate to allow faster delivery of oxygen via the blood to the tissues in need (to the musculoskeletal system, away from the digestive system). Consider a sympathetic fight or flight vs parasympathetic rest & digest response for how the body decides where to focus its efforts and energy for each state of being. During either of these workout variations (aerobic vs anaerobic again) the body is under added stress and working harder than at rest. What happens to any machine when you turn it on high?… it heats up, & we're no different. As the body temperature rises, heat must be dissipated. The body does this by sweating, to try and cool it down. So as much of a habit that most of us are in to wipe the sweat away it actually serves a physiological purpose to help regulate our body temperature while under the added stress of intense exercise (or a hot climate without exercising, anytime the body temperature rises above a certain threshold we should be sweating). When we sweat we're not only losing water but also electrolytes. Electrolytes give our sweat that salty taste and gritty feeling once it dries. So if sweat is more than just water but all we replenish with is water then we're automatically at a deficit which leads to dehydration. Electrolytes serve the purpose of helping our kidneys actually reabsorbthe water that we intake by causing fluid shifts and gradients allowing the body to hold onto the water, putting it back into our circulatory system and extracellular compartments instead of losing it through urine.
This next point is relatable to exercise and sweat and I’ve mentioned it briefly above, but HEATis a very dehydrating force. On a “normal” day the body loses roughly 100ml of fluid as sweat, but this number can grow as high as up to 1-2L/hrwith increased temperatures?! That's a huge number and if we're not aware of the warning signs and how to counteract them, then dehydration WILL set in. This Sumer alone we’ve had a good two weeks of heat wave weather in the sea to sky corridor with temperatures in the mid to high 30’s, and we're not the exception. Everything around us is dry, the entire province is on extreme fire danger alert and now we're in the middle of an air quality warning from the smoke. If Mother Nature and all her plants and forests are experiencing this drought please don’t think that your precious body is any different . Now more than ever we need to properly hydrate and protect ourselves from the heat.
Third lets consider other things that we put into the body and how they contribute to dehydration. Certain foods, some supplements and medications can all have a dehydrating effect on the body. Things like coffee and alcohol though fluid when we ingest them are actually diuretics and contribute to fluid loss. Diuretic medications and even high protein diets cause excessive fluid loss which can be dehydrating.
What actually happens and what does it feel like to be dehydrated? Divided into categories dehydration is rated on a scale of mild to severe, but for simplicity I’m going to talk about what happens in general.
Thirst - The body telling you in the most direct way possible that it needs more fluid. If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. It's that simple.
Headaches - One of the most common and initial signs of dehydration is a headache. Commonly felt in the front and or sides of the head.
Tissue integrity - with decreased fluid in our tissues they become less fluid, more tight and the skin on the back of your hand may start to tent. An easy way to test this is by pinching the skin on the back of your hand. If it flattens out and resumes its place flush with the rest of your skin instantly then you’re likely well hydrated. If it gradually sinks back down over a period of a few seconds then chances are you’re slightly dehydrated.
Capillary refill - Another simple test of tissue perfusion and how much blood flow is reaching your tissues is by applying pressure over the nail bed of a finger blanching the tissue. After letting go, the nail should resume a healthy pink colour under 2 seconds. If the time it takes to return to a healthy colour is prolonged then there could be a circulation issue due to decreased blood volume from dehydration.
Rapid puse - Heart rate increases in a state of dehydration in order to maintain the same level of cardiac output. The body will maintain cardiac output under specific circumstances, if that's the constant variable then heart rate needs to rise as a result of decreased blood pressure. Decreased blood volume —> decreased blood pressure —> blood vessel vasoconstriction & increased heart rate —> increase BP and maintain CO.
Fatigue, decreased muscle strength, decreased cognition, increased risk of injury, feeling sick and ill, and muscle cramping. With severe and prolonged dehydration all of these symptoms arise as warning signs that the body needs fluids!
My top 5 tips on how to stay hydrated enough through the heat and smoke this summer are;
Drink frequently and often though the day. Carrying a water bottle with you and or having a glass of water on your desk increases intake by having that visual reminder.
If you drink anything besides water, alternate them with a glass of h20 between. Start your morning off with a glass of water beforeyour coffee and then after every non h20 drink you have during the day as well. One for you one for me.
Add berries, fruit, citrus, cucumber, or chia seeds to your water to make it more palatable and fun to drink.
Substitute water in your smoothies or blended drinks instead of nut mylk or juices.
And one for the furry friends because we don’t want then overheating with those coats they can’t take off. Add a cup of water into their food dish. If your dogs down their dinner in seconds this is an easy way to get a little more into them and make sure they’re hydrated with you.
Closing notes, in the most simple direct words possible: Drink more water, just do it.