What dehydration is doing to you

Up to 60% of the human body is composed of water. Water invigorates and rejuvenates every part of the human anatomy, and is often touted as more important than even food and nutrition to survive. However, we often neglect this most crucial of all human needs. Staying hydrated is often harder in winter, or when in constant presence of an air conditioning unit, but never becomes less crucial.

Always have a good quality water bag or a hand-bottle within your immediate vicinity to encourage you to consume more of this life-giving liquid. Luckily for you, your body is constantly trying to help you battle dehydration, so know that you aren’t alone.

Here are a few facts regarding dehydration and what’s really going on inside your body:

1. Some adverse effects of not drinking enough water include digestive, skin, bladder and kidney problems, fatigue, and even headaches. We need water as much as the air we breathe in! Keeping your body hydrated is not something to be taken lightly.

2. Did you know that dehydration actually sets in just before you start feeling thirsty? Sipping water throughout the day is the best way to handle it. Always have a bottle or a glass of water handy! If you’re not a morning person, having at least two glasses of water right after you wake up will raise your blood pressure to normal levels, and it’s much healthier than having your first coffee on an empty stomach.

• 3. A common myth about drinking is that merely consuming fluids like sweetened juices, soda or tea will hydrate you as much as water does. This is untrue. It’s actually the complete opposite. To handle the excess sugar and salt you are taking into your system, your body wastes large quantities of precious water attempting to flush it out. So if you love your coffee, juices or aerated drinks, make sure to drink one extra glass of water for every cup you have. Also, the number one source of excessive calories in a person’s diet is sugar-based beverages such as sodas, juices and other liquids. Ty to restrict your diet to water and water alone.
  4. Dehydration can have you looking much older than you actually are! When dehydrated, the body’s organs (which includes the skin,) begins to wrinkle and age prematurely.
  5. Drinking cold water regularly can even speed your metabolism and help you burn extra calories. The effects of elevated metabolism begin around 10 minutes after consuming the water and peak at 30-40 minutes after drinking. Researchers have therefore estimated that anyone (yes, anyone, you included,) who increases his water consumption by 1.5 litres a day would burn an extra 17,400 calories over the course of a single year, for a weight loss of approximately five pounds! Yes, water can help you lose weight.
  6. Joint pains and cartilage stiffness are some symptoms that are eased by constant consumption of water. All joints have cartilage padding that which is composed primarily of, (no guesses for the right answer) yes, water. When the body is dehydrated, the cartilage is weakened and joint repair is slow, resulting in pain and discomfort.

7. When the body is short on water, the colon is the first region from where water is drawn away from to compensate for the dearth of the liquid, to provide it for the other life giving processes the body has to undertake every second. Without water, wastes move through the large intestines much more slowly and sometimes, not at all. Therefore, a lack of water can cause constipation.

• 8. When the body suffers from dehydration, cholesterol naturally builds up within it, in order to prevent water loss from cells, which make up the body. Blood pressure, too, worsens when there is no water present in the human body. Blood is naturally composed of 92% water when adequately hydrated. When not provided with optimum levels of water, however, blood becomes thicker, causing resistance to blood flow and resulting in elevated blood pressure.
  9. Skin Disorders can worsen as a result of lack of water in the body. Dehydration greatly impairs the elimination of toxins from the largest organ in the body, the skin. This makes the body more vulnerable to all manner of skin disorders, including dermatitis and psoriasis, as well as premature wrinkling and discoloration. Digestive disorders, too are worsened by a dearth of water in the body. A shortage of water and other alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium can lead to a number of digestive disorders. These include, but are not limited to gastritis, ulcers and acid reflex.

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