Hydration, Hydration!

For all of you who have been to my classes, you know I always talk about staying hydrated – but what does it mean and why is it so important?

Hydration is the process of making your body absorb water – it sounds simple (and it is really), but our hydration levels are something that we really should be paying attention to!

Our bodies are around 65% water and maintaining the right balance of water and electrolytes (such as Sodium, Calcium and Magnesium etc) helps to make sure our body’s systems can function properly;

Regulating our body temperature, carrying nutrients to our cells, keeping our blood in good working order, flushing out toxins and providing moisture to our skin and tissues are just some of the processes that require water.

The ways in which we lose water include;

·        Sweating

·        Urination

·        Breathing (especially when breathing through our mouth)

·        Illness & Fever (increased sweating or things like diarrhoea & vomiting)

So, how do we keep ourselves hydrated?

1.      Drink more water!

This is the obvious one – NHS guidance is to drink 6-8 glasses of water every day, this works out be between 1.2 – 1.6 litres. This is an approximate guide as everybody is different and if you are bigger you’ll need more than if you’re on the smaller side. Also, if you are exercising or your outside in hot weather, you’ll need to drink more than usual to account for increased water loss.

Having a glass of water first thing in the morning is a good way to start the day to make up for the water we lose while we sleep. I like to slice some lemon, ginger and sprigs of mint into mine. Keeping a bottle handy throughout the day is another way to remind yourself to keep hydrated, sipping a little and often is more effective than drinking a whole bottle in one go.

2.      Drink other drinks

You don’t have to stick to plain old water to keep hydrated. All drinks contain water, so can count towards your daily totals – just be aware that if drinks have lots of sugar in them, or they contain caffeine, they can have a diuretic effect meaning that they are likely to make you pee more and actually lose water.

Things like herbal teas, water with a splash of fruit juice or fruit infused water are all options that can help make water a bit more interesting.

3.      Eat plenty of fresh fruit and veggies

Fresh fruit and vegetables are estimated to contribute up to 20% of our daily water intake. While all foods contain some water, fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, broccoli, strawberries, cucumber or spinach contain around 90% water.

So as well as being packed with vitamins minerals and all round ‘good stuff’, fruit and vegetables also keep you hydrated!

4.      Keep an eye out for the signs of dehydration.

If we aren’t keeping ourselves well hydrated, we can risk slipping into dehydration – the common mild signs of dehydration can include;

·        Fatigue

·        Dry mouth

·        Decreased urination

·        Dry skin

·        Constipation

·        Dizziness

·        Headaches

Severe dehydration can lead to things like low blood pressure, increased heart rate or rapid breathing as well as shriveled skin and being unable to produce sweat.

A simple way to tell if you are dehydrated, apart from feeling thirsty, is to keep an eye on the colour of your urine, link to useful chart here and whether you are needing to go every 2-4 hours (any longer and you could be getting dehydrated).

Staying hydrated is a key part of keeping in good health – let me know how you like to keep hydrated

Nina x