Water makes up about two-thirds of your body weight, and a person cannot live without water for more than a few days. Each cell, organ and tissue in the body depends on water. It plays very key roles, for instance:
- It helps maintain the balance of body fluids.
- It regulates and maintains body temperature.
- It lubricates your joints and eyes.
- It protects your tissues, spinal cord and joints.
- It helps your body remove waste products and toxins.
- It aids digestion.
- It helps control calorie intake.
- It helps keep your skin looking good and youthful.
When a person doesn’t drink enough water, they might experience some of the following symptoms:
- Dark urine
Under normal conditions, the color of the urine is light yellow. However, when you don’t intake enough water, the kidneys will begin removing more waste products in the urine like toxins, proteins, and dead blood cells, which results in darker urine. Darkish urine can also occur after taking certain medications, B vitamins, blackberries, asparagus, beets, and food coloring. If your urine remains dark even when you increase your water intake, you need to consult your physician.
- Reduction in urination
The average number of daily urination is 6 to 7 times. Unfortunately, when you don’t drink enough water, there will be less fluid for replacement of the fluids being removed from the body. In other words, the kidneys will keep as much as fluid as possible so that dehydration can be prevented.
- Constipation
When a person doesn’t intake enough water, the body will begin absorbing water from whenever it can, including the colon. Lack of water in the large intestine causes hardening of the stool. However, constipation can be caused by numerous other health issues like lack of physical activity, hypothyroidism, stress, food sensitivities, etc.
- Dry and wrinkled skin
Dr. Diana Howard explains that dehydration is known to cause inflamed, itchy, and irritated skin. Insufficient amount of water in the body leads to the appearance of wrinkles.
- Hunger and weight gain
Did you know that the body doesn’t know the difference between thirst and hunger? Namely, the hypothalamus, the part of the brain in charge of hunger and thirst regulation often gets confused as it causes hunger, when the organism is actually in need of water. Consequently, snacking instead of drinking a glass of water can lead to weight gain. One way to be sure is to drink a cup of water when you feel hungry and wait 15 minutes. If you still feel hungry afterwards, you should eat something. If not, you were only thirsty.
- Poor immunity
When the body is dehydrated, the amount of toxins in the blood increases and thus weakens the immunity. Therefore, enough water is crucial for the proper removal of toxins and protection from infections.
- Tiredness
A study from 2011 showed that even a mild dehydration can lead to fatigue and lack of energy. Additionally, when the body is in need of water, the heart begins working harder in order to push oxygen and nutrients through the body. So, the next time you feel tired, skip the cup of coffee and drink water. Most importantly, you should know that coffee, sodas, tea, etc. cannot replace water.
- Joint ache
Water lubricates the joints since it enables two bones to slide over each other as the joint moves. However, if you don’t intake enough water, the joints begin lacking nutrients, thus, the cartilage cells become damaged.
- Headaches
Since the body begins absorbing water from all other body tissues to compensate for the lack of fluids, the brain tissue loses its moisture and shrinks, pulling away from the skull. This activates the pain receptors which results in a headache. The headache will further intensify when the blood volume drops and the oxygen needed in the brain reduces.
- Dry mouth and thirst
Feeling thirst is a symptom of dehydration. Along with thirst, dry mouth is another indicator of the body’s need of water.
Tips to prevent dehydration:
- You should drink plenty of water and other fluids every day. The amount of water you need to drink usually depends on a number of factors, such as the climate in which you live, how physically active you are, and your overall health.
- Start your day with a large glass of water (room temperature) and drink one full glass of water before every meal.
- When you are busy and often forget to drink water, you can set a reminder to drink a glass of water a few times a day.
- Carry your own water bottle, no matter where you are going.
- Along with water, start including water-rich fruits and vegetables in your diet.
- Try not to drink beverages that can cause dehydration, such as alcohol, energy drinks and others that contain caffeine.
- If you are suffering from a fever, vomiting or diarrhea, increase your fluid intake to prevent severe dehydration.
- You should consult your doctor immediately if you are having symptoms such as extreme thirst, dizziness, not passing urine for more than eight hours, and a rapid or weak pulse.
No comments:
Post a Comment