Why is Hydration Important?
Maintaining good hydration is absolutely critical to maintaining good health, and it becomes even more important to pay attention to as we age. As we get older the body "dries out", and our tendons and ligaments become less resilient. Poor hydration can lead to constipation, dry and itchy skin, acne, nose bleeds, repeated urinary tract infections, dry coughs, sneezing, sinus pressure, and headaches and fatigue, which can be the result of toxins building up in our bodies. Poor hydration weakens the body's immune system and leads to chemical, nutritional and pH imbalances, which can eventually cause sickness and premature aging. Lack of being sufficiently hydrated is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue, and a mere two percent drop in body water can trigger short-term memory problems and difficulty focusing on reading a computer screen or printed page.
Being properly hydrated can also help you lose weight. In 37% of people, the thirst mechanism is so weak it's mistaken for hunger, causing you to ingest calories you don't need, when you could have solved your hunger with a zero-calorie glass of water! In fact, one glass of water will shut down hunger pains for almost 100% of dieters.
We lose about a quart and a half of water per day just through breathing, and overall, we lose over three quarts a day. Clearly it's critical we replace that water, and understand when and how much is needed to hydrate ourselves.
How can you tell if you're properly hydrated? The first question to ask yourself is: are you thirsty? If so, chances are you need more liquid. Also, check the color of your urine. Is it light yellow? If so, it's likely you're properly hydrated. If not, and you haven't recently eaten foods like beets, carrots, asparagus, or fava beans, which can turn your urine red, orange, green and brown, respectively, chances are you might be dehydrated. (Note also that some medications can cause your urine to change color.)
Of course the best way to tell if you're dehydrated is to test yourself with Stayhealthy's BC3 Body Composition Analyzer. It's also very important to be properly hydrated to ensure consistent measurements using the BC3. We suggest making sure you're adequately hydrated each day and take your body composition readings at the same time of day. This will provide the greatest consistency to your readings and provide the best information over time.
1. All data, except where otherwise noted, sourced from an article by Glenn Ellis, a syndicated health columnist and radio commentator, and author of Which Doctor? http://blackpressusa.com/news/Article.asp?SID=4&Title=Department&NewsID=9340
2. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283