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Every person knows from childhood that the human body is made mostly of water in order to ensure its proper functioning. Therefore, the level of water in the body must be kept constant at the required amount.
Water in the body
Muscles and kidneys are made up of 73% water, 83% of blood, 90% of the lungs and 76% of the brain. Water is continuously released from the body through breathing and in the form of urine and sweat, so it needs to be replenished regularly.
Many of us have been warned that we should drink at least 6-8 glasses of water a day, but when I ask patients how much water they drink, I consider it to be on average two glasses a day.
A common rule is that men need to drink 3 liters (12 glasses) a day and women 2.2 liters of water a day to achieve optimal hydration. Consuming less water than the recommended amount can lead to mild dehydration of the body, which manifests itself in a number of symptoms.
Joint pain
Water acts as a lubricant for the joints, allowing free movement of the bone joint surfaces that move the joint. If the body does not get enough water, the joints suffer from a lack of nutrients, which leads to damage to cartilage cells.
With chronic dehydration, the level of cell damage reaches a point at which the cartilage irreversibly degenerates.
If you suffer from joint pain, make sure you have enough water, and if necessary, increase your intake.
Decreased urine production
Most people urinate up to 7 times a day. If you drink little, you do not replenish the water that has been lost from the body. The kidneys try to retain as much fluid as possible to prevent dehydration. If you urinate fewer than 6 times a day, your water intake is insufficient and you should probably increase it.
Constipation
Dehydration is one of the most common causes of constipation, which can often be resolved by increasing fluid intake. When there is not enough water, the body tries to get water where it can and absorbs it from the colon. A sufficient amount of water in the colon has a major effect on its permeability. Of course, lack of water leads to the formation of hard stool and difficulty in passing it.
Dark yellow urine
Dark urine is often the first sign of lack of water. Urine should generally be pale yellow in color. If you drink little, the kidneys eliminate an “increased content of waste excreted from the body,” which causes a different color.
Darker urine can also be caused by taking medications, B vitamins, beetroot, blackberries, asparagus, or food coloring. Therefore, if you notice a short-term change in the color of your urine, first consider whether you were aware of anything that could have caused such a change. Then increase your water intake and see if the color of your urine changes.
Dry and wrinkled skin
Women love soft and healthy skin and most of them rely on expensive moisturizers that they think can help.
Some spend a lot of money on treatments that allow them to smooth fine lines and wrinkles. But before you start spending money, try increasing your fluid intake. In severe cases dandruff, scaling, or bleeding may occur.
When the skin dries out, skin cells shrink and wrinkles become more visible on older skin. The best way to rejuvenate the skin is to have enough fluid.
Weakened immunity
Dehydration increases the concentration of toxins in the blood, which leads to a weakened immune system.
Optimal hydration is necessary for the body’s ability to get rid of the by-products of various diseases and increases the immune system’s ability to prevent infection.
Dry mouth
Believe it or not, if you feel like drinking, it means you are already dehydrated. Dry mouth often appears with feelings of thirst and is a sign that you need to add water to the mucous membranes of the body. One way to quench thirst and get rid of dry mouth is to drink throughout the day.
Headaches
When a person drinks little, the body tries to compensate for insufficient fluid intake by absorbing water from all possible tissues of the body. This leads to drying and shrinkage of brain tissue, which is pulled away from the cranial bone.
Pain receptors are stimulated to trigger a headache. At the same time, due to insufficient water intake, blood volume decreases and the amount of oxygen entering the brain is reduced. As a result, the brain’s arteries dilate, leading to swelling and inflammation, which intensifies headaches.
Feeling of weight gain
The human body does many things, but one thing it cannot do is distinguish between hunger and thirst.
The hypothalamus, the part of the brain that is responsible for regulating thirst, reacts to the often confused, thirst-like feeling of hunger. When thirst is mistaken for hunger and you eat instead of having a glass of water, calorie intake increases and weight goes up.
If you are trying to lose weight or want to maintain your current weight, make sure you have enough fluid. If you are hungry, before you eat something, drink a glass of water and wait 10–15 minutes to see if the hunger subsides. If the feeling of hunger persists, it means you are truly hungry and it’s time to eat.
Fatigue
According to one study conducted in 2011, mild dehydration can cause fatigue, exhaustion, and a feeling of low energy.
In the absence of fluids and with reduced blood volume, the heart must use more energy to distribute oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Therefore, when you start to feel tired, skip your coffee (which is a diuretic) and rather drink a glass of water.
