How to Stay Hydrated

Why is hydration crucial for the body?

From a Chinese Medicine perspective, the fluids we ingest are ‘received’ by the Stomach before undergoing further processes of refinement. A portion of these circulate upward to the face to moisten our ears, eyes, mouth and nasal passages to help them function well and move outward to provide nourishment to the musculature, skin and to act as sweat.

A secondary portion of our ingested fluids combine with good fats to provide us with healthy hormones, to nourish our reproductive organs and their various fluids, while also supplementing other important substances like cerebrospinal and synovial fluids.

This means that hydration is crucial to consider when it comes to issues such as those that affect our senses like hay fever, dry or irritated eyes or sinuses, musculature health and recovery from injury, immunity, skin, hormonal imbalances and reproductive health.

What about electrolytes?

Often you think about only athletes needing hydration with electrolytes, but this is a very important part of our overall health. Most of our body is made of water and all of our cellular processes are managed by the electrolytes sodium and potassium. Our bodies have a finely tuned process called homeostasis for managing our electrolytes (which include sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate and magnesium), however when we are stressed or in an adrenally fatigued state we often use up or shed electrolytes through our bodily processes.

Electrolytes make sure that our health is maintained by:
– ensuring our muscles contract properly i.e. when experiencing muscle cramps or soreness,
– maintain fluid balance within the body,
– maintain roles in digestive system,
– maintain cardiovascular health, especially blood sugar regulation.

How do we maintain adequate hydration?

1. Warm, wet meals are important – think soups, stews, congee/porridge and foods that have been slow cooked with a lot of liquid in them. These ‘water-soaked’ foods carry water content deeper into the digestive tract where it is absorbed more slowly throughout the day, acting as a ‘time-released’ form of hydration. Generally, drinking water throughout the daytime is often processed much faster and higher up in the digestive tract as it gets diverted away from here once its catches up to any food we’re usually already digesting.
2. Warm or room-temperature liquids only – our internal body temperature is quite warm. Consuming cold food or drinks can shock our digestive system, making it work overtime to heat this up to an appropriate temperature to absorb.
3. Feed your water – quite often we are depleted in trace minerals and electrolytes – especially if you are quite tired. By adding electrolytes we are better able to absorb water into the body as they help to even out our kidneys regulating our water/salt balance.
   You can always start with a hydration replacement fluid from the chemist (like hydralyte) but longterm I recommend a natural product called Sodii.

How much water do I need to drink?

The rough calculation = 35ml of water per kilogram of body weight – i.e. a 65kg person would need 2.275L of water per day (increasing or decreasing for their level of activity and sweating).
By making sure we are drinking at least 2 litres of water per day plus electrolytes, we can make sure that every cell in our body has plenty of raw materials to run with.

Once started, you might start to feel more focused and energised – both mentally and physically.

Questions? Please get in touch!