Tag Archives: mild dehydration

What Kind of Water is Best for Weight Loss?

The wet kind!

Most things you consume in a liquid state will keep you hydrated; some just have extra benefits or extra pitfalls that come with them. For example, juice has all of the vitamins and sugar found in fruit, but none of the fiber and mandatory chewing that slows down calorie consumption.

So here’s a quick 4 question quiz to see if you know how to keep your body hydrated and on the track to good health! I’ve included a few hints to help you along the way.

1. What percent of your body is water?
a. 30% like a gila monster after a day in the desert sun.
b. 60% One man actually lost 25 pounds of water weight in 48 hours to “prove” that scales are useless. That’s approaching gila monster humidity and he was promptly rushed off to get an IV drip.
c. 90% like a jellyfish.

2. How many ounces (total) of water should you drink each day?
a. 8 ounces – your blindingly bright yellow or orange colored pee should tell you that this is not the correct answer. Bad blog reader, bad! Most water bottles aren’t even that small.
b. 8 8 ounce glasses – correct, but don’t be lazy, do the math.
c. 64 ounces. Correct! (8oz x 8 glasses = 64) That’s 8 cups of water, or 4 pints, or 2 quarts or one half gallon, or three hours sipping at a water fountain. (I’m glad fountains exist, but when you’re thirsty, they’re maddeningly slow to drink from. Some sort of wall hose would be preferable.)

3. Which of the following beverages count towards your 64 ounces?
a. Coffee and tea. It’s water with natural brown food coloring. Don’t believe me? Check out this myth-busting research.
b. Juice and lemonade. It’s still mostly water, just watch the sugar intake. Sip and savor, but save the chugging for water.
c. Soda. Nope, not even close. It’s liquid, but your body has to use all the water it contains to flush out all of the chemicals it also contains, so you end up not hydrated.

4. Which of the following are benefits of drinking enough water?
a. Flushing out toxins. This is obviously good, right? No commentary needed? Why am I still typing?
b. Energized muscles. Not feeling up for a little exercise? Drink some water; dehydration causes muscle fatigue.
c. Hydrated skin that looks good. Eat your heart out, Maybelline! Moisturizers create a barrier that helps keep moisture in your skin, but if the moisture isn’t coming from the inside out, that barrier is ineffective.

Two footnotes:
1. If you need an answer key, leave a comment and I’ll contact you; I have some magic beans I’d like to sell you.
2. Gila monsters have more like 70% water in their bodies, not 30%, but they LOOK so darn dry! And in the dry months they survive by not urinating for months. Gross, but so very cool too. The point is, you are not a gila monster. Raise your glass and drink up! A toast to your health!

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

Images are from:

http://www.volusia.org/services/public-works/water-resources-and-utilities/

https://beccasbyline.wordpress.com/2011/09/

http://diabetesdailypost.com/learn-why-you-need-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-per-day/

http://savenaturesavehuman.blogspot.com/2012/05/gila-monster.html

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/coffee-and-hormones

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: drink more lose weight, drink weight loss, gila monster, mild dehydration, water and health, water best for weight loss. 2 Comments

Aug. ’17

God’s Gatorade (part 2)

Most fruits and vegetables are 80-90% water, so they help hydrate your body as well as fill it with vitamins and nutrients. Here are three more highly hydrating snacks to quench your cravings.

Field Irrigation: Watermelon and sunflower seeds. Sweet and salty, this snack satisfies both cravings. Just make sure you pay attention to which seeds you eat and which you spit.

Mediterranean Berries: Greek yogurt and berries. Fill a small plastic container with Greek yogurt and add a few tablespoons of frozen raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries and your snack is ready to travel without refrigeration.

Cooling Waters: Cucumber smoothie. Blend a peeled and de-seeded cucumber with fruit and milk. Refreshing, sweet, and a great way to consume the bounty of a too-prolific cucumber plant in your summer garden.

Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:16,17 (NIV)

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: God's Gatorade, healthy snacks, hydrating snacks, kid friendly healthy snacks, mild dehydration, vegetable snack. Leave a comment

Jul. ’17

God’s Gatorade (Part 1)

What hydrates your body better than water? Better than sports drinks? Vegetables!

Most vegetables are 90% water or more and they contain natural sugars, amino acids, mineral salts, and vitamins. This combination does for your body what sports drinks advertise, but without chemicals. At 97% water content, cucumbers are God’s Gatorade.

Studies show that the food you eat provides 20% of the water your body needs each day. When you snack on vegetables, you get hydration, restocking of the minerals, acids, and vitamins your body needs, and fiber to move along what your body doesn’t need. Add a little protein to that snack and it’ll keep the energy flowing for hours.

Here are some super-hydrating protein-packed super-snacks. Any fruit or vegetable is going to have at least 75% water content, but the ones listed in these snacks are at least 90% water:

The Aqueduct: celery with nut butter. This crunchy nutty combination is not just for kids. Let the water and protein flow.

Muddle the Puddle: hummus and cucumber slices. Hummus comes in a variety of flavors to keep things interesting as well as hydrated.

Bell Pepper Boats: half a bell pepper boat filled with tuna salad. This can be a snack, or two boats can be lunch. Easy to take on the go and they store well.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: cool summer snacks, God's Gatorade, hydrating snacks, kid friendly healthy snacks, mild dehydration, vegetable snack. Leave a comment

Apr. ’16

Cheap Rx for What Ails You (Part 2)

Last week we began a journey from the top of our heads to the tip of our toes. We are exploring the role of water in our bodies and what happens when we don’t have enough. Thirst is not the only symptom of mild dehydration.

