Water, your body, and dehydration

[SavageEagle]

The Dangers of Dehydration (Part I)

I was doing some research tonight and came across this article. Very good read, and although long, I truly hope you take the time to read it.

A lot of people, including myself, have been depraving ourselves of much needed water. The effects of doing so are devastating. Dehydration is happening in most of us right now and we don't know it. And read about what all happens to us because of it. I thought at least tea was ok. I was WRONG. No wonder I have gotten 3 kidney stones and a suspected one now.

Please take the time to read this and pass it along. You can thank me later.

 

[IndySSD]

Yes, water seems to be a long lost "drink" nowadays.

I drink tons of water (ok maybe only a gallon or so per day) but I know people that literally go weeks at a time without ever drinking water. It's all soda/coffee/energy drinks/goofy tea.

Craziness! People are often AMAZED how much better they feel when they make sure they drink appropriate levels of water.

One way to feel better in 30 days is to just drink water with every meal. Don't change anything else, just stop drinking soda/tea/coffee/juice/alcohol with your meals and drink water. 30 days you'll feel much more energetic. It's amazing.

 

[lovemachine]

I'm not worried. I drink between 2-3 gallons of water a day. I always have a large jug of water on me. Been doing it since high school.

 

[shawkpilot]

We bought a Brita filter pitcher a few years ago. It's amazing how much water we drink now. Nice and cold from the fridge.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Most people don't have a clue about how to maintain proper hydration levels. It's one of the first things I teach to SAR responders and other outdoors folks when I'm teaching classes. It's such a basic part of health it never fails to amaze me how many people don't understand it.

 

[HotPocket]

"I thought at least tea was ok."

A good rule of thumb is, if you wouldn't bathe in it it doesn't count as water.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Water IS the best, for sure.

But the water contained in "other things" is also a good source for the water our body needs.

Most of us don't drink enough fluids period.

As a diabetic, I'm painfully aware the need to keep and stay hydrated.

-J-

 

[shibumiseeker]

Water IS the best, for sure.

But the water contained in "other things" is also a good source for the water our body needs.

-J-

Agreed. While it's better to drink water than sodas, coffee, tea, etc, people should not avoid those things when water is not available in the mistaken belief that not having them is better than having them.

Foods that contain a lot of water (fresh fruits and vegetables) contain a lot of water along with vitamins and minerals that also contribute to better health.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

For those interested in reading further, I can recommend:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Bodys-Many-Cries-Water/dp/0962994235"]Amazon.com: Your Body's Many Cries for Water (9780962994234): Fereydoon Batmanghelidj: Books[/ame]


[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Water-Health-Healing-Youre-Thirsty/dp/0446690740/ref=pd_sim_b_1[/ame]


I am always amazed at how people mistake "hunger" for thirsty (how many times a day do you hear people say "I need something to eat"). No, you don't. You are not sick, you are not getting old or depressed, you are not hungry, but you do need to drink water.

 

[schafe]

Interesting article.......From a "medical Intuitive"

 

[Benny]

I'm not worried. I drink between 2-3 gallons of water a day. I always have a large jug of water on me. Been doing it since high school.

No worries over here either...I drink at least 3 gallons of water everyday.

If I'm eating a meal, I usually have a glass of soda and if I'm drinking beer I'm drinking beer, but all throughout the day I'm always consuming large amounts of water.

I drink at least a gallon of water in the middle of the night...I guess sleeping makes me thirsty.

 

[ATOMonkey]

I drink about 5 cups of coffee in the morning, then I'll balance that out with 5 cups of water at night.

GTG!!!

I'm from a hearty stock that doesn't suffer from dehydration like most mortals.

 

[gohard43]

Its amazing how many people have no idea how important drinking water is. I try to stress this to my girlfriend daily, I constantly have a bottle of water with me no matter what I'm doing...her, a soda or some other b.s drink! Some people are just stupid!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Also to add:

If you FEEL thirsty, you're already behind the dehydration curve.

If you feel thirsty, you ARE dehydrated. And ONE glass of water won't magically rehydrate you to the point of making you right. It's a good start, however.

Drink plenty of high water content / low sugar content fluids = more happy body.

-J-

 

[shibumiseeker]

Also to add:

If you FEEL thirsty, you're already behind the dehydration curve.

If you feel thirsty, you ARE dehydrated. And ONE glass of water won't magically rehydrate you to the point of making you right. It's a good start, however.

Drink plenty of high water content / low sugar content fluids = more happy body.

-J-

Generally speaking the MAXIMUM ability for your body to absorb water is about a liter an hour, and realistically speaking it's less than half of that most of the time. So more than that level of intake and all you are doing is peeing excess. Chugging a bunch of water when you are down is actually worse than sipping the same amount over a much longer time since chugging flushes electrolytes out of your system without increasing fluid absorption.

The one caveat to just plain water is if you are exercising, then you need electrolyte and carb replacement. Ironically enough, you lose fat better if there is low levels of carbs in your system while you are exercising. Once the blood-glycogen levels drop then the body turns down the fat metabolizing system and starts to scavenge proteins (muscle).

Proper hydration levels are also critical to maximum physical output. You can lose as much as a quarter your capabilities just by being a couple quarts low.

My rule of thumb is to drink enough to pee clear to light yellow. The darker it gets, the worse off you are.

 

[tyler34]

I drink mostly water sometimes OJ, I NEVER get anything but water when eating out also, too many reasons not to.

 

[Knife Lady]

I used to get bladder infections all the time. I have been caffeine free for over 25 yrs and I have had only 1 bladder (UTI) infection in that time period. Caffeine was not good for me in many ways. I used to only get my water in coffee but now I get it in many ways. I still cannot just drink plain water I have to flavor it but at least I get water now. It is a good start and improvement. An I also agree with the color of the your urine being the lighter the color the better.

 

[ATOMonkey]

Is it bad if your pee is green? My uhhh... friend...yeah, that's the ticket...he's the one I'm talking about.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Is it bad if your pee is green? My uhhh... friend...yeah, that's the ticket...he's the one I'm talking about.

It means your monkey is about to fall off...

 

[RachelMarie]

I drink about a gallon and a half of water a day. I'm a water fanatic but it has to be ice cold. The only other thing I ever drink is coffee and that's just 2 or 3 cups every morning. That being said....TOO much water is also not good for you (Mostly in short amounts of time)...

Whenever you disregard your sense of thirst and strive to ingest several glasses of water a day just because you have been told that doing so is good for your health, you actually put unnecessary strain on your body in two major ways:

1. Ingesting more water than you need can increase your total blood volume. And since your blood volume exists within a closed system - your blood circulatory system - needlessly increasing your blood volume on a regular basis puts unnecessary burden on your heart and blood vessels.
2. Your kidneys must work overtime to filter excess water out of your blood circulatory system. Your kidneys are not the equivalent of a pair of plumbing pipes whereby the more water you flush through your kidneys, the cleaner they become; rather, the filtration system that exists in your kidneys is composed in part by a series of specialized capillary beds called glomeruli. Your glomeruli can get damaged by unnecessary wear and tear over time, and drowning your system with large amounts of water is one of many potential causes of said damage.

Putting unnecessary burden on your cardiovascular system and your kidneys by ingesting unnecessary water is a subtle process. For the average person, it is virtually impossible to know that this burden exists, as there are usually no obvious symptoms on a moment-to-moment basis. But make no mistake about it: this burden is real and can hurt your health over the long term