Take your liquids

It is amazing how the simplest things in the world are so essential for our well-being. Water, made up simply of hydrogen and oxygen, makes up more than 70% of our body composition and is practically the oil for our machine to be able to operate properly. The effects of not drinking enough water are often felt immediately and if not addressed can lead to serious physical and mental complications.

The Importance of staying hydrated

Staying hydrated does not mean drinking a litre and a half of water in the morning and you’re good for the rest of the day. Throughout the day we lose water through breathing, sweating, bathroom breaks and body heat from just moving and doing our daily chores. Hydration needs to be gradual and can be taken in various forms through food (especially fruit and veg), milk, tea, coffee, sports drinks and just plain water. If you do not like drinking plain water there are many ways of adding some flavour, for example, heating water (no need to boil it) and adding some lemon and mint, or lemon and honey, can make drinking your essential liquids more enjoyable and at the same time taking some added vitamins and nutrients from the added ingredients.

More benefits:

Promotes proper brain function – 75-85% of our brain is made up of water. Studies have shown that even a 1% hydration imbalance can affect cognitive brain function.
Physical exertion – Being well hydrated will mean the body will be able to tolerate the rise in core temperature and other organs (heart and lungs), muscles and joints will function in a smoother manner.
Proper kidney function – The kidneys are our internal recycling plant. Without enough water the kidneys would not be able to flush out waste products collected during their all important function of filtering our blood. Prolonged or bad hydration can lead to kidney stones and in extreme cases cause kidney failure.
Helps maintain a balanced body temperature, blood pressure and sodium balance – All these pointers will lead to body homeostasis which basically means the ideal state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by a living system, in our case, the human body.
Promotes healthy digestion – Apart from helping the digestive system maintain a proper bowel operation, drinking water before a meal can help you feel fuller earlier helping you avoid eating too much and is an important tool in weight loss programs.

Signs of dehydration

When your body gives you these signals do not ignore them

Feeling of a dry mouth
Headaches or dizziness
Difficulty thinking through things
Urine is a very dark yellow colour
Muscle cramping
Drowsiness or fatigue

Tips to help you keep hydrated

Fill up three small (50cl / 500ml) bottles of water and make sure you drink one in the morning, lunch and dinner. Added to a cup of tea, coffee and the food intake this amount of water intake should be adequate to help function properly during the day. Should you be an athlete and have training scheduled your water intake should be more.
Add flavour to water to make it more enjoyable but do not exaggerate on the sugar content.
Keep fruit handy – oranges, apples, grapes, watermelon (especially in summer!).
For those who enjoy using technology for their fitness goals use your apps to help you track water intake.