Day 5 Nutrition and Hydration Week

On today – Day 5 Nutrition and Hydration week we are looking further at dehydration. Its all very well to emphasize how much we should be drinking and that hydration matters, but how do we know if we are dehydrated? READ MORE HERE

The NHC say: “Water makes up to 60% of an adult’s and 75% of an infant’s body weight and performs crucial roles such as carrying nutrients and waste products between our major organs, helping regulate temperature, lubricating our joints and acting as a shock absorber.”

The NHS says: “Water makes up over two-thirds of the healthy human body. It lubricates the joints and eyes, aids digestion, flushes out waste and toxins, and keeps the skin healthy.”

(info sources are listed on the full blog here)

So hydration matters for all those things – carrying nutrients, regulating body temperature, lubricating joints, aiding digestion, flushing out toxins, keeping skin healthy….. its really important, BUT its also really understandable that keeping that level of water topped up in our system can be hard and we can easily become dehydrated. If we are exercising, in a hot climate, if we are ill or recovering, if we are simply not drinking enough we should be looking out for the early warning sign of simply – THIRST. Yep – you shouldn’t really ever feel that thirsty. Once you feel thirsty, you are probably already a little dehydrated.

After thirst comes:

Dry mouth,
Becoming light headed
Dizziness
Perhaps followed by tiredness
You will probably get a headache
You will also notice if you are dehydrated your urine will be darker in colour
And you will pee a lot less often

Severe dehydration will take on all these symptoms and more:

You may also feel unusually tired and lethargic
You may become confused
The dizziness may not pass if you are severely dehydrated
A weak and/or rapid pulse may be another symptom

These symptoms are very important to look out for in others too – if you know anyone complaining of these sorts of symptoms treat as dehydration – ie get them some water and/or cool them down. You may need to replace lost salts/electrolytes if the cause of the dehydration has been sweating (heat, exercise etc) so put a little salt and sugar into water to make up a solution for them to drink. *NOTE: Severe dehydration can become a medical emergency and require immediate attention, so please refer anyone with severe symptoms to a medical professional as soon as possible*

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