Am I Properly Hydrated?

Many of us know we should drink more water, but do you know if you are drinking enough each day?

Well the good news is, there's a few simple things you can do to make sure you are keeping your body properly hydrated.

#1 - Calculate your daily water requirement

It is generally agreed among the naturopaths and nutritionists we work with that you should drink 1 litre of water for every 25kgs of body weight.

So simply divide your weight by 25 and that is the amount of water in litres you need to drink every day to replenish the fluid you lose through sweating, urinating, speaking, breathing, etc. If you are exercising, drinking soft drinks, tea or coffee or ill you need to drink more as the body's water need is higher.

#2 - Check our your urine throughout the day

When we first get up in the morning and go to the toilet is it normal for your urine to be a dark yellow.  But throughout the day, as you continually hydrate yourself, your urine should almost be colourless, and not have a strong smell as a result. This means you are well hydrated.

Simply, the darker your urine throughout the day , the more dehydrated you are physically.

#3 – Check for symptoms of dehydration

This is a fairly basic health check we can do, but most of us are not aware of the basic symptoms of being dehydrated.

"By the time dry mouth becomes an indicator of water shortage, many delicate functions of the body have been shut down and prepared for deletion. A dehydrated body loses sophistication and versatility."

Dr F Batmanghelidj, Author “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water”

So what are some of the signs of dehydration?

• You may begin to yawn in an attempt to get more oxygen to the brain
• You may start to crave sweet foods in an attempt to increase blood sugars
• Sleepiness may overtake you as your brain struggles to satisfy its own oxygen demands>
• The Pituitary Gland releases a hormone called Anti Diuretic Hormone (ADH).  The ADH causes the body to store fluid, a reflex action to create a fluid reservoir in case the water shortage becomes even more critical.  If water intake is low and there is none in the bowel, the contents of the bowel become very dry and compacted, resulting in constipation.