The human body is predominantly water, so the importance of hydration is pretty high!
Everything in your body needs water to work properly.
You need to be hydrated to have any chance of feeling good.
The Importance Of Hydration
Your brain comes first as it’s nearly 80% water. If your brain isn’t properly hydrated if won’t work properly! Your thinking will be a bit fuzzy and your mood won’t be as good as it could be. If it’s too dehydrated you’ll have headaches and feel tired.
Since your cardiovascular system takes water to your brain, your cardiovascular system is the next in the hierarchy. If you’re not hydrated enough to keep this working smoothly your blood pressure may go up. Also it will take water from other areas of the body, contributing to all sorts of problems.
Imagine a fresh bunch of grapes and compare that to what they look like 2 weeks later – shrivelled and shrunken because much of their water has gone. The same kind of thing happens to skin, but instead of drinking more water people apply loads of creams.
Your liver needs lots of water, and if it’s lacking one thing that can happen is your bile flow gets sludgy. This increases your chance of getting gallstones. The same kind of thing happens with people who develop kidney stones.
Your joints need water to maintain the plumpness of the cartilage and the volume of lubricating fluid within them. Joints can get painful when they’re not kept hydrated.
Dehydration can feel like hunger, and if you don’t know this you might end up eating more and putting weight on.
How Much Should You Drink?
It’s often said to drink 8 glasses of water per day, but we’re all different sizes and up to different things. There is no ‘one size fits all’.
The best way to know if you’re giving yourself enough water is by the colour of your urine:
- Pale yellow to almost colourless = well hydrated
- Yellow to amber = dehydrated
Drink water regularly throughout the day. Having a glass first thing in the morning is a great way to start your day.
Fruit and vegetables are a great source of water.
Be careful of how much caffeine and alcohol you’re having as they’re dehydrating. Make sure you compensate by drinking extra water.
Pop any questions below.
Have a great week!
Dr Julie
PS You might like this blog too – importance of hydration relating to body weight:
Does Drinking Water Help You Lose Weight?