Water as key: Your liver stores glycogen (glucose) that your other organs can use for energy, but the liver needs water to make the glucose available. Less glucose means less energy and one of the first signs of mild dehydration is fatigue. This lack of energy can also cause food cravings, especially for sweets. Your body asks for sugar not because it doesn’t have it, but because it can’t unlock it.
Water as bulldozer: Your colon is (literally) at the bottom of the pecking order: when you’re short on water, the body steals H₂O from the colon first. Stool has water in it to keep it soft and moving along toward the exit. When your body sucks that water out of the stool to give it to the brain, your stool becomes harder and more difficult to move along so it stays put, wreaking havoc on your lower torso’s comfort. Think of a river at low tide.
Water as a mighty flush: Your skin is the largest organ in your body so it stands to reason that it’s also the largest eliminator of toxins in your body. Sweat carries the toxins out, but you need water to sweat. Lack of water leads to skin prone to irritations and dryness. Lotions can help keep moisture from leaking out of your skin, but if there’s no moisture in your skin to begin with, lotion’s not going to help for long. Chronic mild dehydration also leads to premature aging: your skin and your internal organs wrinkle like prunes.

It’s easy to determine your level of hydration. Just check your pee! The urine of a fully hydrated person will be somewhere between clear and slightly yellow. Noticeably very yellow urine means you’re 3% dehydrated. That might not sound like a lot, but more than 5% dehydrated is considered severe dehydration and turns your pee orange. Orange pee is a bad sign, like call your doctor bad. One note: when you first wake up in the morning, your pee should be bright yellow. This is normal because your bladder has been concentrating waste all night long. If your pee is still lemon yellow a few hours later, you need to drink more water.

“The average adult loses about 10 cups water every day, simply by breathing, sweating, urinating and eliminating waste, according to the Mayo Clinic.” What about the recommended eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day? The math-inclined are flipping out right now: 64 ounces equals 8 cups and we output 10 each day! It doesn’t add up! You’re right, but 20% of your water comes from the food you eat. Mystery solved. The 8 cup (64 ounces) recommendation is a minimum to maintain hydration and studies show most of us don’t drink that much. One estimate says that 50-75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. We have symptoms that don’t include thirst, so we don’t look to water for a cure.

Is it possible to drink too much water? Yes, it is, but you’d have to try really hard to get it all down. Too much water can drown your body from the inside out, but “too much” is 1.3 gallons (or 169 ounces or 5 liters) of water in just a few hours. If you drink 1.3 gallons over ten hours—that’s 2 cups (16 ounces) per hour—you’ll be fine.

When your body isn’t feeling right, turn first to the cheapest medicine in the world: water. Drink up, drink again, and see what water can do!

He (Jesus) said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” Revelation 21:6 (NIV)

http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/unusual-signs-of-dehydration/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dehydration/basics/symptoms/con-20030056

http://www.waterbenefitshealth.com/symptoms-of-chronic-dehydration.html

http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/are-you-chronically-dehydrated

http://www.livestrong.com/article/550244-can-drinking-too-much-water-damage-your-lungs/

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Interesting Tidbits, SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: cheap prescription, cheap Rx, Drink more water, how much water is too much, mild dehydration, symptoms dehydration, urine color dehydration. Leave a comment

Apr. ’16

Cheap Rx for What Ails You (Part 1)

You’re craving sweets, your mouth feels sticky, and you’re tired even though you slept eight hours last night. You eat some chocolate, but your symptoms don’t go away. Your first instinct is to eat more chocolate—that is, after all, your first instinct in most situations. You decide to give your chocolate coated neurons a break for the moment and consider the problem logically.

Your body is craving something that it lacks. Something that lubricates your mouth and helps your organs release glycogen (stored glucose i.e. sugar) that gives you energy. Surprise! You’re mildly dehydrated and your body is craving water.

Most of us assume that if our body lacks water we’ll feel thirsty. While this is often the case, thirst is not the only indicator that our liquids are low. When water is in short supply, our body sends it to the most important parts first—like the brain—and allows less necessary parts to go without, all in the hopes that more water is on the way and it will eventually be able to function at full fluid capacity. This redistribution of water can lead to symptoms that we don’t always associate with lack of water.

Let’s take a look at what water does in our body and the symptoms we experience when things go wrong. We’ll start at the top.

Water as airbag: Your brain is surrounded by a sack of fluid that acts as a cushion so your brain doesn’t bump against your skull. Your brain is roughly 70% water and the fluid is, well, fluid. When there is less fluid in the sack, your brain bumps into your skull more easily causing headaches.
Water as lubricant: Your mouth is lubricated by saliva. Less water equals less saliva which leaves your mouth feeling dry and/or sticky. Think of a slip and slide with the hose turned off. Saliva also has antibacterial properties; less saliva means you don’t have enough antibiotic spit to kill the stinky microbes and you end up with bad breath.
Water as fire hose: Your blood is roughly 50% water (55% of blood is plasma and plasma is 92% water), but if that percentage drops, your blood is thicker and harder to pump and your blood pressure goes up.
Water as pump: Your lungs are about 85% water. (Who knew? Water in lungs = bad, lungs made of water = good.) When water is in short supply, your airways shrink or constrict a bit. This can aggravate allergies and asthma.

Next week we’ll continue our journey down the body as well as discuss an easy self-diagnosis technique to determine your hydration. Water we waiting for?!

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 (NIV)