I'm not kidding. In America it is estimated that 75% of us are chronically dehydrated. Sixty-percent of our bodies are composed of water, 75 percent in our muscles, 85 percent in our brains, it’s like oil to a machine, yet we reach for sodas and sports drinks and rarely for honest, pure water. Most people don’t even realize they need to worry about dehydration. To them, dehydration is something that happens to travelers in the desert when they run out of water, but there is a chronic form of dehydration that does not have the sudden and intense nature of the acute form.
One of the most common effects of dehydration is feeling constantly aggravated or angry for no real reason. About ten years ago or so I went through this personally where I just couldn't shake my mood and I was snapping at everyone... I was a real joy to be around let me tell you. More so for myself though because I didn't like feeling like I was so wound up all the time, like I was stressed, but there was no reason for it, not really.
That's when I came across a piece on dehydration on one of those health and lifestyle shows and they said that being dehydrated leaves you feeling constantly angry. I upped my water intake and my joy rose with it. It was astounding. However, above and beyond improving your mood, chronic dehydration can actually
lead to a whole slew of health problems, all of which can be easily avoided by simply making sure you are getting enough water into your body on a daily basis.
The old wisdom stated 8- 8oz glasses a day was enough, but nowadays there are reports stating everything from drinking half your body weight in ounces every day (meaning if you weight 150lbs you'd drink 75oz) to as little as 5- 8oz glasses provided you aren't exercising excessively or drinking a lot of sodas.
Two things to remember -
1. Many of the things we do drink, like caffeinated sodas, coffee and tea, act as a diuretic, meaning they cause the body to excrete water. So if you're drinking a lot of these beverages, then you need to supply even more water to the body.
2. If you are overweight, you need more water than a thin person does. Your body needs the water in part to metabolize the fat, so it's especially vital to weight loss!
I've found that 3-4 liters a day works best for me. My body functions properly, I lose weight, and I'm not at all grouchy! :D I know that if you experiment with amounts and pay attention to your body, you'll find the what works for you.
Whether you take the challenge or not, upping your water intake a little bit every day isn't a bad idea and it will improve your health!
This list of 13 symptoms will inspire you to go get a glass of water, and then another, and another … (After each symptom you will see how lack of fluid affects the issue.)
1. Fatigue, Energy Loss: Dehydration of the tissues causes enzymatic activity to slow down.
2. Constipation: When chewed food enters the colon, it contains too much liquid to allow stools to form properly, and the wall of the colon reduces it. In chronic dehydration, the colon takes too much water to give to other parts of the body.
3. Digestive Disorders: In chronic dehydration, the secretion of digestive juices are less.
4. High and Low Blood Pressure: The body’s blood volume is not enough to completely fill the entire set of arteries, veins, and capillaries.
5. Gastritis, Stomach Ulcers: To protect its mucous membranes from being destroyed by the acidic digestive fluid it produces, the stomach secretes a layer of mucus.
6. Respiratory Troubles: The mucous membranes of the respiratory region are slightly moist to protect the respiratory tract from substances that might be present in inhaled air.
7. Acid-Alkaline Imbalance: Dehydration activates an enzymatic slowdown producing acidification.
8. Excess Weight and Obesity: We may overeat because we crave foods rich in water. Thirst is often confused with hunger.
9. Eczema: Your body needs enough moisture to sweat 20 to 24 ounces of water, the amount necessary to dilute toxins so they do not irritate the skin.
10. Cholesterol: When dehydration causes too much liquid to be removed from inside the cells, the body tries to stop this loss by producing more cholesterol.
11. Cystitis, Urinary Infections: If toxins contained in urine are insufficiently diluted, they attack the urinary mucous membranes.
12. Rheumatism: Dehydration abnormally increases the concentration of toxins in the blood and cellular fluids, and the pains increase in proportion to the concentration of the toxins.
13. Premature Aging: The body of a newborn child is composed of 80 percent liquid, but this percentage declines to no more than 70 percent in an adult and continues to decline with age.
Some Water Facts:
- A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
- Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
- Drinking five glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and you are 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
- The kidneys can’t function properly without enough water. When they don’t work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver.
- Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration.
- Water also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.
- Water can help relieve constipation. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. The colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. But, when a person drinks enough water, normal bowel function usually returns
And a last special note for those of us trying to lose weight and complaining how hard it is...
- In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
- One glass of water will shut down hunger pangs for almost all dieters. Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat.
- Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increases, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce deposits.
- One of the liver’s primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But, if the liver has to do some of the kidney’s work, it can’t operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops.
- Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of. All that metabolized fat must be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste.
- Even mild dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
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