Do You Get Enough Fluids In Your Diet?

Most diets that put an emphasis on weight loss will center solely on the food you eat. Often overooked is the fact that in any healthy and balanced diet fluids are playing a major role. It’s a fact well know to runners, but anyone interested in good health can apply the same rules.

The human body consists of approx. 60% water. All of the biochemical reactions within our body need water. In other words; water is a must. That probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but it might surprise you how easy it is to have a shortfall.

Than is more to it than just feeling thirsty. Some of the more common signs are : headache,fatique adn dizziniess, just to name a few. For example a heatstroke that could be potentially fatal - will start with simple dehydration.

Nor is it quite good adequate to merely wait until you are thirsty to address your fluid demand. Raised internal body temperature, high heart rate and poor motor performance set in when your body has seen only a 3% weight loss from water deprivation.

In a cool environment, even when you are at rest, your body will lose about 2-3 liters in a day. If you’re active, the number rises to between 3-6 liters. On a warm day, during vigorous activity, the number can be as high as 10 liters. That’s about 3 gallons of water in one day.

What About Sports Drinks?

But many so-called sports drinks are chock full of sugar. A little bit of simple sugar isn’t bad. It can even be advantageous. But a bottle of sports drink that is really just soda without the bubbles isn’t assistive. Keep that type to a minimum.

Fruit juices can be an efficient way of getting essential fluid. But keep in mind that drinks with carbs slow the body’s rate of absorption of water. Here too, the amount of sugar needs to be monitored.

Caffeine drinks aren’t inevitably unhealthy. In fact, in temperance, caffeine has been shown to have definite health benefits. But it’s also a diuretic, a substance that increases urine output. Drinking lots of coffee can actually promote dehydration. Studies in which participants drank about 6 cups per day (642 mg/day) experienced a 3% loss of body water.

Similarly, alcohol in moderate amounts is beneficial. Red wine has antioxidants. Even beer is healthy, since some of the health effects are due to alcohol alone and hops are good for you. But they do tend also to dehydrate. They’re not a substitute for the total water required daily.

Summary

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