Article content
We all certainly know that the human body is composed primarily of water and to ensure its proper functioning a sufficient amount of water is necessary.
Muscles and kidneys are composed of 73% water, blood 83%, lungs 90% and the brain 76%. We constantly lose water through breathing and in the form of urine and sweat, so it is essential to replenish it.
Many of us have received the recommendation that we should drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water daily, but when I ask patients how much water they drink, I find out that on average it’s about 2 glasses a day.
The well-known rule says that to achieve optimal hydration men need to drink 3 liters (12 glasses) daily and women 2.2 liters (9 glasses). An intake lower than recommended can lead to mild dehydration, which manifests with many symptoms.
10 Symptoms of Dehydration
Dark yellow urine
Dark urine is often the first sign of lack of water. In general urine should have a light yellow amber color. If a person drinks little, the kidneys excrete a “more concentrated content of waste substances that need to be removed from the body,” which causes a different coloration.
Darker urine can also be the result of consuming medications, B vitamins, beetroot, blackberry, asparagus or food colorings. So if you notice a short-term change in urine color, first consider whether you ate something that could have caused such a change. Then increase your water intake and observe whether the urine color changes
Decreased urine production
The majority of people urinate up to 7 times in 24 hours. If a person drinks little, there is nothing to replace the water that has been excreted. In such a situation the kidneys try to retain as much fluid as possible to prevent dehydration.
Constipation
Dehydration is one of the most common causes of constipation, which can often be resolved by increasing fluid intake. With insufficient water consumption the body tries to obtain water wherever it can, and even absorbs it from the large intestine. A sufficient amount of water in the large intestine has a major effect on its passage. Naturally, lack of water leads to hardened stool and difficult elimination.
Dry and wrinkled skin
Women long for soft and smooth skin and most of them rely on expensive moisturizing creams which they believe will help them. Some spend large amounts of money on procedures to smooth fine lines and wrinkles. Before you start spending money, try increasing your fluid intake. In severe cases dandruff and flakes or bleeding can occur. As the skin dries out, skin cells shrink, which causes more visible wrinkling of the skin, making it look older. The best way to rejuvenate your skin is adequate fluids.
Feeling hungry and gaining weight
The human body knows many things, but it still cannot distinguish between hunger and thirst, for example. The hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for regulating hunger and thirst, often reacts confusedly and responds to thirst with a feeling of hunger. When thirst is then satisfied with food instead of glasses of water, energy intake increases and weight gain occurs.
If you are trying to lose weight or want to maintain your current weight, pay attention to adequate fluid intake. If you feel hungry before you eat something, drink a glass of water and wait 10 to 15 minutes to see if the hunger passes. If the feeling of hunger persists, it means you are truly hungry and it’s time to eat.
Dry mouth
Believe it or not, if you are thirsty, it means you are already mildly dehydrated. Dryness in the mouth often appears together with the feeling of thirst and is a sign that the mucous membranes in the body need water. One way to quench thirst and get rid of dry mouth is to drink throughout the day.
Headache
When a person drinks little, the body tries to compensate for the insufficient intake of fluids by absorbing water from all possible body tissues. This leads to drying and shrinking of brain tissue, which pulls away from the skull bone. Pain receptors are stimulated, causing a headache. At the same time, blood volume decreases due to insufficient water intake and the amount of oxygen reaching the brain is reduced. As a result, the brain’s arteries dilate, which leads to swelling and inflammation that increase the headache.
Fatigue
According to a 2011 study even mild dehydration can cause fatigue, exhaustion and a sense of low energy. With fluid shortage and reduced blood volume the heart must expend more energy to distribute oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. So next time you start to feel tired, skip the coffee (which dehydrates) and rather drink a glass of water.
Joint pain
Water acts as a lubricant for the joints because it facilitates the free movement of the contacting surfaces of the bones during joint motion. If the body is not supplied with sufficient water, the joints suffer from a lack of nutrients, which leads to damage of cartilage cells. With chronic dehydration the extent of cell damage reaches a point at which the cartilage irreversibly degenerates. If you suffer from joint pain, ensure adequate water intake and increase it if necessary.
Weakened immunity
Dehydration increases the concentration of toxins in the blood, which leads to a weakened immune system. Optimal hydration is fundamentally important for the body’s ability to rid itself of the by-products of various illnesses and increases the immune system’s ability to defend against infection.
