Keeping your body hydrated is critical. Lack of water consumption can lead to dehydration which can quickly deteriorate the body.
A big misconception is that if you are drinking sodas, teas, or other liquid drinks, that you are hydrated, however, these types of drinks contain large amounts of sugar and salt that are absorbed and then quickly flushed out of your system. It’s important to drink enough water for your body every day.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, dehydration can lead to ‘increased risk of obesity, affiliated with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer among many other diseases, however this can be prevented by drinking two 8-ounce glasses of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner.’
What else can being dehydrated do to your body? Below are several ailments and why they occur.
- Fatigue: Dehydration causes the enzymatic activity in the body to slow down, resulting in tiredness and fatigue. Water is the most vital sour of energy in the body.
- High Blood Pressure: The blood is normally about 92% water when the body is fully hydrated. When dehydrated the blood becomes thicker causing resistance to blood flow and resulted in elevated blood pressure.
- Skin disorders: Dehydration impairs the elimination of toxins through the skin and makes it more vulnerable to all types of skin disorders, including dermatitis and psoriasis, as well as premature wrinkling and discoloration.
- Asthma and allergies: When dehydrated, your body will restrict airways as a means to conserve water. In fact the rate of histamine produced by the body increases exponentially as the body loses more and more water.
- High cholesterol: When the body is dehydrated it will produce more cholesterol to prevent wter loss from the cells.
- Digestive disorders: A shortage of water and alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium can lead to a number of digestive disorders, including ulcers, gastritis and acid reflux.
- Bladder and kidney problems: With a dehydrated body, the accumulation of toxins and acid waste creates an environment where bacteria thrive resulting in the bladder and kidney to be more prone to infection, inflammation and pain.
- Constipation: When short of water, the colon is one of the primary regions the body draws water from in order to provide fluids for other critical body functions. Without adequate water, wastes move though the large intestines much more slowly or sometimes not at all, resulting in constipation.
- Joint pain or stiffness: All joints have cartilage adding which is composed of mostly water. When the body is dehydrate cartilage is weakened and joint repair is slow resulting in pain and discomfort.
- Weight gain: When dehydrated your body often cannot eliminate toxins effectively thus storing them in fat cells.
- Premature aging: When chronically dehydrated the body’s organs including the skin begins to wrinkle and wither prematurely.
Factors that require increased water consumption include exercising, illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and certain environments such as areas with hot temperatures.
Dehydration effects everything from your mental state to your physical state. Being dehydrated can certainly prolong the amount of time you spend in physical therapy as your bones and joints need adequate amounts of water to heal. If you have any questions on how much water you should be drinking on a daily basis please contact us here at Valeo!
