What is the Importance of Hydration?
There are many things that impact your health, some positive and some negative. It’s up to you to do all that you can to avoid the unhealthy ones. What is The Importance of Proper Hydration? It won’t always be easy, by learning more about the following five factors, which positively impact your health, you’ll be well on your way to better health.
The factors covered in this series are quality nutrition, hydration, detoxification, oxygenation, and alkalization. In this 2nd part of the series, we will focus on how hydration impacts your health.
Hydration facts
Staying hydrated is extremely important for overall health. What many people don’t realize is that drinking plenty of fluids is also necessary for optimal heart health. This is especially true in warm weather.
Every single cell in your body needs water. So do your tissues and organs. The body requires water to lubricate joints, maintain proper temperature and remove waste products.
Keeping your body hydrated helps your heart pump blood through your blood vessels. It also helps muscles work more efficiently. In other words, when you drink the proper amount of water or other fluids your heart doesn’t have to work as hard.
Tips for staying hydrated
Water is the best thing to drink when it comes to staying hydrated… especially when you’re exercising. If you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy the taste of water alone, try eating fruits and vegetables that have a high water content. These include, but are not limited to:
• cucumbers
• iceberg lettuce
• celery
• radishes
• tomatoes
• green peppers
• watermelon
• citrus fruits
• strawberries
• cantaloupe
As you can see, you have plenty of healthy choices.
What about other drinks?
Sports drinks are recommended in very hot weather. However, if you’re trying to steer clear of added sugar and extra calories, you might want to think twice. Any sugary drink, such as soda or fruit juice, tends to be harder on your stomach. And, anything with caffeine or alcohol in it actually causes you to lose fluid, which will cause dehydration!!
How Much is Too Much?
You’ve probably heard or read somewhere that you need to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water per day. While many people still believe this to be true, some physicians will tell you that it depends on things like climate, the type of clothes you wear and whether or not you’re exercising.
Signs of dehydration
Never let the fact that you feel thirsty be an indication that you’re getting dehydrated. If you’re thirsty, you’ve ALREADY reached that point. If you perspire more than average, you need to drink more fluids.
Are you hungry?
Believe it or not sometimes when you feel hungry, you actually might be thirsty instead. If you’ve eaten within the last two hours, try this trick. Drink a glass of water and wait approximately 10 minutes. If after that time, you no longer feel hungry, you’ll know you were dealing with dehydration.
How can you tell if you are Hydrated?
One of the best ways to monitor your hydration level is to keep track of the color of your urine. If it’s pale or clear it means you’re properly hydrated. If it’s dark, you need to drink more liquids.
Don’t ever take dehydration lightly. Not only can it lead to painful issues such as headaches and swollen feet, it can also lead to life-threatening conditions like heat stroke.All things you do should be in moderation! Even too much water too quickly can lead to trouble!
